MASSIVE ATTACK PERFORMING AT MANCHESTER’S COOP LIVE AHEAD OF THEIR HEADLINE PERFORMANCE AT LIDO FESTIVAL IN LONDON

★★★★★ (5/5)

MASSIVE ATTACK PERFORMING AT MANCHESTER’S COOP LIVE
PHOTOCREDIT: TREV EALES

So much more than a gig . . . Politics, passionate protest, social conscience and great music intertwine as Massive Attack deliver a thought provoking audio visual masterclass at Manchester Co-op Live.

Support act 47Soul set the tone for what’s to come. The Palestinian / Jordanian trio mix traditional Middle Eastern sounds and rhythms with twenty first century electronica and excursions into hip hop. It’s a powerful mix, with vocals switching between Arabic and English which seems to add to their compelling sound. It’s an impressive performance and anyone with a taste for Middle Eastern sounds really should check them out.

Massive Attack have always mixed music, politics, personal passions and principles. It’s the enduring foundation underpinning how they approach what they do. They’ve chosen Co-op Live for their only UK arena performance of 2025 because of the firm’s ethical business model but it’s almost unravelled at the last minute. Appalled by the Co-op’s recent partnership with Barclay’s and their involvement in financing arms sales to Israel, the band have threatened to pull out. Thankfully, they agree to play, having secured the removal of all of Barclay’s logo’s and promotion from the venue. Such is their commitment and influence, they’ve also ensured that only plant based food is on sale at the venue tonight; so not a great night for some traders, carnivores and lovers of processed food.

High profile climate activist Tori Tsui precedes the headliners. Unsurprisingly, her speech calling out financial institutions, their links to fossil fuels and their funding of genocide in Gaza is well received. By now any sense that this is simply another gig have surely gone.

But maybe not for everyone . . . Part way through Massive Attack’s headline set I encounter two moaning Mancunians at the bar. Their conversation goes as follows; “The music’s okay but I can’t stand all this Palestine shit.” “I’m more interested in the price of my pint than Palestine,” comes the retort. As they wander away spilling their precious beer, it seems not quite everyone is onside.

And so to Massive Attack.

Lights dim and huge screens around the stage flicker into life. The ambient sounds of Gigi D’Agostino’s In My Mind waft across the arena as the band wander on stage. Behind them bizarre images of a monkey controlling a computer loom large. The mood changes when Robert Del Naja and Daddy G take their places. Risington immediately brings an air of menace as they trade vocals across the stage; darkness punctuated by smoke, strobing white light and subliminal messages flashing across the giant screens.

Horace Andy makes his first appearance on Girl I love. Now in his mid 70’s, he’s noticeably more physically fragile than when I last saw him six years ago. Going forward, it must be a worry as he’s such an integral part of the band. Up next, Elizabeth Frazer adorns the classic trip hop rhythms of Black Milk with her mesmerising voice. She’ll return later for a truly exquisite performance on Teardrop.

Future Proof brings a returning sense of menace and darkness, played under a red glow backed by flashing computer data. It’s an atmosphere amplified a little later by Inertia Creeps; for your reviewer, probably the musical highlight of the night. Tonight, the song feels like a force of nature. As the track builds, the band’s dual drummers reveal their power while visceral guitar emits a sense of real aggression. Meanwhile, flashing strobes give way to images of Trump, Putin, and Netanyahu interwoven with scenes of destruction in Gaza and Ukraine. It’s just incredibly powerful!

So how do you follow that? Everything brightens for an energetic cover of Ultravox’s ROckwrok – a song that’s originally sampled in Inertia Creeps. It’s the on screen visuals that bring the track to life – a three minute kaleidoscopic barrage of images and text aimed at conspiracy theorists and social media addicts. It’s both ironic and worrying that the target audience probably don’t realise that it’s aimed at them.

As the mood changes, Horace Andy returns for a wonderful rendition of Angel, before Deborah Miller appears to sing Safe From Home and Unfinished Sympathy. The latter garnering probably the best audience response of the night.

An uplifting snippet of Avici’s Levels brings a false dawn of optimism before Elizabeth Frazer returns to duet on Group 4. Her voice brings an ethereal feel to the track’s beginnings but there’s a sense of impending darkness as guitar and drums kick in. Above the performers, images of jolly dancing give way to authoritarian violence. Mary Poppins fades to scenes from vintage horror movies and the KKK. The voice of an angel is juxtaposed with visions of a dystopian world framed by authoritarian violence. Before the track comes to a close, heavenly images trade places with Benjamin Netanyahu’s face.

And then they’re gone, into the night. Massive Attack don’t play by the usual rules. There’s no pretence of returning for an encore. Tonight, the band have been faultless. Vocalists and musicians have captured the essence of every track while the ever changing visual backdrop’s provided brilliant enhancement. But they haven’t just come to entertain, they’ve come to make us think, to consider our place and role in a world increasingly dominated by far right authoritarianism.

Have they succeeded? For your reviewer, absolutely; tonight’s been a complete triumph. As for the two miserable Mancunians cherishing their beer, I suspect not.