Get those fingers tapping Boyz & Girlz, let's get Sizzlas concerts cancelled !!
(See also Bristol Indymedia website for news of their campaign against him)...
Sizzla UK Tour – Email Protest Campaign
Murder-music singer Sizzla has a UK concert tour from 3 – 8 November
2004.
Please email your protests to the venues (email addresses below).
Send this email to all your friends. Get them to email protests too.
After the list of concert dates you will see a briefing about Sizzla,
which gives evidence of his incitements to murder lesbians and gays.
You might find it helpful to quote samples of his murder-music.
3 Nov – Empire – Milton Keynes
4 Nov - Town & Country Club - Bradford
5 Nov - Aston Villa Leisure - Birmingham
6 Nov – Stratford Rex - London
8 Nov - Carling Academy – Bristol
The contact details for the venues are:
EMPIRE
Empire: nicky-at-empire-mk-dot-co-dot-uk
Manger: Nicky Harris
Telephone: 01xxx xxxxxx
TOWN & COUNTRY CLUB
Email: paul-at-bradfordrio-dot-com
Manager: Paul Mastrantuono
Telephone: 01xxx xxxxxx
ASTON VILLA LEISURE
Email: bshutt2512-at-aol-dot-com
Manager: Sue Ryall
Telephone: 01xxx xxxxxx
STRATFORD REX:
Email: bobby-popat-at-btconnect-dot-com
Events Manager: Sheldon Atkinson
Telephone: 02xxx xxxxxx
CARLING ACADEMY
Telephone: Tel: 01xxx xxxxxx
General Manager: Helen Spillane:
Email: helen-at-bristol-academy-dot-co-dot-uk
Deputy Manager: Louise Stamp:
Email: louise-at-bristol-academy-dot-co-dot-uk
Thanks and solidarity
OutRage!
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
“Kill gays” singer UK tour: 3 – 8 November
Stop Sizzla’s concerts, urges OutRage!
Metropolitan Police investigate incitement to murder
LONDON - 15 October 2004
A reggae star who advocates “shooting queers”, because he says “they
bring AIDS and disease upon people”, will start a UK tour on 3
November 2004.
Top Jamaican reggae singer Sizzla Kalonji (real name, Miguel Orlando
Collins) will be attempting to break into the lucrative UK pop
market.
His hit tune Pump Up has the line: “Shot battybwoy, my big gun boom”.
(Shoot queers, my big gun goes boom).
Sizzla has refused to apologise for his incitements to murder lesbians
and gay men. At a concert in Chicago in April 2002 he told the
audience: “I won’t take back my words…I kill sodomites and queers,
they bring AIDS and disease upon people…shoot and kill them”.
See full lyrics and stage comments below.
Battybwoy is a derogatory Jamaican patois insult, similar to faggot,
poof and queer.
Sizzla’s “kill gays” songs are still in circulation. He has not
withdrawn them. He is still profiteering from his murder music.
“We urge sponsors, promoters and venue owners to cancel Sizzla’s
concerts on the grounds that he incites the murder of gays and
lesbians, and that his performance may lead to public disorder and to
homophobic hate crimes,” said Peter Tatchell of the gay human rights
group OutRage!.
“Some of Sizzla’s concert venues are very close to gay bars and clubs.
We fear his fans may threaten, intimidate and even assault gay people
leaving these venues.
“No one would give a platform to a singer who advocated killing black
or Jewish people. A performer who brazenly glorifies and encourages
the murder of lesbians and gay men should not be rewarded with
concerts and financial success.
“Securing the cancellation of Sizzla’s concerts is very important. By
hitting him in the pocket, it will help pressure Sizzla and other
anti-gay Jamaican singers to abandon their murderous incitements. Once
they start losing money, they will soon drop their violent lyrics.
Driving homophobia out of Jamaican music will have a huge positive
impact on Jamaican culture and attitudes – to the benefit of all
Jamaican, gay and straight.
“In a free society, Sizzla has a right to criticize homosexuality.
But he does not have a right to advocate the killing of lesbians and
gay men. He has over-stepped the mark,” said Mr Tatchell.
“Free speech does not include the right to encourage the killing of
other human beings. Incitement to murder is a criminal offence. We
want his tour cancelled because he endorses violent hate crimes, not
because he insults gay people.
“Inciting murder is a criminal offence under UK law. He is a threat to
public order and could provoke hate violence against lesbians and
gays.
“The Metropolitan Police and Crown Prosecution Service are currently
conducting a criminal investigation into Sizzla Kalonji over
allegations that their lyrics commit the criminal offence of
incitement to murder,” added Mr Tatchell.
“Sizzla Kalonji does not merely express his disapproval of
homosexuality. He calls for all homosexuals to be killed and incites
his listeners to murder gays and lesbians. This goes way beyond an
acceptable expression of opinion. Lesbian and gay people have a right
to live their lives free from threats to kill them,” said Brett Lock
of OutRage! and co-organiser of the Stop Murder Music campaign.
“OutRage! is writing to the venues urging them to take immediate
action to ensure the invitations to Sizzla are withdrawn. We are also
urging concerned members of the public to write to the venues,
sponsors, local councillors, the police, their MPs and community
leaders to register their protest.
“No club would host a singer who promoted killing black or Jewish
people or attacking religious minorities or the disabled. We ask the
venues to adopt the same stance towards singers who incite the murder
of lesbians and gay men,“ added Mr Lock.
For Further Information:
Brett Lock (OutRage!)
Telephone: 07xxx xxxxxx
Email: brett-at-outrage-dot-org-dot-uk
Peter Tatchell
Telephone 02xxx xxxxxx
For more background on the ‘Stop Murder Music’ campaign, see:
http://www.outrage.org.uk/briefing.asp?ID=43 - - - - - - - - - - - -
Murder music lyrics by Sizzla Kalonji
Lyrics in Jamaican patois, with the standard English translation
underneath in brackets [ ].
Sizzla - Pump Up
Step up inna front line
[Step up to the front line]
fire fi di man dem weh go ride man behind
[burn the men who have sex with men from behind]
Shot battybwoy, my big gun boom
[Shoot queers, my big gun goes boom]
See:
http://reggaesound.com/lyric/main.php?mod=lyric&id=440 Sizzla – Boom Boom
Boom boom! Batty boy them fi dead
[Boom boom (as in gunshots) Queers must be killed]
See:
http://www.unitysounds.com/riddims/audio/REDboomb.rm At a reggae concert in Chicago on 12 April 2002, Sizzla bragged that
he kills queers, and also incited the audience to murder gays and
lesbians:
"mi nuh go tek back mi chat... mi kill sodomite and batty man dem
bring aids and disease pon people... shot a kill dem, mi nuh go tek
back mi chat"
[I wont take back my words…I kill sodomites and queers, they bring
AIDS and disease upon people…shoot and kill them, I won’t take back my
words.]
See:
http://www.chicagoreggae.com/sizzla.htm A report by Amnesty International, dated 17 May 2004, about a reggae
concert in Jamaica earlier this year, documented Sizzla and other
reggae stars abusing and threatening to kill gay men.
"Throughout the night, Capleton, Sizzla and others sang almost
exclusively about gay men. Using the derogatory terms for gay men -
"chi chi men" or ‘battybwoys’ - they urged the audience to ‘kill dem,
battybwoys haffi dead, gun shots pon dem. Who want to see dem dead,
put up his hand’
[kill them, queers have got to die, gun shots in their head, whoever
wants to see them dead, put up your hand]
See:
http://www2.amnesty.se/hbt.nsf/actjamaica?OpenPage In an interview by Richard Burnett in the Canadian entertainment
magazine ‘Hour’ on 19 August 2004, Sizzla said:
"…burn sodomite, burn battyman. Burn all things that are wrong. Burn
it... We must get rid of Sodom and Gomorrah right now…”
See:
http://hour.ca/music/music.aspx?iIDArticle=3876 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
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