Massive Attack cancel Liverpool gig to boycott arms fair at venue | Massive Attack | The Guardian

Del Naja said the gig, which was supposed to be putting into effect the carbon reduction methods the band researched with the University of Manchester, can be rearranged.

He said: “The one-off testbed show planned for Liverpool involved design, planning and relationship building on a scale that dwarfs any conventional tour, so it’s really disappointing that for reasons way beyond our control we can’t pull it off. But showing solidarity with the people of Liverpool at this crucial moment supersedes that.

“We can rearrange a testbed show, but applying a wider focus, I can’t imagine a more graphic example of the psychosis of the systems we live by than what’s playing out in Liverpool.”

Del Naja added: “On the eve of a global event that’s totally critical if we’re to avoid a catastrophic extinction event, arms barons are shop-windowing technologies that inevitably harm and incarcerate people; often in the hands of states already acknowledged to be human rights violators.

“The International Red Cross says that the impacts of climate emergency seriously increase the risks of armed conflict, by exacerbating existing social, economic and environmental factors. In what world is that an ‘opportunity’ worth promoting? As artists, we cannot travel along with that.”  …