David Gilmour sent a clear appeal to the Russian soldiers via social media yesterday. “Stop killing your brothers,” he demanded on his Twitter channel. “There will be no winners in this war”.
In his message, the former Pink Floyd guitarist and singer points to his family connections in the war-torn region. “My daughter-in-law is Ukrainian and my granddaughters want to visit and get to know their beautiful country. Stop this before everything is destroyed. Putin has to go,” writes the almost 76-year-old.
Gilmour outfitted his post with a reference to the lines of “In Any Tongue.” A song from his 2015 solo album Rattle That Lock. Gilmour’s wife, the writer Polly Sampson, wrote the text. This describes the death of young soldiers in armed conflicts.
A powerful anti-war message: “How was I to feel it when a gun was in my hands. And I’d waited for so long,” Gilmour sings there. “How was I to see straight in the dust and blinding sun. Just a pair of boots on the ground.”
Russian soldiers, stop killing your brothers. There will be no winners in this war.
My daughter-in-law is Ukrainian and my grand-daughters want to visit and know their beautiful country. Stop this before it is all destroyed.
Putin must go pic.twitter.com/VE4oMsUIRf
— David Gilmour (@davidgilmour) March 1, 2022
Gilmour thus joins the ever-growing phalanx of international pop musicians who (more or less unequivocally) condemn Vladimir Putin for his brutal invasion.
In the days since the beginning of the war, Stevie Nicks, Miley Cyrus, Elton John, Dee Snider, Yungblud, the Foals and Alex Kapranos from Franz Ferdinand, among others, have published various protest notes. Madonna, for example, published a fan video based on her song “Sorry” via Instagram and wrote: “Putin has violated every existing human rights treaty. Putin has no right to try to wipe out Ukraine’s existence…”
The list of canceled concerts and tours is also growing. Green Day, GusGus, Yungblud, Louis Tomlinson, Franz Ferdinand, Iggy Pop or Nick Cave will not be performing in Russia for the time being.
In contrast, Russia expert HP Baxxter remains silent about his plans. April 16 is still the start of Scooter’s “God Save The Rave” tour at Moscow’s Adrenaline Stadium.