Category Archives: Music

Tory turned Labour MP lies about Roger Waters and has his *rse handed to him

No anti-Semitism here: this shot from Roger Waters’s Berlin concert shows the flying pig (from the cover of the Pink Floyd album ‘Animals’. It is emblazoned with many slogans but not with the Star of David, as liars have claimed.

I wonder if Keir Starmer put Christian Wakeford up to this.

In the House of Commons last Thursday, he lied to his fellow MPs as follows:

“Roger Waters is due to play at the AO Arena in Manchester next month. Mr Waters performed in Berlin this week and used the name of Anne Frank to stoke division, performed while dressed as an SS soldier and used the star of David on a giant pig to insinuate that Jewish people run the world, forcing the Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester to issue a statement condemning his divisive actions. Will the Leader of the House agree that such concerts have no place in our society and should not go ahead? Will she agree to a debate in Government time on the record levels of anti-Jewish hatred in this country?”

None of what Wakeford said about Roger Waters’s performance was true. Not a single word.

This Site has already addressed the mention of Anne Frank, whose name was mentioned in connection with that of murdered Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. I’ll repeat it here, for anybody coming late to this scandal:

The claim is that this is anti-Semitic because it links Israel with Nazism (Shireen Abu Akleh was shot dead by Israeli military forces and Anne Frank died in a Nazi concentration camp).

it seems far more likely that the musician was linking Jewish people with Palestinians by pointing out that both races have suffered oppression – the former historically and the latter currently.

In both cases, their only crime (according to the on-screen verbiage) was belonging to a race that a foreign political regime had chosen to oppress, and in both cases the result was the same: death.

As for the pig… Here’s Alex Nunns:

He’s mistaken on that last point; we need to engage with that stupidity in order to shut it down. Fortunately, Twitter itself has been on hand to set the false claim right:

The material Roger Waters is performing has been a part of popular culture for nearly half a century and has not been questioned before. There’s a very easy answer to the question, “Why now?”

Roger Waters himself has made the following statement:

The statement reads:

“My recent performance in Berlin has attracted bad faith attacks from those who want to smear and silence me because they disagree with my political views and moral principles.

“The elements of my performance that have been questioned are quite clearly a statement in opposition to fascism, injustice, and bigotry in all its forms. Attempts to portray those elements as something else are disingenuous and politically motivated. The depiction of an unhinged fascist demagogue has been a feature of my shows since Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” in 1980.

“I have spent my entire life speaking out against authoritarianism and oppression wherever I see it. When I was a child after the war, the name of Anne Frank was often spoken in our house, she became a permanent reminder of what happens when fascism is left unchecked. My parents fought the Nazis in World War II, with my father paying the ultimate price.

“Regardless of the consequences of the attacks against me, I will continue to condemn injustice and all those who perpetrate it.”

So there you have it. No Star of David on the pig, no anti-Semitism in the show. Just a lot of hatred stirred up against a man whose father died fighting the Nazis, and all of it politically-motivated.

All of it could have been disproved by broadcasters (and, indeed, political party leaderships), simply by watching video of the show. Here, I’ll show you how easy it is:

And that brings us back to Christian Wakeford.

There is no excuse for him to have brought these lies about one of the UK’s pop music – indeed, pop culture – legends to Parliament. The facts were available to him before he spoke in the House of Commons.

So either he was ignorant of the facts, which makes him too stupid to be a member of Parliament because he did not do his research properly, and he should make a statement to the Commons, correcting the record…

Or he was deliberately lying, in which case the Speaker should launch proceedings against him for contempt of Parliament and an investigation should take place with possible expulsion as the most extreme sanction against him.

And in the background, I wonder if somebody else put him up to it. Labour leader Keir Starmer is known to be influenced by those lobbyists who scream “anti-Semitism!” at every opportunity.

What’s his role in this? Did he authorise Wakeford to make his statement? Did he ask him to?

And what’s the best thing we can say about Starmer, Wakeford and their party, in the context of this controversy?

Is it that they are just another brick in the wall?


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Are Roger Waters’ Germany concerts really anti-Semitic?

Many may say it’s not my business to judge, because I haven’t attended any of these shows.

But then, it seems many are also being influenced by strongly pro-Israeli writers on the social media, and I dare say their opinions will be treated as valid. Either way, if my conclusions are inaccurate I’m ready to stand corrected by anybody with a well-reasoned argument.

The complaint is that former Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters has displayed anti-Semitism in his current tour, with the latest shows in Germany attracting particularly strong criticism.

A show in Frankfurt was cancelled at one point, due to concerns that had been raised – but Waters took the matter to court and the event was reinstated. This suggests there is no legal basis for the claim made against these performances.

If there were, then it seems enormously unlikely that they would be allowed to take place in Germany, a country that may be (perhaps should be) forever in penitance for the genuine anti-Semitism, persecution and genocide of Jewish people during the 12 years of Nazi government there.

Part of the show that has attracted particular attention is a moment when the names of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh and world-famous diarist Anne Frank were projected on screens around the stage (see above).

The claim is that this is anti-Semitic because it links Israel with Nazism (Shireen Abu Akleh was shot dead by Israeli military forces and Anne Frank died in a Nazi concentration camp).

But is the government of Israel really every Jew? If so, are we to take it that the Nazis of 1933-45 are representative of every German in 2023? That is the logical supposition behind the claim. I tend to believe that it fails because Germans would not attend a performance by anybody who makes such a claim about them.

To me, it seems far more likely that the musician was linking Jewish people with Palestinians by pointing out that both races have suffered oppression – the former historically and the latter currently.

In both cases, their only crime (according to the on-screen verbiage) was belonging to a race that a foreign political regime had chosen to oppress, and in both cases the result was the same: death.

I’m aware that many say any comparison between the activities of anybody who is Jewish and those of the Nazis is an act of anti-Semitism but this makes it too easy to whitewash unacceptable acts of violence like the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh.

If the activities of the Israeli Defence Force are comparable in any way with those of the Nazis, then any such similarities need to be dragged under the spotlight and examined because if they were found to be accurate, then it would be the Israeli military who had betrayed their fellow Jews by acting in that way – not anybody who pointed out what they were doing.

Nobody could suggest that those people were acting on behalf of all Jews by (in this example) killing a Palestinian journalist and be taken seriously.

A further criticism of the show is that Roger Waters appears to don a Nazi uniform and mime firing a machine gun into the audience. This is supposed to demonstrate sympathy for the Nazis.

But, again, this claim is not supportable. In a show that attacks Nazi atrocities like the oppression and eventual death of Anne Frank, it is not reasonable to suggest that the performer is himself a Nazi sympathiser.

Instead, I question the motives of those making the accusations. They have no factual grounds on which to base their claims. It seems to me that they are simply trying to stir up an emotional response instead – mass hysteria if you like – against Roger Waters.

I wonder why they would want to do such a thing. What do you think?


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Musical activism: new track aims to speak truth to power

You need to hear this:

The musician behind the track – KRANTZ – has told me a little about the track and his reasons for making it.

He said, “12 YEARS is about the disastrous 12, almost 13, years the Tories have been in power.

“I believe it is vital to remind people of this fact so we have a better chance of implementing real change and removing the Tories in the next election.

“Music has always had the power to change hearts and minds, therefore I wanted to produce powerful and memorable songs using the dialogue of those publicly speaking truth to power to help them widen their reach.” In this case, the dialogue was from LBC Radio’s James O’Brien.

“I believe this alternative musical collaborative approach has the potential to reach people who would otherwise be apathetic or inaccessible, therefore increasing the opportunity to plant some very necessary seeds.”

Future tracks include another with words by James O’Brien, along with tracks featuring Bernie Sanders, his friend and ally Nina Turner, and Gary Stevenson. I’ve heard part of the next one and I think it will be even better than this.

You can download 12 YEARS here: https://krantzofficial.bandcamp.com


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Shapps pretends to be money-saving expert – but Martin Lewis has other concerns…

Isn’t it offensive when government ministers pretend to be concerned about the well-being of the proles and try to show us how to save money?

And isn’t it worse when media giants like the BBC play into their hands?

Perhaps that’s why Grant Shapps’s attempt to play at being money-saving expert Martin Lewis fell as flat as it did:

This Writer hasn’t heard Mr Lewis saying anything about it – but then, he’s been wrapped up in other concerns…

He has joined YouTube stars Mark and Roxanne Hall – otherwise known as LadBaby – to record a Christmas song raising money for people affected by the cost-of-living crisis created by Tory ministers like Shapps.

Proceeds from their cover of Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas will be shared equally between food bank charity The Trussell Trust and the Band Aid Foundation.

According to the BBC (how ironic),

“We never intended to release a fifth Christmas single but as ambassadors of the Trussell Trust we were not prepared to sit back and do nothing in a year when people are struggling more than ever,” Mark and Roxanne said in a statement.

They approached Bob Geldof and Midge Ure (the original writers of Do They Know It’s Christmas) to ask for permission six months ago.

“I wasn’t as difficult as people might think,” said Mark.

“Bob said he was excited to see what we were going to do, and they’ve approved everything – all the lyrics we wrote, the music video, who we got involved. Everything.”

Lewis said he was amazed to have been approached for help.

“I thought they’d confused me with someone else,” he said. “The nearest I’ve ever got to thinking about a Christmas number one is going to the loo on Boxing Day after too much orange juice the day before.

“Yet once I knew they were serious, and it was for the Trussell Trust, a hugely important charity I’ve a history with, I decided to give it a go, and do it with gusto.”

Mark said he had approached the money-saving expert because “he knows more than most how to help people in this country”.

Here’s the result of their work:

The song is available right now, right here:  https://ladbaby.lnk.to/FoodAidID!6

Remember: 100 per cent of profits from every download of the recording will go towards the fight against food hunger – and that could make a real difference to lives across the country.

Because They Vote Tory – new music from the group behind Suella de Vil

Matt Hancock: this may well be his reaction when he hears this song.

They’re called Send-a-Song and their day job is producing personalised music – “from re-imagined operatic classics to brand new original songs”. Apparently this is just a bit of fun on the side.

Their new piece – following up on the smash hit (on This Site, at least) Suella de Vil is called Because They Vote Tory and is based on Sam Smith’s Bodyshop.

Send-a-Song’s own comment on it is: “Not our usual style, but this song BANGS.”

Do you agree?

@send_a_song Our parody of Sam Smith’s Bodyshop. Not our usual style, but this song BANGS. #britishpolitics #costoflivinfcrisis #imaceleb #imacelebritygetmeoutofhere #matthancock #rishisunak #ukpolitics #politicaltiktok #fyp #funny #ukcomedy #politicalsatire #jamesobrien #toriesout #torieshatethepoor #jeremyhunt #foryou ♬ original sound – SendaSong

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It’s Hard To Be A Tory – listen to this new political song [STRONG LANGUAGE]

Rishi Sunak: did he think it was hard to be a Tory when he became prime minister? Or is it all really just the game he seems to think it is?

Vox Political appears to have attracted a few new readers lately – some of them with strong creativity.

Here’s It’s Hard To Be A Tory by Stuart Webb. There’s some strong language in it so please avoid it if you’re averse to that sort of thing.

As for the rest of you: enjoy – and let me (and Stuart) know what you think in the comments.

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Suella De Vil – if this was released commercially, could it be the Christmas Number One?

Suella Braverman: now people are writing satirical songs about her.

I found this tribute to Suella Braverman on a reader’s Facebook page and had to share it with you:

Imagine what this could do if it was recorded professionally and released commercially.

Christmas Number One?

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Reasons to distrust Rishi Sunak: he’s too rich

Partners in (the) climb: Akshata Murty and her husband, UK prime minister Rishi Sunak.

Seriously: Rishi Sunak and his wife have around twice as much money as King Charles III; what possible interest could he have in the everyday worries of people who don’t have any savings at all?

He’s far more likely to want to round up his £700 million (and change) to a cool billion – and I wouldn’t put it past him to use his position as prime minister to do it. Don’t they usually do that?

That is the reason the following short clip rings true.

It’s also properly funny:

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A song for Kwasi Kwarteng to sing to Liz Truss

Everybody’s going musical, it seems.

This is funny in content and delivery.

The thought of Kwasi Kwarteng delivering his “package” to Liz Truss is enough to give brave men pause, though.

Alternatively, Professor Tim Wilson may be having a nervous breakdown over the Tory leadership contest; your mileage may vary, as the saying goes.

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Suella Braverman’s downfall is immortalised in song

Suella Braverman: was she the shortest-lasting Home Secretary? Never mind, Suella – you’re now immortalised in song!

She only resigned yesterday – and subsequent events have overtaken it – but Suella Braverman’s departure from office has already been immortalised in song.

And, ironically for a minister who wanted to stop migrant boats from coming to the UK… it’s a sea shanty.

This is brilliant:

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