Geordie Greep denies sexual assault allegations from stage in Vancouver

When Geordie Greep finally took to the stage in Vancouver this week, noticeably without his band, the crowd was hushed and the atmosphere tense. His lateness, however was the least of his problems.

Greep, a Brit school graduate and the former frontman of Black Midi, had been accused of sexually assaulting a woman while on tour. Flyers had been handed out outside the venue spelling out the allegation against him. “Let him know what Vancouver thinks of rapists,” they read.

What followed was an astonishing speech by Greep, who dealt with the accusations head on. While some of his fans inside the Pearl heard him out, others made for the exit.

“This is a very serious matter that I must talk about,” he said. “Someone out front is handing out flyers saying I’m this, saying I’m that … and it needs to be talked about.” He added: “I would never rape a woman. I’m not a rapist. It’s not how that went down.”

The flyers, which fans posted images of online, were detailed in their allegations. “You know what you did this morning Oct 8th,” it read, and: “He thinks he can do whatever he wants because he’s gone tomorrow.” Greep’s response was even more so.

He said: “Essentially what happened last night … me and some of the band, we went out to some bars. We went around, we met people. And it ended up in a situation where really late at a house party I got the wrong end of the stick with someone that was there.”

“I made a move and it didn’t come off,” he said, “and I really quickly of course apologised. It was a complete misunderstanding on my part. It felt extremely bad and I feel extremely sorry and extremely upset about the whole situation.”

He added: “Basically I just wanted to be transparent with you about what happened. Very very sorry to someone … I made someone feel uncomfortable without meaning to. It’s not a good thing … and it’s not good.”

Greep went on to explain the absence of his usual backing band, saying: “I didn’t want to force them to still play a show in the light of that happening. We were unsure what would, kind of, be the response in all of this. I can only tell you that it’s OK if people want a refund, if they want to leave it’s fine.”

The 27-year-old added that proceeds from the evening’s event would be donated to a violence against women charity in British Columbia. Afterwards, Greep said that he would continue the show alone if the crowd wished. “It’s just gonna be me,” he said, “just like the old days.” Reports from fans online show that the musician continued with a solo set. Some members of the crowd could be heard cheering.

Alex Lacidos witnessed the “jarring” speech. “The crowd was really confused, we had been waiting for more than two hours,” he said. “After his talk he started his performance by himself, the vibes were awful and it looked like he was about to burst into tears.

“Many people left before it was over.”

Reddit user wreeum – who recorded the concert – said he felt “conflicted” about the incident and that it was “a huge allegation to make on the same day it happened, especially to print out several dozen flyers”. He added: “Sexual assault shouldn’t be taken lightly.”

Another fan who was present at the gig wrote on X: “Went to the Geordie Greep concert tonight, left after his little speech. I really don’t know what to think.”

Greep is on tour in North America with his debut solo album, The New Sound.

His previous band Black Midi released their album Schlagenheim in 2019, and it was shortlisted for the Mercury prize. After speculation around the band’s breakup, the group was disbanded in 2024 following a live-streamed announcement by Greep on Instagram.

Greep and his current backing band were still down to play a show in Boise, Idaho on Friday as they continue a series of gigs in the US before a European leg in November.