What is anti-Thatcher chant? Kneecap's Coachella 2025 stream gets cut short due to controversy

Shortly after leading a series of anti-Margaret Thatcher chants, the Belfast band Kneecap's Coachella live broadcast was apparently taken off.

"Here, if anybody was wondering, Margaret Thatcher’s still dead," the trio declared while performing on the Sonora stage at the renowned California festival.

Following thunderous applause from the audience, the Belfast rap trio led a chant of "Maggie's in a Box" to the song "Give It Up" by KC and the Sunshine Band.

Shortly after this, those who were viewing online complained that the feed had stopped. The band concluded their performance with the words "Free Palestine," according to concertgoers.

The hip-hop duo from Belfast is widely recognized for being ardent opponents of the UK government.

Last year, Mo Chara, DJ Próvaí, and Móglaí Bap expressed their opinions about Thatcher in an interview with PoliticsJOE.

A social media message was presented to the group that said:

"Mrs Thatcher will be remembered long after Kneecap are forgotten."

In response, Móglaí Bap said:

"That’s true. She’ll be remembered as a c***.

Mo Chara said:

"She’ll be remembered as a brutal b*******."

When the missing head of a King George V monument appeared at one of the Belfast Boys' performances earlier this year, they found themselves in some hot water in Australia.

The band said in a message about the event on Instagram,

"Some madman dropped by with a huge King George’s head so he could hear a few tunes for our last Melbourne show!

“Allegedly his head was cut off last year in the city..…anyways he was put on stage for a few tunes and then whisked away…remember every colony can fall.”

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Margaret Thatcher's controversial moves with Ireland and the IRA

Although the two things omitted from the livestream seem to surprise the Coachella organizers, they are a regular feature of the group's live performance.

The identical cry was used during Kneecap's first headline performance in Belfast's SSE Arena in December, which was reviewed by the Irish News.

Although many would view it as disrespectful and sectarian, the group had previously performed alongside Shankill-based rapper Young Spencer and said that everyone was welcome.

She notoriously fought with Republican inmates in the 1980s over their denial of political status, which resulted in well-reported hunger strikes. Thatcher treated the IRA hunger strikers at the Maze Prison in an unyielding and inflexible manner, allowing several to perish and fostering martyrdom and animosity for decades.

In contrast, John Major, her successor, adopted a practical strategy that was carried on by Tony Blair, his successor, and, to her credit, Mo Mowlam. As a result, that phase of the Troubles has ended to this day.

Thatcher also barely avoided being assassinated by the IRA in the 1984 Brighton Hotel bombing. However, in 2013, the former prime minister of the Conservative Party passed away.