Killdren were due to play the Shangri-La stage
A band whose lyrics supposedly call for listeners to “kill Tory scum” have been dropped from this year’s Glastonbury line-up.
Two-piece punk act Killdren were due to play the beloved Shangri-La area of the festival, but have now been removed the bill after the lyrics to their song ‘Kill Tory Scum (Before They Kill You)’ has come under fire.
The band claim the song is “satirical”.
In a statement, the organisers of Shangri-La confirmed that the band had been book independently of the Glastonbury Festival.
— Shangri-La Glasto (@ShangrilaGlasto) June 2, 2019
“We in no way condone violence and will not allow this matter to overshadow the incredibly inclusive spirit of Glastonbury, and as a result, we have taken the decision to withdraw the booking of the band.”
Chief executive of the Jo Cox Foundation, Catherine Anderson, told the BBC that the lyrics were “completely abhorrent”.
“The direct incitement of violence and abuse, on any platform and in any sector, is wrong and something that we absolutely reject,” Anderson continued. “We’re seeing a legitimising and normalising of harmful words and actions, and this is leading to a decay in our shared language and ultimately our values, and that concerns us very much.”
The lyrics of the song, first uploaded to YouTube in May 2017, include the lines: “Even if it’s your dad or your mum, kill Tory scum, kill Tory scum…murder them all to the beat of a drum, kill Tory scum, kill Tory scum.”
The video does, however, include a disclaimer saying that the band does “not condone the killing of MPs or voters. Unless they are Tories, whereby they should be murdered at the ballot box, by voting. OBVIOUSLY.”
The description of the song on YouTube calls it “satirical discourse,” and the video concludes with a message calling Conservative cutbacks “acts of violence, by the state, against the people.”
The band have also responded with a statement on Twitter
#2 – the song was created in time for the last General Election in 2017 and the ‘killing’ was encouraging people to vote out the Tories
— Killdren (@KilldrenMusic) June 2, 2019
#4 – the IPPR thinktank reported that up to 130,000 preventable deaths have occurred as a result of Tory austerity measures
— Killdren (@KilldrenMusic) June 2, 2019
