BUJU BANTON has had one of his concerts in England cancelled at the last minute. The show, scheduled for the Bierkeller in the city of Manchester today, had the plug pulled after gay campaigners pressured city council officials to withdraw the venue's licence for hosting Buju, and after other organised groups threatened to protest outside of the venue.
As reported in THE STAR yesterday, gay campaigners have been asking the Manchester City Council to cancel the show for weeks now, but it seemed set to go on. At the last minute, however, the council managed to shut down the event.
This concert however was only one stop for Buju, who has other show dates in the country. Last week he performed at the Kol Hakuppa Bash in Jerusalem, Israel, and on the weekend he performed at two English venues.
OTHER VENUE SOUGHT
Donovan Germain, Buju's manager, was unavailable for comment up to press time, but according to reports out of Manchester, the promoter of Buju's show, Joe Splain, tried to get another venue to host Buju shortly after the first one cancelled, but they declined.
"His promoter, Joe Splain, tried to switch tomorrow's gig to the Big Western in Moss Side, but its owners had a change of heart," reads the online newspaper Manchester News.
"Mr Splain said both venues had been subjected to pressure from council officials and were worried about losing their licences. He added that he may try to find a third place to stage the concert, but this was unlikely."
Other published reports on the Scotsman news site, the Manchester City police said that even though they respected free speech, they feared disorder.
LIKELIHOOD OF DISORDER
"Intelligence gathered about previous appearances of the artiste and the implications of his previous performances suggest a likelihood of public disorder and the potential for disruption at his performances.
"Greater Manchester Police accepts the right
to public freedom of expression, but does not encourage anything which could cause possible hate or dissension within any community," a spokesperson is quoted as saying.
This cancellation is Buju's first after visa
restrictions he faced in England were lifted
recently. The deejay's show is also not the first
one to be cancelled in England. Beenie Man
faced venue withdrawals for shows in August,
and nominations received by Vybz Kartel and Elephant Man from the British Music of Black Origin (MOBO) Awards were withdrawn after the
organisers faced protests from gay campaigners.
