Joy Crookes says that the UK and Ireland are in a 'dark time', with the singer drawing parallels between the current wave of nationalism and far-right politics and the 1970s, when the National Front was at its peak.
The rise of far-right ideology on mainstream politics has made her feel unsafe in the UK, particularly after witnessing a large number of St George's flags in central London. The singer recalled a situation from her own life where she shot her debut acting role and encountered concerns among her crew and cast members due to rumors of a Tommy Robinson rally in Luton.
Joy Crookes believes that the current climate is comparable to the 1970s, when the National Front regularly held marches in immigrant areas. She described it as "terrifying" and expressed her concern for the future of society, stating, "It feels like we are entering a dark time."
This sentiment was reinforced by her recent performances at Brixton's O2 Academy, where she played Sinรฉad O'Connor's anti-racism anthem Black Boys on Mopeds to an ovation. The song's relevance to the current climate has been highlighted by her team, who have urged her to include it in every leg of her tour due to its timeliness across the UK.
Crookes emphasized that she is singing this song as a way to promote solidarity between communities affected by far-right rhetoric and also to encourage musicians to use their voices on matters such as racism.
The rise of far-right ideology on mainstream politics has made her feel unsafe in the UK, particularly after witnessing a large number of St George's flags in central London. The singer recalled a situation from her own life where she shot her debut acting role and encountered concerns among her crew and cast members due to rumors of a Tommy Robinson rally in Luton.
Joy Crookes believes that the current climate is comparable to the 1970s, when the National Front regularly held marches in immigrant areas. She described it as "terrifying" and expressed her concern for the future of society, stating, "It feels like we are entering a dark time."
This sentiment was reinforced by her recent performances at Brixton's O2 Academy, where she played Sinรฉad O'Connor's anti-racism anthem Black Boys on Mopeds to an ovation. The song's relevance to the current climate has been highlighted by her team, who have urged her to include it in every leg of her tour due to its timeliness across the UK.
Crookes emphasized that she is singing this song as a way to promote solidarity between communities affected by far-right rhetoric and also to encourage musicians to use their voices on matters such as racism.
. I've been noticing some pretty intense nationalism going on in London too. Like, have you seen the amount of flags people are flying around? It's crazy 
. As an artist myself, it's wild to see how easily someone's work or identity can be policed just because of their skin colour or background. I had a mate who's from Pakistan and they got stopped by security at this one gig because of some stupid flag they were wearing 
. It's like, what's the point? We're all human beings here 
. Joy's right, we are entering a dark time 
, but maybe instead of getting all scared and divided, we can come together and fight for our rights? 
. It feels like everyone's getting caught up in this toxic nationalism and it's scaring a lot of people, especially Joy Crookes. I mean, can you blame her for feeling uneasy seeing all those St George's flags waving around? 
It's like we're taking a step back into the 70s when the National Front was causing so much harm.
. We need more people using their voices to speak up against racism and far-right ideology, not just shouting from the rooftops but actually doing something about it.
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. It's unsettling to see how the UK and Ireland have become somewhat...unsettling to Joy Crookes, especially with her experiences in London 
its still a pretty chill place. & what's with all these "dark times" everyone's always talkin bout? we've had dark times before & we survived. lets not jump to conclusions here 
I feel like we're reliving those scary days again, you know? The rise of nationalism and far-right politics is giving me major 70s vibes... like, who would've thought that the UK would be having this kind of drama all over again? 
Seeing all those St George's flags in central London was a major turn-off for me too! 
I'm seeing some disturbing patterns here... 
. It's terrifying, just like Joy Crookes said. We need more voices like hers using their music to promote unity and fight against racism 
๏ธ. Just thinking about it gives me chills... those marches in immigrant areas? It feels like we're back to that 
. We need more artists taking a stance on this stuff - it's time for us to raise our voices too! 
๏ธ
. As someone who loves music for its ability to bring people together, it's disheartening to see Joy using her platform to speak out about this stuff.
We've seen how far-right ideology can bring people together, and that's a scary prospect to be honest 
It feels like we're witnessing the same old patterns we thought were long buried in history, but with a different face 
I mean, come on, if Joy Crookes is drawing parallels between 70s Britain and what's happening now, it can't be far off 
Anyway, I think Joy is onto something with her song - we need more of these kinds of voices speaking out against racism and nationalism 