Bloc Party's Kele Okereke: “I’ve never experienced such widespread public racism” - NME

Kele Okereke: “I’ve never experienced such widespread public racism” - NME
Bloc Party’s Kele Okereke opens up about Brexit Britain, Brandon Flowers' comments on Morrissey, the artists failing to fight far right rhetoric, and his ambitious new album '2042'

Excerpt:

“This idea of a multi-cultural Britain, that there is now somehow resistance towards it, is something that I’ve never experienced in my life [until] now,” he continues. “And it’s not just the politicians and the media. It’s the artists too.” With the exception, he says, of artists like Slowthai, Idles and Billy Bragg who are continually questioning and holding discrimination to account, too many are complicit – many more, he says, are even encouraging it.

“I think of the comments that Morrissey recently made and his support for Britain First. It’s clear to me that there is an idea of Britain and Britishness that is supposed to exclude people who are non-white and this idea is becoming more and more prominent.

“As a black musician who was born in the UK and who lives in the UK, I found it very disheartening that none of my peers really came out to publicly counter Morrissey’s recent comments and behaviour. I found that personally quite dispiriting and even worse, the only comments by musicians seemed to be in support of him – like Brandon Flowers.” Ahead of The Killers headline set at Glastonbury, Flowers told NME that Morrissey was “still a king” despite his problematic political views.

“Brandon Flowers is basically saying it doesn’t matter what Morrissey says, he’s still a revered icon,” Okereke tells us. “I think that’s bullshit and I think Brandon Flowers is bullshit. It does matter. It absolutely matters what people say and the fact that no one is willing to challenge him on this to me is quite disgusting. Shame on him and shame on Morrissey.”

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I read somewhere once that Thatcher solved 80s football hooliganism (as it was very embarrassing for her government) by getting the secret service to spread Ecstasy. This is obviously a conspiracy theory but it makes sense. They first used it by spreading it among black communities in South Africa to try to reduce rioting. It worked a bit so they gave it the go ahead to introduce it to the UK - and hey presto, the hools from the different football clubs were going out clubbing on E hugging each other. It makes a lot of sense. Hooliganism has never been at the same level since.

I know for a fact that heroin was 'allowed' to pour into Liverpool in the early 80s for political reasons. That was Michael Heseltine.

I dunno. By that time, I'd lost interest in football and I was never into E. I hated casuals. I used to walk around my estate and I got called Elvis. At least it was better than Rick Astley. Which I also got quite a bit.
 
I dunno. By that time, I'd lost interest in football and I was never into E. I hated casuals. I used to walk around my estate and I got called Elvis. At least it was better than Rick Astley. Which I also got quite a bit.
You must be very old. Lost interest when the game peaked and became something it will never be again.
 
You impudent young pup. Pretty much, yere.
Too old to be called young but not as old and boring as you. You missed all the great times not like Spurs had any so maybe you did the right thing and avoided it although it is a constant thing really.

Spursy!
 
We need more than a Brexit as english people call football hooligans causals as if they are scottish. Engxit the english who became scottish.
 
I armchair support Spurs and went there for the Champions League Final last yr...........what a dump. :guitar:
You cannot support Spurs. You suffer them. I doubt the stadium was a dump though compared to your version of the worlds biggest kindergarten pub.

"If our club cannot win anything we might as well force the fans to stay and waste the rest of their money as well after we've lost again"

Brighton 3 Spurs 0

The worlds smallest keeper broke his elbow. Kane and Pochettino will be poached by United.
 
Had his parents opted for a more english name he would have had a job now. Roger Francis would have meant he landed a top job as a broker.
But they opted for a name that sounds like something you hear when you drum with human ribs against really hard stretched human flesh.
 
Thought I'd read the comments here. Wish I hadn't. In the UK's recent history many have stood up against racism and extremism when the country is in a fraught state. It does appear that at this moment in time nobody plans to.

How DavidT allows this website to continue to be a refuge for dog-whistling racists is nearly as baffling.
 
Yes, anyone who doesn't blindly follow the (increasingly nonsensical) rulebook of the authoritarian liberal-left is a jack-boot wearing Stormfront Nazi!!

Stuff like "f*** off Back to Africa" is really enlightened 'bantz'.
Talking of which when are you f***ing off back there?
 
I see the racists on this thread are denying being racists by being racist.

I see the biggest bigot on this, and the majority of other threads, is denying being a bigot, by being a bigot.

Definition: a person who is intolerant towards those holding different opinions.

Checkmate.

I'm writing this to say
In a gentle way
Thank you, but f*** off
You will live your life as you
Will undoubtedly die, alone...
 
Thought I'd read the comments here. Wish I hadn't. In the UK's recent history many have stood up against racism and extremism when the country is in a fraught state. It does appear that at this moment in time nobody plans to.

How DavidT allows this website to continue to be a refuge for dog-whistling racists is nearly as baffling.

Dial-A-Cliché
 

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