“I don’t know why I keep believing that I could keep a secret in Ireland”: Fatboy Slim secret gig cancelled after too many people find out about it

Fatboy Slim was supposed to do a secret set at the Irish festival, Electric Picnic, over the weekend. But it never happened – too many fans found out about it and the idea had to be abandoned.

The DJ was one of the headliners of the event, in County Laois, alongside Chappell Roan, Hozier and Sam Fender. But he was also due to play an extra 90 minute set on the smaller Salty Dog stage. However, as promoter Melvin Benn explained to Irish newspaper The Journal, that didn’t happen.

“Unfortunately, it was supposed to be a secret,” Benn lamented. “I don’t know why I keep believing that I could keep a secret in Ireland.”

“It would have been amazing, he was going to play a different set for 90 minutes,” the promoter added. “He was hugely disappointed and in all honesty, I think I’ve let him down, but I’ve let all the fans down as well.”

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But being a responsible promoter, he explained he couldn’t let the gig go ahead. “We have to keep safe, and ultimately the decision was taken on safety grounds and that was the right decision, as disappointing as it was for me and for him.”

Other than the headliners, the festival’s other big draw were Kneecap, who used their platform to accuse the Irish government of “being complicit in genocide” because they “facilitate the sale of Israeli war bonds”.

Benn had said upfront that unlike other festivals he would put no restrictions on what Kneecap could and couldn’t say, and was rewarded by the band thanking him from the stage.

“I was a little surprised that Kneecap made a reference to me actually,” Benn said.

“It’s different in the UK; I’ve had to spend time in their dressing room reading them the riot act about what they can and can’t say in England. But of course, those restrictions are not here in Ireland.”