![Sinead O'Connor: The singer performed an a cappella version of Bob Marley's 'War' on Saturday Night Live in 1992. In rehearsals, she had held up a picture of a refugee child - but that was just to throw them off the scent. During her actual live performance, she changed the lyrics to draw attention to child abuse in the Catholic church, held up a photo of the Pope and ripped it up, saying,]()
Sinead O'Connor: The singer performed an a cappella version of Bob Marley's 'War' on Saturday Night Live in 1992. In rehearsals, she had held up a picture of a refugee child - but that was just to throw them off the scent. During her actual live performance, she changed the lyrics to draw attention to child abuse in the Catholic church, held up a photo of the Pope and ripped it up, saying, "Fight the real enemy."
![Lupe Fiasco: Despite the fact that one of his songs, 'Words I Never Said', features the lyrics,]()
Lupe Fiasco: Despite the fact that one of his songs, 'Words I Never Said', features the lyrics, "Gaza Strip was getting bombed, Obama didn't say shit," the rapper was invited to perform at an inaugural event for the US president in Washington DC. He told the crowd he didn't vote for Obama, performed a 30-minute version of the aforementioned song, and was forced off-stage by officials.
![Petula Clark: To someone from the 21st century, this is the mildest 'political statement' humanly possible, but back in the '60s, it made history. While performing anti-war song 'On The Path Of Glory' with Harry Belafonte for a TV special in 1968, Clark spontaneously decided to walk over to Belafonte and place her hand on his arm. The TV station was outraged, which made them more determined that it be aired - they destroyed all other takes. It was the first time ever that a white woman had touched a black man on TV.]()
Petula Clark: To someone from the 21st century, this is the mildest 'political statement' humanly possible, but back in the '60s, it made history. While performing anti-war song 'On The Path Of Glory' with Harry Belafonte for a TV special in 1968, Clark spontaneously decided to walk over to Belafonte and place her hand on his arm. The TV station was outraged, which made them more determined that it be aired - they destroyed all other takes. It was the first time ever that a white woman had touched a black man on TV.
![Phil Anselmo: The former frontman of Pantera, now the lead singer of Down, decided to send a truly offensive political message at Dimebash 2016. At the end of his set, as the crowd cheered, Anselmo stood away from his microphone, held a Nazi salute for several seconds and yelled,]()
Phil Anselmo: The former frontman of Pantera, now the lead singer of Down, decided to send a truly offensive political message at Dimebash 2016. At the end of his set, as the crowd cheered, Anselmo stood away from his microphone, held a Nazi salute for several seconds and yelled, "White power!" before walking off.
![Rage Against The Machine: After discovering that their music was being used as a form of torture in Guantanamo Bay, the band turned up on-stage at Reading Festival 2008 wearing Gitmo prison outfits. Later, in San Francisco, they told the crowd,]()
Rage Against The Machine: After discovering that their music was being used as a form of torture in Guantanamo Bay, the band turned up on-stage at Reading Festival 2008 wearing Gitmo prison outfits. Later, in San Francisco, they told the crowd, "I suggest they level Guantanamo Bay, but they keep one small cell and they put Bush in there... and they blast some Rage Against The Machine." Eight years into Obama's presidency, and he still hasn't closed it either.
![Massive Attack: During their headline set at Longitude in 2014, the band displayed a lit-up message behind them, which read:]()
Massive Attack: During their headline set at Longitude in 2014, the band displayed a lit-up message behind them, which read: "Gaza has been occupied or under restrictions since 1948." The long-time supporters of Palestinian freedom also displayed the number of lives lost in Gaza during a performance of Unfinished Sympathy' - which was met with huge applause from the crowd.
![Beyonce: The singer stole the show from Coldplay at the Super Bowl halftime show for more than just musical reasons. Her backing dancers were dressed in black leather and wore black berets - an unmistakeable reference to the Black Panther Party, a revolutionary black nationalist organisation formed in the US in 1966. Towards the beginning of her performance, both Beyonce and her backing dancers raised their firsts in the air, a reference to the black power salute that began with Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 Olympics.]()
Beyonce: The singer stole the show from Coldplay at the Super Bowl halftime show for more than just musical reasons. Her backing dancers were dressed in black leather and wore black berets - an unmistakeable reference to the Black Panther Party, a revolutionary black nationalist organisation formed in the US in 1966. Towards the beginning of her performance, both Beyonce and her backing dancers raised their firsts in the air, a reference to the black power salute that began with Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 Olympics.
![Eric Clapton: In 1976, while performing at the Birmingham Odean, a drunk, angry Eric Clapton told the crowd,]()
Eric Clapton: In 1976, while performing at the Birmingham Odean, a drunk, angry Eric Clapton told the crowd, "Enoch was right," - referring to controversial Tory politician Enoch Powell, adding, "I think we should send them all back." He also complained that Britain was in danger of becoming a "black colony" and that we should "keep Britain white." Horrendous.
![Bruce Springsteen: As one of the few Western musicians allowed to perform in the Communist East Germany in 1988, Springsteen didn't come quietly. He made a speech to the crowd in German, saying,]()
Bruce Springsteen: As one of the few Western musicians allowed to perform in the Communist East Germany in 1988, Springsteen didn't come quietly. He made a speech to the crowd in German, saying, "I've come to play rock 'n roll for you, in the hope that one day all the barriers will be torn down." The gig has come to be seen as one of the catalysts for a spirit of rebellion that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall the following year.
![Madonna: On her 2006 Confessions tour, Madonna arrived on stage on a 20 foot high disco crucifix wearing a crown of thorns, as a montage showed up on screen featuring George Bush, Tony Blair, Adolf Hitler, Osama Bin Laden and Robert Mugabe. We're not sure what the message was exactly, but it certainly made an impact.]()
Madonna: On her 2006 Confessions tour, Madonna arrived on stage on a 20 foot high disco crucifix wearing a crown of thorns, as a montage showed up on screen featuring George Bush, Tony Blair, Adolf Hitler, Osama Bin Laden and Robert Mugabe. We're not sure what the message was exactly, but it certainly made an impact.
![Dixie Chicks: Given the general hatred towards George W. Bush these days, it's somewhat surprising that the Dixie Chicks' on-stage statement caused such a huge backlash. While performing in London, Natalie Maines told the audience that the band were ashamed to share a home state with Bush. Their statement caused absolute uproar - perhaps because they were country stars whose audience tended to lean to the right.]()
Dixie Chicks: Given the general hatred towards George W. Bush these days, it's somewhat surprising that the Dixie Chicks' on-stage statement caused such a huge backlash. While performing in London, Natalie Maines told the audience that the band were ashamed to share a home state with Bush. Their statement caused absolute uproar - perhaps because they were country stars whose audience tended to lean to the right.
![Morrissey: We're yet to hear of a gig during which Morrissey hasn't made some sort of controversial (often idiotic) statement. At a Belfast gig days after the death of Margaret Thatcher, he arrived on-stage to 'Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead' flanked by a photo of the former Prime Minister.]()
Morrissey: We're yet to hear of a gig during which Morrissey hasn't made some sort of controversial (often idiotic) statement. At a Belfast gig days after the death of Margaret Thatcher, he arrived on-stage to 'Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead' flanked by a photo of the former Prime Minister.