Royal Blood have spoken for the first time about the controversial Dundee Big Weekend performance that saw them brand the crowd “pathetic”.
The rock duo appeared on the Radio 1 breakfast show with Greg James on Monday to address their stroppy antics.
Singer Mike Kerr stuck his fingers up to the audience at Camperdown Park after being unhappy at the lack of response from fans.
Their behaviour was roundly criticised after going viral on social media – with many also making fun of the band.
Speaking about the gig for the first time, Kerr said: “I’m amazed it escalated to that size.
“Walking off from that show, I felt I was being entertaining by way of making light of the situation, of doing a performance that I felt out of place (in).
“It was somewhat of a blip on my part. I (should) have taken me three minutes to think, ‘Maybe these people don’t know who you are’.
“But I was very pumped backstage and I actually really enjoyed playing – I felt like a pro wrestler walking off at the end.
“I didn’t think that I had done anything morally wrong, I felt like a bit of a wind-up merchant.”
Drummer Ben Thatcher added: “It was a moment of madness that’s got out of control, I think.
“Mike walks out the pub like that, it’s not unusual. It’s just stupid.”
‘Applause is optional’ next time band visit Dundee
The Brit Award-winning pair were performing on the main stage on Sunday before Niall Horan and Lewis Capaldi.
However the band appeared less than impressed with the Dundee crowd throughout their set, with Kerr claiming just “nine people” in the audience appeared to like rock music.
The performance sparked an online backlash after a video of their comments was viewed more than 34 million times on Twitter.
.@RoyalBloodUK came into Radio 1 to have an honest chat with @GregJames about the performance which started a thousand memes.
Were they being rude, was it all a joke, and how do they feel after being an international talking point for days on end? pic.twitter.com/MxoEVAVbkn
— BBC Radio 1 (@BBCR1) June 5, 2023
On his radio show, James handed the duo a document full of memes and tweets posted in the wake of their performance.
Asked if he had a direct message to give to Dundee music fans, Kerr said: “I meant no offence and look forward to coming back.”
And he joked: “Applause is optional.”
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