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Monday, July 21, 2008
  Kele targeted in racist attack

From Drowned in Sound:

Bloc Party vocalist Kele Okereke was subjected to a racist attack at the weekend, by former Sex Pistols screamer John 'Johnny Rotten' Lydon and members of the one-time punk hero's entourage.

Okereke was attacked at the Summercase Festival in Barcelona on Saturday night; he was left shaken and with bruising to his face, cuts on his face and body, and a burst lip.

The attack, according to reports, was unprovoked. A witness commented that Lydon and company were at the festival "acting like a gang of racist thugs".

Trouble flared when Okereke asked Lydon backstage at the festival if he'd ever consider reforming Public Image Ltd, as the Bloc Party singer is a big fan of the seminal post-punk outfit fronted by Lydon. The former I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here contestant grew aggressive, suggesting that Okereke had a "black attitude", and that was a problem in some way.

The story goes that then Okereke was punched and kicked by Lydon's crew, albeit not Lydon himself, while Ricky Wilson of Kaiser Chiefs and Yannis Philippakis of Foals attempted to fend off the attackers. Security broke up the fight and Spanish police were duly informed. Okereke made a statement to UK police once home.

Over 50 people witnessed the Barcelona attack - alongside members of Foals and Kaiser Chiefs were Mystery Jets, Neon Neon and Har Mar Superstar, all of whom saw what unfolded. Of the attack, Okereke has stated:

"It's not an issue of the physical assault, even though it was an unprovoked attack. It is the fact that race was brought into the matter so readily. Someone as respected and as intelligent as Lydon should know better than to bring race into the equation, or socialise with and encourage those who hold such narrow-minded attitudes. I am disappointed that someone I held with such high regard turns out to be such a bigot."

BlocParty.net wishes Kele a speedy recovery from his injuries.

Edit: Gruff Rhys (Super Furry Animals singer) has confirmed that the attack was unprovoked...read more.

Edit #2: Members of Foals were also injured in the fight...click here to read the news article.

Labels:

 
Comments:
sad
 
This disgusts me. What an absolute shame. =( Poor Kele.
 
Hope Kele's okay. The whole thing is so fucked up.
 
that makes me mad. i cannot stand racism, especially when it's targeted at someone i greatly admire.
 
This is so sad.
Get well soon Kele!
 
That's just awful. What a cunt John is. Can't handle the fact music has evolved?
 
Wait a second here... everyone is getting their information from media reports cut-&-pasted to internet forums & blogs.

If anyone reading this has ever had first hand experience of the reality behind a "news" story, you'll know they invariably contain serious errors.

John Lydon is a well-known anti-racist & champion of black culture. Let the dust settle before taking the scandalmongering at face value...
 
Here's Johnny's reponse. (from stereogum.com)

Here's a portion of Lydon's statement in response (also via Guardian):

I feel very sorry for a man that needs to lie about what was a perfect evening ... trouble was brought us, resulting in those causing the trouble being physically removed by festival security ... If they need publicity so badly this is the allegation universe they run into.

After the show John Rotten and management remained behind to sign autographs, which we did for four solid hours without incident and had a great time talking to other Spanish bands, this seems to have sparked jealousy in certain bands. We are in the middle of a wonderful tour, after 30 years we are achieving a true unity in our audience. They are multi-varied, all ages, all races, creeds and colours. When you are at a festival with bands who are jealous fools, lies and confusion usually follow.

And this bit is probably meant for Kele:

Grow up and learn to be a true man ... It's a shame that the wonderful world of the media is riddled with nonsense like this.



I might be biased, but think I'll choose to believe Kele on this one.
 
thats disgusting. i cant stand scumbags like that living in this world. kele, you are my idol and i definitely believe you. get better soon and keep on rocking out!
 
Kele is telling the truth! John is an asshole!
 
it makes me so mad that anyone can be so violent against somebody for just asking a question. I really hope that the police do something about it, reading the part about foals aswell shows that lydons comments are completly false and he and his heavies derserve a good beating, i call 'shotgun'.
 
This is deeply sad for me to read. I cannot imagine anyone doing this and then to say what Johnny said afterwords is like another punch to the face. What a Such horrible thing.

Makes "England" that much more chilling to listen to.
 
as well as being "a well-known anti-racist" lydon is a raging alcoholic with football hooligan bodyguards and a track record for violent behaviour.
hanging out with don letts in 1977 doesn't mean he isn't a racist. i wouldn't be surprised if he has a less enlightened attitude towards young black men in baseball caps.
he grabbed duffy by the throat at the mojo awards after she tried to talk to him (her manager used to be in PIL with him).
 
Johnny is a punk ... a worthless thing. There was never any mixed messages from Johnny.
 
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