Radiohead Condemn ‘Violent Intolerance’ at Turkish Release Party

Thom Yorke of Radiohead. Photo by Palco Principal/CC SA-2.0

Radiohead have issued a statement after A Moon Shaped Pool album release party in Istanbul, Turkey turned violent when a group of men, angry that the event coincided with Ramadan, accosted employees and customers at Velvet IndieGround Records.

Video of the attack was first live-streamed on Periscope. In the video, customers at the Velvet IndieGround are listening to Radiohead when a group of men carrying sticks, upset that people were listening to music and consuming alcohol during the holy month of Ramadan, entered the shop and yelled at an employee, Turkey’sPosta reported.

The altercation continued outside as the men and listening party attendees yelled at each other in the street. Eventually, the mob smashed out Velvet IndieGround’s glass door and windows and began physically attacking attendees. Although no one was seriously injured in the incident, one person was bloodied after being hit in the head with a bottle, Velvet IndieGround’s Facebook page alerted its followers.

Velvet IndieGround was one of hundreds of independent record stores celebrating the physical release of Radiohead’s new album with a worldwide “Live From A Moon Shaped Pool” listening event. Velvet IndieGround was the lone Turkish record shop to host the album release party.

Watch video of the incident below: