Primal Scream released a great song 25 years ago called "Swastika Eyes" on an amazing album, XTRMNTR. Neither was terribly deep, but both warned of a fascistic, dystopian future that the band was very obviously against.

We can argue all day exactly how far into said dystopian future we've now arrived at, but after performing the song in front of graphics that depicted clear criticism of the horrors in Gaza by blatantly superimposing swastikas into Star of David insignias over the eyes of Trump, Netanyahu, and others, the band is dealing with backlash.

On Instagram, they posted a simple and sensible disagreement with accusations interpreting this as antisemitism, but we all know how that goes.

The backlash continued. Now the BBC reports that the band has been dropped from their scheduled performance at the Trentham Live festival in Stoke-on-Trent, UK on August 21. "The graphics used at a recent Primal Scream concert do not align with our values," said a rep for the festival. "We therefore decided to cancel their performance at Trentham Live 2026. While we understand some fans may be disappointed, our priority is ensuring we host an inclusive and fun event for all and we will announce a replacement headliner for the Friday night."