The psych-rock battle of Roskilde! Uncle Acid and The Deadbeats have fired a broadside at Gorillaz, accusing them of orchestrating the early termination of their Danish festival set. The gloves are well and truly off as two UK music giants go head-to-head in a heated public feud. It's a spat that raises questions about the logistics of the festival and has left fans stunned.
According to reports from Politiken, it all kicked off when sound from Uncle Acid and The Deadbeats' performance on the Legune stage bled through onto the larger Orange stage, where Gorillaz were headlining. Damon Albarn took to the mic, saying "Is it supposed to be possible for me to hear the other music so clearly? We can just stop playing and listen to the other thing instead, that’s fine with me." Game on!
The incident sparked a chain reaction, with Roskilde Festival organisers shutting down Uncle Acid's set after just 30 minutes. Drummer Jon Rice took to Instagram to vent his band's frustration, claiming they were told their set was cut due to "technical difficulties," but alleging the real reason was Gorillaz's tantrum, threatening to cancel if Uncle Acid didn't pipe down.
Rice tore into Albarn and co, saying they had put festival staff in an impossible position, forcing them to deliver the news to both the band and thousands of irate fans who'd paid top whack for a full-day ticket. And in a parting shot, he labelled Gorillaz "soft as baby shit." NME has reached out to reps from both camps – we'll be watching with bated breath for their response.
This isn't the first time Damon Albarn's been involved in a bit of a scrap at Roskilde. In 2018, his Gorillaz gig was cut short after rapper Del the Funky Homosapien took an unfortunate tumble from the stage. And in 2016, Albarn himself had to be carried off by security after he refused to wrap up a five-hour performance – talk about rock 'n' roll excess!