Paul Weller, Madness, Bobby Gillespie and Glen Matlock set for London’s Artists for Gaza fundraiser

Paul Weller, Madness, Bobby Gillespie and Glen Matlock are among the names lining up for Artists for Gaza’s latest fundraiser at London’s Scala this Sunday, May 17.

The night is returning in support of the Health Workers 4 Palestine Gaza Medics Solidarity Fund, which helps rebuild maternity wards in Gaza, funds mobile clinics and pays stipends to Gazan medics. Tickets and donations are available here.

The project has already raised serious money. The first two Artists for Gaza events brought in more than £55,000 for UNICEF’s Gaza appeal, with the funds used for urgent aid including food, medical care and shelter amid the ongoing humanitarian crisis. A UN commission inquiry concluded in September that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza, which Israel has denied, according to BBC News.

This year’s bill brings together a properly loaded cast. Weller will perform alongside Sex Pistols bassist Matlock, while Madness figures Suggs, Barso, Bedders and Lee Thompson are also set to appear. Roxy Music saxophonist Andy Mackay, Dexys Midnight Runners founder Kevin Rowland and Clive Langer of Deaf School are among the other live names on stage.

The DJ side is no less packed: The Specials founder Jerry Dammers, Gilles Peterson, Simon Bartholomew, Aitch B of Soul II Soul, DJ Prime Cuts, David Holmes, The Beirut Collective, Jeremy Healey, Lascelles Gordon and Gillespie are all scheduled to play sets.

Gillespie, speaking about the event, called Artists for Gaza founder Chris Sullivan “an old friend who I respect very much.” He added: “When he told me what he was planning to do with the people being massacred in Gaza by the Israeli Occupation Forces I said I would love to be involved.

“I believe it’s the human rights issue of our time. A grave historical injustice has been done to the Palestinian people. Our government are complicit in the genocide prosecuted by Israel. I support the Palestinian people’s struggle for equal rights and justice.”

Rowland was equally direct about why he wanted to be involved. “I want to play Artists for Gaza because it’s my duty as a human being to do whatever I possibly can,” he said. “Innocent people are being slaughtered and our government don’t care.”

Beyond those sets, the night will also feature Galliano, Natty Bo and the Top Cats, the Errol Linton Band and The Black Kat Boppers. There will be a vintage vinyl room too, with Eddie “Acid Jazz” Pillar, Bob Jones, Snowboy, Dean Thatcher, Paul “Smiler” Anderson, plus Northern Soul selections from Wigan Casino regulars Amanda and Val, 6Ts all-nighter at the 100 Club founder Ady Croasdell and Lewisham’s Heart of Soul Squad.

A separate reggae room will host selectors including MC Kinky, Oxman, Dub Vendor, producer Howie B, Gaz “Rockin Blues” Mayall, Keith Lawrence of Mi-Soul, Darren Bennet and dancehall pioneer Father Festus Coxsone.

Paul Simonon of The Clash and Bobby Gillespie of Primal Scream DJing at ‘Artists For Gaza’ benefit, 2025. CREDIT: David Corio/Redferns

The event also carries a personal note. This month’s Artists for Gaza fundraiser will be held in memory of Finbar Sullivan, the son of Chris Sullivan and Leah Seresin, who died in April this year.

Press materials say Finbar was deeply affected by the suffering of children in Gaza, which prompted his father to start Artists for Gaza. They also note that he was involved from the beginning, making this year’s dedication a fitting one.

This won’t be the first time Gillespie and Weller have joined forces for Palestine-related fundraising. In 2024, both appeared with Kneecap at a Gig For Gaza charity show at the O2 Academy Brixton.

That event was framed as a chance to bring together “some extraordinary talent to raise much-needed funds and awareness,” with all proceeds going directly to MAP (Medical Aid For Palestinians) and Gaza Forever, both of which provide food, medical supplies and emergency shelter.

Before that, Primal Scream had worked on a shirt design for a Palestinian refugee football team, while Weller had made his position plain by saying he was “against genocides and ethnic cleansing” and performing with a Palestinian flag draped over his guitar amp.

The pair also joined dozens of other artists in signing a Heavenly Recordings letter backing musicians’ and artists’ right to freedom of expression, after the backlash to Kneecap’s comments in support of Palestine and pressure to remove them from festival line-ups.