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Pink Floyd co-founder and bassist Roger Waters has vowed to take legal action after a planned concert in Frankfurt was cancelled by officials who branded him one of the “world’s most widely spread antisemites”.

The veteran musician was scheduled to perform at the city’s Festhalle on 28 May as part of his This Is Not A Drill European tour.

However, Frankfurt city council and the Hessian state government agreed to cancel the show in a bid to “set an example against antisemitism” last month.

Waters denies being antisemitic and in a statement issued on Thursday has described the cancellation as a “blatant attempt to silence him”.

But a statement issued by Frankfurt City Council said: “The background to the cancellation is the persistent anti-Israel behaviour of the former Pink Floyd frontman, who is considered one of the most widely spread antisemites in the world.

“He repeatedly called for a cultural boycott of Israel and drew comparisons to the apartheid regime in South Africa, and put pressure on artists to cancel events in Israel.”

The decision was approved by the Magistrate of the City of Frankfurt on 24 February.

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The statement added: “The magistrate therefore feels called upon to set a clear signal against antisemitism that is supported by society as a whole.”

A spokesperson for Frankfurt City Council told Sky News that event organiser Messe Frankfurt will be instructed to terminate the contract with the concert agency, adding that “the letter of termination for this is currently being voted on”.

Four days later on 28 February, Munich City Council introduced a motion to cancel a concert scheduled for 21 May at the Munich Olympiahalle.

The motion said Waters “keeps stirring up antisemitic resentment” and also accused him of “spreading conspiracy ideologies that justify Russia’s brutal war of aggression against Ukraine“.

The 79-year-old announced on Thursday that he will take legal action over the “unjustifiable decision” in a statement issued by his management.

The statement, entitled “Roger Waters fights back”, accused the authorities of having “extraordinary and prejudicial intention” to cancel the concert.

The actions of both Frankfurt and Munich officials are “unconstitutional, without justification and based on the false accusation that Roger Waters is anti-Semitic, which he is not”, it said.

Waters performing in Los Angeles last September Pic: AP
Image:
Waters performing in Los Angeles last September Pic: AP

“As a result of this unilateral, politically motivated action, Mr Waters has instructed his lawyers to immediately take all necessary steps to overturn this unjustifiable decision to ensure that his fundamental human right of freedom of speech is protected and that all of those who wish to see him perform, are free to do so in Frankfurt, Munich and in any other city in any other country.

“Mr Waters believes that if this blatant attempt to silence him is left unchallenged it could have serious, far-reaching consequences for artists and activists all over the world.”

Tickets for both the Frankfurt and Munich shows are still available for sale on the Roger Waters website.

Read more:
Roger Waters falls out with Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska
Pink Floyd reform to release new song for Ukraine

Now a cross-party group of politicians on Cologne City Council are also demanding a show on 9 May should be cancelled, according to German newspaper, Algemeiner.

(dpa) - Dave Gilmour, Roger Waters, Nick Mason and Richard Wright (from L to R) of Pink Floyd perform on stage during the Live 8 Concert in London, 02 July 2005. Photo by: Hubert Boesl/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images
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Pink Floyd performing during Live 8 in London in 2005. L-R Dave Gilmour, Roger Waters, Nick Mason and Richard Wright. Pic: DPA

An open letter said “there must be no room for antisemitic content on our stages”.

Waters has previously condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and called for a ceasefire.

However, he also said the conflict was “provoked” during an address to the UN Security Council at Moscow’s invitation.

His views on Israel and the Ukraine war have sparked criticism including from Pink Floyd vocalist and guitarist David Gilmour.

In an interview with a German newspaper, Waters said of Vladimir Putin: “According to independent voices I listen to, he governs carefully, making decisions on the grounds of a consensus in the Russian Federation government.

He added: “I wonder: is Putin a bigger gangster than Joe Biden and all those in charge of American politics since World War II? I am not so sure. Putin didn’t invade Vietnam or Iraq? Did he?”

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Dances With Wolves and The Green Mile actor Graham Greene dies aged 73

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Dances With Wolves and The Green Mile actor Graham Greene dies aged 73

Graham Greene, the Canadian First Nations actor best known for his performance in Dancing With Wolves, has died aged 73.

The star died peacefully after a long illness.

His agent Michael Greene (not a relation) said he loved everything the actor “did for his people and for all the world” in a statement sent to Sky News.

“He was a great man of morals, ethics and character and will be eternally missed…God bless his beautiful soul.”

Greene was a “trailblazer” who opened doors for indigenous actors in Hollywood, US entertainment outlet Deadline reported.

He made his screen debut in an episode of the Canadian drama series The Great Detective in 1979, and his first film, Running Brave, followed in 1983.

But his breakthrough came when he was cast as Kicking Bird (Zintka Nagwaka) in Kevin Costner‘s Dances With Wolves, released in 1990.

Greene was nominated for best supporting actor, one of 12 nods for the film, which took home seven, including best picture.

He went on to appear in Maverick alongside Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster in 1994, Die Hard With A Vengeance with Bruce Willis and Samuel L Jackson in 1995, The Green Mile with Tom Hanks and Michael Clarke Duncan in 1999, The Twilight Saga: New Moon with Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson in 2009, and Wind River alongside Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen in 2017.

His TV credits included Wolf Lake, Defiance and Marvel’s Echo, as well as Tulsa King and The Last Of Us more recently.

Greene also had several projects in the works, according to movie database IMDB.

He is survived by his wife, Hilary Blackmore, his daughter Lilly Lazard-Greene and her son, Talo.

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Father Ted co-creator Graham Linehan ‘arrested at Heathrow over posts on X’

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Father Ted co-creator Graham Linehan 'arrested at Heathrow over posts on X'

Father Ted co-creator Graham Linehan has said he was arrested at Heathrow Airport, over social media posts sharing his views on trans rights.

Writing on Substack, the 57-year-old said that after flying into the UK from Arizona, he was detained by five armed officers and put in a cell before being questioned over posts published on X in April.

During questioning, he said a nurse checked on him and found his blood pressure had reached “stroke territory”, so he was taken to A&E.

A Met Police spokeswoman confirmed an arrest was made at Heathrow on Monday but did not identify Linehan.

In a statement, the force said: “On Monday 1 September at 1pm officers arrested a man at Heathrow Airport after he arrived on an inbound American Airlines flight.

“The man in his 50s was arrested on suspicion of inciting violence. This is in relation to posts on X.

“After being taken to police custody, officers became concerned for his health and he was taken to hospital. His condition is neither life-threatening nor life-changing.

“He has now been bailed pending further investigation.”

The arrest was made by officers from the force’s Aviation Unit, the Met spokeswoman said, adding that it is routine for officers policing airports to carry firearms.

“These were not drawn or used at any point during the arrest,” she said.

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The BTO Kid: ‘I spent months in a coma – AI has given me a musical voice’

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The BTO Kid: 'I spent months in a coma - AI has given me a musical voice'

“AI has changed my life, absolutely,” Lucas Horne tells Sky News. “When I play my music, I’m happy because the words I know mean a lot to me can now be heard by everyone else.”

Lucas was 17 when, in December 2016, with no warning, he suffered a large, traumatic bleed across his brain.

He didn’t wake up until almost four months later.

Unknowingly, he had been living with a defect in the blood vessels known as an AVM (arteriovenous malformation), a ticking time bomb which had ruptured, and the next three years of his life were spent in recovery in a care home.

Lucas spent almost four months in a coma after suffering a brain bleed in 2016. Pic: Fanvue World AI Creator Awards
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Lucas spent almost four months in a coma after suffering a brain bleed in 2016. Pic: Fanvue World AI Creator Awards

He couldn’t walk and struggled to talk. Writing down his thoughts, almost like a diary, was something he says he wanted to do from very early on.

“During my care home days when I couldn’t really express myself very well – I still can’t – but I could write about it, it was an outlet for me,” he says. “Since I woke up, I’ve been writing… but for a long time I couldn’t record anything.”

Lucas, now 26, has spent years working on his physical recovery and speech. But when he was eventually physically able to record the songs he had been writing himself, he became frustrated by the way his voice had changed.

“It never sounded how I had [it in] my head,” he says. “I’m very monotone in how I speak, I struggle to really display emotion.”

And so he turned to AI (artificial intelligence). Now, Lucas is also known as The BTO Kid, and is one of 15 creators from around the world, shortlisted from more than 500 entries, for the inaugural Future Sound Awards – celebrating artificial intelligence in music.

DJ David Guetta is among the big-name artists who have embraced AI. Pic: Christoph Reichwein/picture-alliance/dpa/AP July 2025
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DJ David Guetta is among the big-name artists who have embraced AI. Pic: Christoph Reichwein/picture-alliance/dpa/AP July 2025

While some artists such as will.i.am, David Guetta, Grimes, Timbaland and even Sir Paul McCartney have embraced certain aspects of AI, it can be a controversial subject in the creative industries – with concerns raised by many in the about issues including copyright, human replacement, fakes, and regulation.

It was one of the issues behind the Hollywood actors’ and writers’ strikes in 2023 – and the more recent video game actor strike, which ended in June after nearly a year of industrial action.

Despite the criticism, AI isn’t going away. Last year was a “breakout” year for the technology in music, according to the International Music Summit’s latest annual business report, with 60m users using AI software.

Lucas says he is a perfect example of how the technology can be used for good.

“I’ve been able to use AI to express how I’m feeling,” he says. “It’s been big for me to create [music] that I’m proud of. I can see the arguments [against it], but from my view I know AI helped me create something I couldn’t before. I’m not Adele, but I have been able to make something that I’m proud of and that expresses my view point of what’s happened to me.”

Read more on AI in the music industry:
Will.i.am on embracing AI

AI used to help create ‘the last Beatles record

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Will.i.am starts Sky News interview with AI app

‘AI is lowering the barriers’

BTO stands for Beat The Odds and his shortlisted track is titled AI Gave Me A Voice. “I pinch myself every day because this just can’t be true,” is the opening line – which he says reflects how far he has come from the moment he woke up and discovered what had happened.

“That comes from reality. I do have moments where I think so much has happened that it must not be true… every line means something to me.”

Lucas, who lives in Nottingham, used the AI-powered music production platform TwoShot to create the track, using prompts on what he wanted for the sound alongside his lyrics, inspired by melodic rap.

“I think we’re gonna get quite a lot more people like me that can’t record music and have been given a voice through AI,” he says. “AI is lowering the barriers to entry for a lot of things.” Which can be a negative as well as a positive, he acknowledges. “We’ll have to see where it goes.”

Gallis is among 15 music creators shortlisted for the Future Sound Awards. Pic: Fanvue World AI Creator Awards
Image:
Gallis is among 15 music creators shortlisted for the Future Sound Awards. Pic: Fanvue World AI Creator Awards

Launched by the Fanvue World AI Creator Awards, The Future Sound Awards aim to highlight the ethical use of AI in music, organisers say. Fanvue is a subscription creator platform with more than 180,000 users.

Some 15 artists from the US, Europe, Australia and Asia, as well as the UK, have been shortlisted for prizes, and the winners will be announced later in September.

Lucas is one of two British creators on the list, alongside Gallis, from Essex. The 31-year-old first dipped his toe into the waters of the music industry about 10 years ago, after joining the urban-pop boy band Mr Meanor, but says the industry was hard and “it all got a bit too much”.

He is now a tattoo artist and fine painter, but continued his songwriting and started to try out AI music production tools about 18 months ago.

Read more on AI in the music industry:
‘Regulate it before we’re all finished’
‘It’s like saying you can burgle my house unless I ask you not to’
Silent album released in AI protest

UK Music organised a protest against AI copyright plans at Westminster earlier in the summer
Image:
UK Music organised a protest against AI copyright plans at Westminster earlier in the summer

AI has ‘made me more creative’

As an artist, he says he had his own concerns about AI before he started using it himself, particularly after image generators started becoming prominent online.

“It was stealing the work that I was doing,” is how he describes his initial feelings. “But I ended up jumping on board with it and for me personally, it’s inspired me so much. It’s made me quicker at what I’m doing, it’s made me more creative. And I think it’s the same with music. I think it’s gonna, if anything, grow the industry.”

However, he says he agrees with criticism about the ethics of how some AI models are trained – following controversy about work by human music artists and authors being used without consent. “And trying to impersonate exactly someone else and using someone else’s voice, I don’t agree with that at all,” he adds.

Gallis’s shortlisted song, Chiropractor emerged from “friendly competition” with a community of creators he came across when he moved into AI, trading feedback and ratings. The genre is Trinibad, which he says there isn’t enough of “in the AI world”, and the track is designed to get people dancing.

“I mainly stick to urban music, but I like writing in a lot of different styles,” he says. “I’ve done house songs, I’ve done UK drill songs, Afrobeats, amapiano. I’m a bit of a vibes man so if it makes me dance and move and smile that’s when I really enjoy it.”

Narcis Marincat, head of AI at Fanvue, says the stories behind the selected songs show a “richness and human emotion” that appealed to him and other judges.

“The impact of AI in music continues to divide opinion,” he says. “But for the first time, via the Future Sound Awards, we’re able to show a different perspective on the positive impact of AI in music – uncovering the real people behind the technology and sharing their stories and music.”

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