Elvis Costello says he will no longer perform ‘Oliver’s Army,’ which contains a racial slur

By Jhon Lobo On Jan 11, 2022

Costello will no longer perform the song “Oliver’s Army,” a 1979 hit in the UK that contains the N-word, and has implored radio stations to stop playing it, too, in an interview with the Telegraph.

“Only takes one itchy trigger; One more widow, one less white [N-word],” Costello sings in the political anthem, inspired by the Troubles in Northern Ireland and his encounters with young soldiers involved in the conflict.

“If I wrote that song today, maybe I’d think twice about it,” he told the Telegraph. “That’s what my grandfather was called in the British army — it’s historically a fact — but people hear that word go off like a bell and accuse me of something that I didn’t intend.”

Elvis Costello dismisses claims Olivia Rodrigo plagiarized his music, saying that's rock and roll

The song was long played uncensored on UK airwaves until 2013, when a BBC station bleeped the slur to the dismay of some listeners, who argued that its omission diluted the song’s anti-war message.

Costello agreed that bleeping the word is “making it worse,” he told the Telegraph, “because [radio stations] are highlighting it then.”

The musician said he’d written a new verse for the song — one that focused on censorship — for a previous tour but decided to retire the song moving forward, and that radio stations should do the same.

“Just don’t play the record!” he said.

Costello joins a growing group of musicians who’ve retired songs with offensive material. The Rolling Stones phased out “Brown Sugar,” which opens with a slave narrative and sexualizes young Black women, from their lineup last year, though Keith Richards said he hoped the band could bring back a version of the song in the future. The Hayley Williams-helmed rock group Paramore also retired arguably its most famous song, “Misery Business,” partly because it contains lyrics that refer to another woman as a “whore.”

For all the latest entertainment News Click Here

Read original article here

Denial of responsibility! TechAI is an automatic aggregator around the global media. All the content are available free on Internet. We have just arranged it in one platform for educational purpose only. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, all materials to their authors. If you are the owner of the content and do not want us to publish your materials on our website, please contact us by email – [email protected]. The content will be deleted within 24 hours.

' which contains a racial slur - CNN ARMY Costello Elvis Elvis Costello says he will no longer perform 'Oliver's Army Entertainment longer Olivers