27 Jun 05

Gay rights activists force dancehall star to cancel London gig Jamaican dancehall music is under severe threat in Britain as gay campaigners seek to censor the genre and lock up its chief exponents. They are claiming a major victory on the back of the cancellation of a Beenie Man concert last week.

And they have declared their intention to wreck the careers of dancehall’s most notable stars, including Beenie Man, Bounty Killer, Vibes Kartel, Capleton and Elephant Man.



Virgin recording star Beenie Man was questioned by police as he arrived in London for his gig at the Ocean venue in Hackney, east London, last week.

Bounty Killer’s concert was cancelled in December over fears that he would have been arrested had he entered the country. Peter Tatchell, head of the UK gay rights group Outrage, said they won’t stop until the artists in question apologise and withdraw the offending songs.

CONSEQUENCES
He declared: “We did it to Guns and Roses and to Marky Mark and now we are saying to these dancehall artists and producers if they don’t desist inciting violence against lesbians and gays they will suffer the consequences.

He added: “Every time a concert is announced, our aim will be to get it cancelled until these artists comply.”

The hate crimes unit of Scotland Yard has been presented with a dossier containing the names and lyrics of the artists in question.

A spokesman for Ocean said the gig was cancelled due to concerns over public safety. Police were informed of the concerns about Beenie Man’s lyrics and had an informal discussion with him on arrival at Heathrow airport.

A police spokeswoman said they would be considering each case independently and that incitement of violence against any group will not be tolerated. Where this is found to have occurred, people will be arrested and charged and put through the proper procedures.

Chris Platinum, a veteran promoter who lost heavily on the cancelled Bounty Killer show, thinks the time has come for dialogue. He-said: “Maybe we have to look at another approach. I don’t know whether this means the artists toning down their material, but we have to be realistic. We are living in a society where there are gays at the very highest levels. These guys have support.”

A press release from Outrage listed a number of leading figures in the black community who they claim have supported their anti-homophobia campaign.

They include MPs Paul Boateng, David Lammy, Diane Abbott, Keith Vaz and Oona King, London Mayoral advisor Lee Jasper, writer Darcus Howe, music star Ms Dynamite, CRE Chair Trevor Phillips, comedian Lenny Henry, Simon Woolley of Operation Black Vote and MEP Claude Moraes.

Tatchell also wants dialogue with the promoters and producers. He said: “We’d be glad to meet them anytime. We want to drive homophobia out of dancehall music and to make life safe for lesbian and gay people. It’s wrong to incite violence against another human being. We’d like to see Jamaican music reclaimed for Bob Marley’s spirit of peace and brotherhood.”

Beenie Man was prevented from speaking about the incident by Virgin Records, but a member of his entourage told The Voice he took the cancellation in stride, saying:?“He is always disappointed whenever a gig doesn’t happen but we have other things to move on to.”

CENSOR
His manager Patrick Roberts, speaking from Jamaica, said: “Here is a group of people advocating liberties, but still they are trying to censor others. Beenie Man does not mean harm to any sector of society. These problems keep popping up, so I suppose there will come a time when toning down is a consideration.”

But if the rights group has its way and artists are banned from performing here, it could have major repercussions – and could even stop them from touring any other EU country.

http://www.voice-online.net/content.php?show=4435&type=