Radiohead condemns 'violent intolerance' after fans are attacked at Turkish release party
"We hope that someday we will be able to look back on such acts of violent intolerance as things of the ancient past," Radiohead said in a statement to Pitchfork after a group of men attacked fans during a release party for A Moon Shaped Pool in Istanbul, Turkey.
Velvet IndieGround was the only Turkish record shop to host an album release party as part of Radiohead's global streaming events to support the physical release of their new album, one month after its arrival on Apple Music and Tidal.
"We can only offer our fans in Istanbul our love and support."
The attack was first captured in a live-stream on Periscope and was later uploaded to YouTube.
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Fans were listening to the new album at the Turkish music store when a group of men carrying sticks stormed into the shop and began attacking customers, as well as employees.
According to Turkish website Posta, the men were upset that the costumers were listening to music and consuming alcohol during the holy month of Ramadan.
According to Velvet IndieGround's Facebook page as well as Rolling Stone, no one was seriously injured in the incident but one person was bloodied after being hit in the head with a bottle.
A man claiming to be one of the store’s owners posted his account of the events on reddit:
They were determined to kill us. We were beaten by more than 20 men with pipes in their hands, beer bottles were broken on our heads. I don’t even know how we made it out. I will share the details later guys, just hoping that no one will die.
Survivors of the attack are also posting their accounts, as well as graphic photos of their injuries, to the Facebook event page for the listening party.
Radiohead's full statement:
Our hearts go out to those attacked tonight at Velvet IndieGround in Istanbul. We hope that someday we will be able to look back on such acts of violent intolerance as things of the ancient past. For now, we can only offer our fans in Istanbul our love and support.
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A lover of satirical debate, wine and a good bowl of guac. Originally from Ethiopia, Mariya received a B.A. from Vassar College, where she studied international relations, with a regional focus on the Middle East and concentrations in political science, history and film.
