Musician’s Brixton and Dublin performances go viral after she performs Sinéad O’Connor’s anti-racism anthem Black Boys on Mopeds
The UK and Ireland are entering a “dark time”, according to the singer Joy Crookes, who said the influence of far-right ideology on mainstream politics was comparable to the 1970s when the National Front was at its peak.
Crookes, who has just played two sold-out shows at the O2 Academy in Brixton, said the recent wave of nationalism and the far-right march through central London in September made her feel unsafe in the UK.
“I’m not blind to the political kind of landscape that we’re living in right now and I myself am a child of immigrants,” she said. “I travelled to central London to go shopping and ran into a bunch of St George’s flags. It doesn’t make me feel safe.”
The singer said that when she was shooting her debut acting role in the coming-of-age story Ish, in Luton, the mostly black and brown crew and cast became worried after rumours of a Tommy Robinson rally in the town.
