Dublin rock band Fight Like Apes has covered Sinéad O'Connor's "Black Boys on Mopeds" to benefit the Lajee Centre in the Aida Refugee Camp in Palestine.
Fight Like Apes' cover of O’Connor's "Black Boys On Mopeds," which featured on her 1990 Grammy-winning album "I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got," is set to be released on March 15.
March 15th. pic.twitter.com/RUAkdUQyY7
— Fight Like Apes (@fightlikeapes) March 5, 2024
Mary-Kate 'MayKay' Geraghty, frontwoman for Fight Likes Apes, said: "I was in Aida refugee camp in the occupied West Bank of Palestine when I heard Sinéad O’Connor had died. There was no one there that didn’t know who she was and why she was so important.
"We had a sing-song late into that night on the roof, Irish people singing Sinéad songs, Palestinian people singing beautiful folk songs in Arabic.
"Back when she released this song in 1990, like most things she did, it was so brave to speak the way she did. Truly brave. She was mocked, ostracised, shamed.
“These are dangerous days, to say what you feel is to make your own grave”
Geraghty continued: "Because of [Sinéad O'Connor] and her relentless energy for speaking truth to power, it’s not dangerous these days for people like us to speak out. She paved the way.
"We owe this to her."
Fellow Fight Like Apes musician Jamie Fox added: "It's very sad that this song is as, if not more, relevant today as it was when was released 34 years ago.
"'Black Boys on Mopeds' is a prayer for shared humanity, a prayer from Sinéad that her child wouldn't have to live in a world that was unjust and devoid of compassion.
"If you don't want to play our version, play Sinéad’s version and listen."
MayKay is also a member of Irish Artists For Palestine (IAFP), a collective of Irish artists advocating for Palestinian freedom through solidarity, activism, and fundraising initiatives.
An IAFP call-out says: “This St. Patrick’s Day, IAFP invites artists at home and abroad to use our platforms, big and small, to send a global message of solidarity to Palestine.
"As we organize, parade, and perform all over the world, let us take this opportunity to unite in a global call to end the genocide in Gaza.”
You can make a donation to the Lajee Centre in the Aida Refugee Camp in the West Bank online here.
Fight Like Apes' cover of "Black Boys on Mopeds" will be released on March 15.
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