Cold Chisel front man Jimmy Barnes has posted a letter to his Facebook page, calling on anti-Islamist groups to cease using his songs as their anthems.
The singer made it clear he did not support the agenda of groups such as Reclaim Australia or United Patriots, and called for ‘love and tolerance,’
Videos emerged after the weekend’s rallies, showing Cold Chisel’s hit Khe Sanh being played as Reclaim Australia protesters held up signs and flags.
The Scotland-born star, whose wife was born in Thailand said in a statement, “If you look at my family you can see we are a multicultural family.”
It’s not the first time musicians have found their songs appropriated by causes they do not endorse. Recently Neil Young made waves, telling Donald Trump to stop using his song, “Rockin in the Free World” at his election campaign launch event.
Other artists who have demanded their songs be pulled from causes or political campaigns the don’t agree with include:
- Sting, John Mellencamp, Tom Petty, Orleans vs. George W Bush
- Pro-Obama rockers The Foo Fighters vs John McCain
- Eminem vs. New Zealand National Party
- Bon Jovi vs. Sarah Palin
- MGMT vs ex-French President Vincent Sarkozy
- Al Green vs. Mitt Romney
- Abba vs. John McCain
Do you think artists should have a say in who uses their songs?
