Friendly Fires hit out at Tories for using their song at Boris Johnson’s conference speech

Published

3 years ago

October 6, 2021

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A British band has hit out at the Conservatives for using one of its songs during Boris Johnson’s keynote speech at the party conference.

The prime minister entered the conference hall in Manchester on Wednesday to Friendly Fires’ 2011 tune Blue Cassette.

But the indie rock group from St Albans quickly let the world know they were not happy about being associated with the Tories, or Mr Johnson, in a strongly worded statement where they called the party a “bunch of corrupt w*****s”.

They said: “We do not endorse the Conservative party’s use of our track ‘Blue Cassette’.

“Our permission was not sought, and we have asked our management to make sure it isn’t used again.

“If we’d have intended them to use it, we’d have named the track ‘Blue Bunch Of Corrupt W*****s’.”

Finally, they added a screenshot of a story saying Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg claimed food banks were “rather uplifting”.

“If Boris Johnson needed something uplifting to walk on to, perhaps he should have used the sound of a busy food bank,” they said.

Within a couple of hours, the band’s tweet with the statement in had gone viral.

Venues do not have to get specific permission from individual artists to play their music as most are covered by obtaining a music licence.

An industry body collects the music licence fees, determined by venue size and usage type, and distributes them to the artists.

It is illegal to use copyrighted music at an event without the appropriate permissions and can incur a fine.

Dozens of well-known musicians have called out former US President Donald Trump for using their songs during his rallies.

Adele, Aerosmith, Bruce Springsteen, Sir Elton John, Gun N’ Roses, Pharrell Williams, The Rolling Stones and Village People are among the musicians who have publicly voiced their anger about him using their music.

Some have taken legal action.

Entertainment

Bill Cobbs: Night At The Museum actor dies aged 90

Published

14 hours ago

June 27, 2024

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Bill Cobbs: Night At The Museum actor dies aged 90

American actor Bill Cobbs has died at the age of 90.

He was best known for his roles as security guard Reggie in the 2006 film Night At The Museum, and as Whitney Houston’s manager Bill Devaney in the 1992 film The Bodyguard.

He also featured in the former’s sequel Secret Of The Tomb, released in 2014.

The veteran actor died on Tuesday evening in the Inland Empire, California, his agent told the PA news agency.

His agent said Cobbs was surrounded by his family and is thought to have died of natural causes.

Other roles Cobbs will be remembered for include Arthur Chaney in Air Bud, Moses the Clock Man in The Hudsucker Proxy and Dr Elton Lloyd in Sunshine State.

His TV credits included appearances on The Sopranos, The West Wing, Sesame Street and ER.

In total, Cobbs featured in 200 films and TV programmes throughout his career.

In 2020, he won an Emmy award for outstanding limited performance in a daytime programme for the series Dino Dana.

In a statement on X, Wendell Pierce, who appeared alongside Cobbs in I’ll Fly Away and The Gregory Hines Show, described him as a “father figure”.

“To honour Bill and his memory, I will dedicate myself to creating work he would be proud of,” he said.

Entertainment

Travis Kelce reveals what he thinks about Prince William after meeting at Taylor Swift concert

Published

21 hours ago

June 27, 2024

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Travis Kelce reveals what he thinks about Prince William after meeting at Taylor Swift concert

Travis Kelce has revealed what he thought of the Prince of Wales after meeting the royal at his girlfriend Taylor Swift’s London concert.

The American football tight end, who has been in a relationship with Swift since September 2023, joined the singer as she met Prince William, and his children Prince George and Princess Charlotte, at last Friday’s show at London’s Wembley Stadium.

A picture of the group was posted on Instagram on 21 June, the same day as William’s 42nd birthday.

Describing the royal meet on podcast New Heights, which he hosts with his brother Jason, Kelce said: “He [Prince William] was the coolest m*****f*****.

“They were an absolute delight to me, I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to bow to them or curtsy, or just be an American idiot and shake their hand.”

Jason, who retired from the NFL back in March, added that they were given guidance before meeting the royals that because it was not an official event they did not need to bow.

“The highlight was Princess Charlotte, Prince George was great too, but she was so f****** adorable,” the former Philadelphia Eagles player said.

“I cannot express how much of a superstar she was.

“Maybe it’s because I have three girls now, but she had fire to her, she was asking questions, that was the most electric part of it.”

Praising William’s parenting technique, Kelce said it seemed like nine-year-old Charlotte had been encouraged to be “present and vocal” and was asking questions.

The pair also had high praise for London itself, from the scenery to the better tasting beer.

“The beers, they’re a little bit tastier over here, they’ve been doing it for a little bit longer, it does taste really nice over here,” Kelce said, adding: “The scenery is awesome, it kind of switches depending on which part of London you’re in, and I like that.”

In the ultimate seal of approval he said the only team he would leave the Kansas City Chiefs for would be a team based in London as he said the city was “awesome”.

On night three – of eight Swift will perform in London in total this year – Kelce joined the US pop star on stage sending the crowd of almost 90,000 wild.

It is the first time the footballer has appeared on stage, while his brother Jason revealed the shows in the capital was the first time he had seen the singer perform live.

Entertainment

Glastonbury: Shania Twain says she wants to ride a horse to her set

Published

2 days ago

June 26, 2024

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Glastonbury: Shania Twain says she wants to ride a horse to her set

Shania Twain is hoping to arrive for her Glastonbury set in style by riding a horse to the Pyramid Stage – but admits she’ll “have to find out if it’s allowed”.

The country music icon will be following in the footsteps of Dolly Parton, Diana Ross, and Johnny Cash as she takes to the stage for the prestigious legends slot on Sunday – usually a highlight of the festival weekend.

Asked if she had any special plans for her show, the Canadian singer told BBC Breakfast: “I love horses. I love animals, I’m going to see if there’s a horse around I can borrow.”

She continued: “I’d love to ride a horse to the stage… I’ll have to find out if it’s allowed.”

It wouldn’t be the first time the 58-year-old singer has incorporated a horse into her performance.

Twain used to sing her hit “You’re Still The One” while sitting on the back of a white horse during her Las Vegas residency at Caesars Palace between 2012 and 2014.

She was also seen riding a horse through a yucca plantation in the video for her 2005 single Don’t!.

Twain also often appears on social media with her own horses – including three Tennessee walking horses and two American saddlebreds.

Meanwhile, Twain has suggested her Glastonbury show will be free of guest appearances – ruling out sharing the stage with Harry Styles two years after they sang together at Coachella.

The singer said she is “overwhelmed” to be following in the footsteps of music icons such as Barry Gibb, Kylie Minogue, and Lionel Ritchie – who have all graced the stage for the Legends slot in previous years.

She said: “It’s been explained to me that it is a real event, a once in a lifetime thing. Everyone keeps going: ‘Let me tell you about it. Let me tell you about my experiences’.”

Twain’s 1997 album Come On Over is one of the top 10 best-selling global albums of all time and its singles, including Don’t Be Stupid (You Know I Love You) and From This Moment On, will likely feature in her Glastonbury set list.

She said: “I’m planning on getting up there and having so much fun. I’d love to be able to sing with everyone and be a part of the journey of the crowd. So, I’m going to do everything familiar. I want to do the hits. I want to do what they know.”

Thousands of festival-goers will descend on Worth Farm in Somerset as the world-famous festival opens its gates on Wednesday.

The Met Office has said campers can expect “mostly warm, dry and settled” weather for the next five days, but scattered showers could begin from day one and last until the end of the weekend.

This year’s event will see headline performances from global stars including pop singer Dua Lipa, Coldplay, and American singer Sza.

Other attractions at the 900-acre festival, which runs from Wednesday until Sunday, include speeches, film screenings and Q&As, circus performances, comedy sets and more.