December 19, 2009

A very British pop festival on Clapham Common

Rob Hallett (above) wants his “Festival of Britain” to promote national pride and challenge the extreme Right’s definition of patriotism — “I’m fed up with the British National Party stealing the Union Jack.”

He said the line-up could include Annie Lennox, Rod Stewart, Jarvis Cocker and Lily Allen, and that there would be a fashion show with British designers such as Vivienne Westwood.

“There will be no Stella, no Carlsberg, no horrible fizzy German stuff, only British ales,” he said. “No hot dogs, but bangers and fish and chips. I want to celebrate everything that’s British culturally and musically. I’m going to get great British singers singing with the BBC Concert Hall Orchestra — just British songs, written by British people.”

The event will be held on Clapham Common because “the man on the Clapham omnibus symbolises Middle England. It will be a family event, from noon to 9 o’clock, more civilised [than Glastonbury], it won’t be too loud and there will be no profanities.”

Times Online

11 comments:

St George said...

Still nothing for us working class (black and white)English then?

Only the flag of the imperialists that everyone else in the UK hates.

Tear down the union jack, it clashes with the sunset.

John P said...

Rob Hallett should fuck off.

BB said...

"Rob Hallett should fuck off."

How about saying why.

ic1male said...

Problem will be that if you don't have a black person like Jamilia then the left will say it is too homogeneous. If you do (include blackAsian)on the premise that black people are British too, you won't be making the original point, that the BNP doesn't represent the British.

Anonymous said...

It will be a flop.

Penny said...

It's positive that white Tory voting middle class UK citizens are making any statement against the BNP.

It's negative that class issues are resurfacing themselves ready for when the Tories take over in June.

This publicity stunt hardly does anything to help pacify the fascist (fizzy lager-swilling) football hooligans of the EDL who tap into a more dangerous, volatile form of street fascism, not all of whom are working class, whose only perception of the word "gentlemen" is when they are doing without a piss at Wetherspoons.

What is more worrying is that there are still racists within the Tory party, looking to push the country rightwards when elected.

One of these Enoch Powellian sleepers is Philip Davies, son of the notorious fascist English Democrats mayor of Doncaster Peter Davies who gained notoriety for cancelling gay pride, black history month, and multicultural translation services.

Well recent declassified Freedom of Information requests have revealed that this nutter thinks there's nothing wrong with minstrel shows and blacking up: -

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/6841809/Philip-Davies-Tory-MP-never-understood-why-blacking-up-was-offensive.html

On 28 March 2007 the Bradford Telegraph and Argus reported that Davies urged Muslims in the whole country to fly the Union flag on mosques to suposedly show their unity and commitment to Britain, a ridiculous and insulting idea that British Muslims were somehow disloyal to Britain.

Worse yet, in his tenure as MP of Shipley, West Yorkshire (near Leeds), he spoke out a few years back, defending a Eugenics professor darling of Nick Griffin and David Irving, defending his right to practice and preach eugenics to the students of Leeds, which was absolutely sickening.

I don't know if anybody else remembers this incident. Can't find much about it on Google, but I heard him speak on Look North at the time.

Anonymous said...

''How about saying why''.

...his jacket,his face, and his hair

Anonymous said...

It's very difficult to support a "british" campain, when even those mid/left ish people still get the words Britain and England mixed up

Anonymous said...

"He discovered Duran Duran and invented Adam Ant" tells you all you need to know. This event will be fine for Telegraph readers. Anyone into music should avoid SW London that day.

Anonymous said...

Any idiot has-been that contributes to this is pandering to nationalism and deserves to be ridiculed as I'm sure they will be.

Anonymous said...

"and he invented Adam Ant"

err didnt the Sex Pistols do that when they supported Bazooka Joe, Ants/Goddards old Teddy Boy rock n roll revival band? After seeing them Goddard/Ant left and set up Adam & the Ants