British anarchist punk band Chumbawamba use their number one hit song ‘Tubthumping’ at their rallies and events to challenge New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters for opposing the policies of populist politicians. I asked him to stop.
Mr Peters, a veteran politician whose New Zealand First party is part of the coalition government, has used the song at his public events, quoting the 1997 song’s lyrics: “When you get knocked down, you get back up” in a speech. ing.
Last week, Peters used the song to preface his own work. national situation speechIt discussed, among other things, the removal of gender and sexuality lessons from school curricula and compared co-governance (shared decision-making between Māori and the Crown) to Nazi Germany’s race-based theories.
The band’s lead guitarist, Boff Walley, said that Chumbawamba did not give Peters permission to use the song, that he did not share Peters’ ideas on race relations at all, and that Peters was “reinforcing misguided political views.” “I want people to stop using the song,” he said.
“Chumbawamba wrote the song ‘Tubthumping’ as a song of hope and positivity, so much so that when New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters barks a divisive whisper, he uses the refrain ‘I’m going to be devastated…'” “It just seems so weird to be there, and in recent speeches, he’s been thinking about bigoted policies,” Worley said.
“[We] This song is about ordinary people and their resilience, not about rich politicians trying to get votes by spouting absurd conspiracy theories or misguided racist ideology. I want him to remember that. ”
The band requested that their record company, Sony Music Publishing, issue a cease-and-desist notice.
Peters did not respond to the Guardian’s request for comment, but said in two social media posts on X (formerly Twitter): “The story about the use of Chumbawamba’s songs was started by a left-handed Sill reporter who actively tried to call me in.” A former member of the band, which disbanded 12 years ago, gave a biased account of what was said in my speech. I made up an amateurish article that simply shows what my comments are about this type of media organization. correct. “
He said New Zealand First had not received, and did not expect to receive, any notice of suspension from the band or other representatives.
“If the reporter had any clue about the law and not just a disagreement; [sic] If there was a fake news headline, they wouldn’t have bothered to publish this nonsense,” Peters said.
In a subsequent post he said: “The media seems to care more about the Chumbawamba story than we do. The fact is, we don’t care. There’s nothing ‘quit, quit’ about.” The song worked its magic at the first public meeting since the election. The crowd of over 700 people thought so too. If a “cease and desist” letter arrives, we will definitely keep it in a safe place. I wish I could use the title of another of their hit songs as a joke at the end of this article, but unfortunately they only had one song. ”
On Wednesday, local media reported that thing New Zealand music licensing body Apra Amcos has reported that Sony Music Publishing will send a cease and desist notice to New Zealand First.
Apra said the venue where Peters delivered his State of the Nation address, the council-owned Palmerston North Convention Center, is licensed for public music performances; He said there are exemptions, including the performance of sexual music. Artists of any business, political party, or cause.
Mr Apra said requests for the use of music by political parties were common, but approval had not been sought from New Zealand First or Peters.
This is not the first time Chumbawamba has called for the cancellation of parties featuring their songs. In 2011, the band were “appalled” when British politician Nigel Farage used the hit song during a UKIP conference.
In New Zealand, the National Party was ordered to pay $600,000 after a court found the party infringed copyright by using a version of Eminem’s chart-topping song “Lose Yourself” in an election campaign ad.
