THE late radio DJ and comedian Kenny Everett caused an almighty rumpus when he made an impromptu appearance on stage at a Young Conservatives rally at Wembley Conference Centre during the 1983 general election campaign.
Everett held aloft the pair of giant foam hands which had been made famous by his mock evangelical preacher character Brother Lee Love on his eponymous television show and declared, “Let’s bomb Russia!”.
His gag went down a storm with the Tories in the packed arena. There was riotous laughter, a huge cheer and thunderous applause. Even Margaret Thatcher, who was seeking re-election as prime minister at the time and who was in attendance at the gathering, appeared tickled.
It was, though, the height of the Cold War and the fallout was considerable. The media had an absolute field day. “Not funny, Kenny,” screamed the front page of the tabloid News of the World.
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Representations ultimately had to be made to the Russian Embassy to explain that Everett had no control over the United Kingdom’s nuclear arsenal and stress that his comment did not reflect their foreign policy.
Thatcher also found it necessary to issue a statement in the aftermath. “No one is talking politically about bombing the Russians,” she said. “Every single thing I do is to deter any hostilities of any kind of breaking out. No one was seriously suggesting anything to the contrary at the time.” Armageddon was averted.
At no stage during the whole row, however, was Everett ever cautioned by the police, never mind arrested. Would that be the case if a similar incident happened today? It is improbable.
The treatment of Mo Chara from the Irish hip hop trio Kneecap suggests that artists face far more serious consequences for their words and actions than they did 40 years ago and much less likely to gain the approval of those who occupy the corridors of power if they court controversy.
The group have since denied backing those bodies and also offered apologies to the families of murdered MPs Jo Cox and David Amess for stating, “The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP.”
Those pronouncements didn’t prevent the police from prosecuting the Belfast-born rapper. Our elected representatives, too, have not been slow to condemn the activities of the pro-Palestinian triumvirate or offer their opinions on the controversy.
Kier Starmer, the prime minister, and Lisa Nandy, his culture secretary, both expressed their misgivings about Kneecap playing Glastonbury last weekend. Their appearance at the music festival was, the former opined, “not appropriate” due to the ongoing legal proceedings.
Starmer and Nandy’s motivations for pitching in to the affair are moot. It has been widely suggested that a desire to deflect attention away from the United Kingdom’s involvement in Israel’s attacks on Gaza, warfare which the United Nations special committee has found is “consistent with the characteristics of genocide”, are behind their interventions.
But John Swinney, the first minister, has also got in on the act. He argued it would be “unacceptable” for Kneecap to play at TRNSMT in Glasgow. They were subsequently removed from the line-up due to safety concerns.
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There would seem to be far weightier matters for our leaders to concern themselves with at this present moment in time than a popular beat combo whose material is steeped in humour and whose output has been described by cultural commentators in the past as “satire not sectarianism”.
Whatever the reason, the whole episode has shown that politicians can and do speak out on matters they deem to be offensive and unacceptable when the mood takes them. Or perhaps when they feel there is a significant gain in their public popularity ratings to be had. If only they were consistent with their approach.
Where was the outrage in Westminster or Holyrood when the Green Brigade displayed a “Victory to the Resistance” banner in the safe-standing section at Parkhead just hours after Hamas militants had launched attacks on western Israel and murdered over 1,000 people back in 2023? Or when the same group flew the red flag of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine at a game in the East End of Glasgow soon after?
Where are the promises of action when sectarian songs like The Billy Boys or No Pope of Rome are belted out at football matches every week? Why aren’t debates held in parliament when chants of “up the ‘RA” and “soon they’ll be no Protestants at all” pollute the atmosphere at grounds around the country?
So MSPs are far from toothless. It is nothing short of incredible that sectarianism is allowed to persist in Scottish football in these politically correct times we live in. Will anything change in the season ahead? Don’t hold your breath.
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Sir David Murray - who sanctioned the signing of Rangers’ first high-profile Catholic player and who took Bears to task for their love of The Billy Boys during his lengthy tenure as owner of the Ibrox club – was bang on the money about the topic of bigotry earlier this week.
Speaking to promote his autobiography Mettle: Tragedy, Courage and Titles, Sir David said, “They don’t address it, they won’t take it chin on. We’re stuck in a time warp. It’s like a hot potato for the government, for the Scottish parliament. But when it’s on the streets it’s their responsibility.”
Our politicians should spend less time trying to pander to the least informed and most prejudiced members of the electorate by scapegoating hip hop trio Kneecap and more of their working days tackling a problem which should have been consigned to the dustbin of history decades ago. Sectarianism in Scottish football remains no laughing matter.
