A Brighton Green councillor is calling for a large concert venue in the city to cancel a performance by controversial 'dancehall' singer Buju Banton who has written and performed songs urging the shooting and killing of gay people.

The Concorde 2 club on Brighton's Madeira Drive has announced a performance by the Jamaican dancehall artist on 5 July. Buju has written homophobic songs from the early 1990s onwards and has refused to apologise or retract the lyrics. In 2004 Manchester City Council and local police cancelled a concert where he was to perform on grounds of public order and community relations. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/3681606.stm

Brighton Green city councillor Simon Williams, who has campaigned against homophobic and anti-women lyrics in popular music, said: "I'm pleased Brighton police are in discussions with the venue about stopping this performance. Buju has regularly performed openly murderous anti-gay songs including one of his biggest hits 'Boom Bye Bye inna batty bwoy head' which advocates shooting gay people in the head. [see lyrics below translated from Jamaican patois courtesy of Outrage!].

"A performance by him in such a gay friendly city as Brighton and Hove would be inappropriate and damage community relations. This is not about censoring genuine creativity, but no artist with any humanity would want to sing these words. His words incite the shooting and murder of people because of their sexuality and he continues to sing them.

"He will not retract them or express any personal apology. His lyrics create an environment where homophobia and hatred is given cultural approval and if he had sung these songs and referred to black people in place of gay people he would rightly be arrested for incitement to hatred."

Simon Williams added: "There's a popular misconception that he's apologised for this song which was written in the early 1990s. This is not true. There's been no apology from Buju - only a reluctant apology issued by the record company which he has since disavowed while he continues to promote and perform this song."

According to Outrage! Buju played 'Boom Bye Bye' at a concert in Jamaica as recently as last year and refused to apologise for the lyrics in a recent BBC1Extra interview in April this year.

Notes:

BBC Radio 1xtra! is interviewing homo hater and advocate of anti-gay
violence, Buju Banton, tonight (25 April) at 10pm.

See advance details and clips:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/1xtra/dad/buju.shtml


Lyrics Buju Banton - Boom Bye Bye (Courtesy of Outrage! LGBT campaign group)

Boom bye bye
Boom [as in gun sound] goodbye, goodbye [as in we won't be seeing you again, you're dead]

Inna batty bwoy head
In a queer's head*

Rude bwoy no promote no nasty man
Rude boys don't promote no queer men

Dem haffi dead
They have to die

Send fi di matic an
Send for the automatic [gun] and

Di Uzi instead
The Uzi instead

Shoot dem no come if we shot dem
Shoot them, don't come if we shoot them [as in don't come to help them]

Guy come near we
If a man comes near me

Then his skin must peel
Then his skin must peel [as in pour acid over him]
Burn him up bad like an old tire wheel
Burn him up badly, like you would burn an old tire wheel

* term used by Outrage! for 'gay person'
Notice to recipient:

Courtesy of the LGBT Greens