Thursday, October 23, 2014

'Calypso' canned

So Mike Read, the DJ who in the 1980s refused to play Frankie Goes To Hollywood's 'Relax' on the grounds that it was "obscene", has now found his own single 'UKIP Calypso' - a song in praise of Nigel Farage - branded offensive. Karma's a bitch, ain't it Mike?

That said, while the song's casual racism isn't merely "a bit of fun" (as both Read and UKIP would have us believe), it's not exactly the worst thing a Radio 1 DJ has ever done...

Predictably enough, UKIP have bleated about "synthetic outrage" and "the 'right-on' media" that have led Read to ask for the single to be withdrawn from sale. Even more amusingly, the charity earmarked to benefit from the proceeds, the Red Cross, has given the party a slap in the face by sticking to their principles and turning down the donation: "As a neutral organisation, we cannot benefit from something which overtly supports one political party. In addition, the Red Cross has a proud history of helping refugees and asylum seekers who are negatively referred to in the lyrics."

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