The slick Bristolian trip-hoppers Portishead came together last night (2nd of May 2022) to play their first live set since 2015. The show took place in Bristol’s O2 Academy and was put on to support War Child UK who provides essential aid to children affected by global conflicts all over the world. Alongside Portishead, other artists such as IDLES, Katy J Pearson, Heavy Lungs, Willie J Healy and Billy Nomates came out in force to play in support of the charity. You can see the official poster down below:
Portishead last made a live appearance at the Spanish Benicássim Festival in 2015 but sounded as great as ever last night. Playing their brand of seductive classics like “Wandering Star”, “Dummy”, “Magic Doors”, “Mysterons” and “The Rip”. Take a look at some of the footage from last night’s show in the videos below:
.@Portisheadinfo are LIVE right now for the first time since 2015! There’s still time to tune in. Donate £5 to watch > https://t.co/0AKyp8FJEu #WarChild @o2academybris pic.twitter.com/Dw9oRN7Hpg
— War Child UK (@WarChildUK) May 2, 2022
PORTISHEAD – Roads 02/05/2022 #Portishead #WarChild @Portisheadinfo @o2academybris pic.twitter.com/pi5CylhxAv — KID A (@KID_A_OK) May 2, 2022
Portishead pic.twitter.com/EyfkFcBoru
— Dan Grabham (@dangrabham) May 2, 2022
A very special performance from #Portishead Reunited for Ukraine Charity gig @WarChildUK @Portisheadinfo pic.twitter.com/QOkIj4gJtC
— Rhian Chase (@DrRhianFuge) May 2, 2022
The benefit gig, which was announced last month, gave people the opportunity to win tickets via a £10 donation prize draw, with the lucky winners selected at random. In this instance, all proceeds from the concert will go to help the children of Ukraine as the current conflict has led to 1.45 million people being forced to flee the country (the biggest mass migration of European people since World War II). The UK government has also matched the funding from the concert to go towards humanitarian efforts in Yemen.
In a statement made at the announcement of the show, Portishead said; “We are really pleased to be able to support the people of Ukraine by performing a few songs at this event in collaboration with the amazing War Child charity,”
Amid the current crisis at the hands of the Russian invasion, this benefit is the latest in a swathe of charitable endeavours that have been made by people across the music industry. In March, ITV hosted a Concert for Ukraine which was broadcast in support of the DEC’s (Disasters Emergency Committee) Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal. The star-studded lineup saw the likes of Ed Sheeran, Manic Street Preachers, Camila Cabello, Nile Rodgers (and many more) raise over £12 million for the cause, with the number expected to rise as donations continue to flood in.
One of the most notable instances of a band going above and beyond is Arcade Fire and the series of benefit concerts they have done in New York and New Orleans, most recently four gigs taking place in March raised over $100,000 for the PLUS1 Ukraine Relief Fund.
If you would like to help the plight of the people of Ukrainian people in their time of need, you can find links to relevant, registered charities down below:
https://www.concern.org.uk/donate/ukraine-humanitarian-appeal
https://www.unicef.org.uk/donate/donate-now-to-protect-children-in-ukraine
