Connect with us

Entertainment

ABBA complains about Trump using songs in campaign

Published

on

Swedish pop group ABBA has complained after their hits like The Winner Takes it All were played at one of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign rallies.

The group’s songs and videos, also including Money, Money, Money and Dancing Queen, were also played at the event in Minnesota in July, according to Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet.

In a statement to the Reuters news agency, the band’s record label Universal Music said: “Together with the members of Abba, we have discovered that videos have been released where Abba’s music has been used at Trump events, and we have therefore requested that such use be immediately removed and taken down.”

The label said no permission or licence had been granted to Mr Trump’s campaign.

Abba are the latest in a long list of artists or their estates who have objected to Mr Trump using their music to promote his presidential campaign.

This week, Foo Fighters took to social media to say they hadn’t granted permission for My Hero to be used at a Trump rally. The Trump campaign said they had permission to use the song, according to The Independent.

A spokesperson for the band told the publication that any royalties received from the Trump campaign using the song would be donated to Kamala Harris’s campaign.

Last month, Celine Dion’s team condemned the “unauthorised” use of a clip of My Heart Will Go On, and the family of late soul singer Isaac Hayes ordered Mr Trump to stop playing Hold On, I’m Coming and demanded $3m (£2.4m) in licensing fees.

In March, the estate of Sinéad O’Connor demanded he stop playing Nothing Compares 2 U, saying she would have been “disgusted, hurt, and insulted”.

Previously, Adele, REM and the Rolling Stones are among the big names who have demanded he doesn’t use their songs.

However, musicians have only had limited success in stopping politicians from using their music.

In the US, campaigns are required to obtain a Political Entities Licence from music rights body BMI, which gives them access to more than 20 million tracks for use in their rallies.

Artists and publishers can ask for their music to be withdrawn from the list, but it seems that organisers rarely check the database to ensure they have clearance.

(BBC News)

Entertainment

Wimal launches song against strikes on Iran & Palestine (Update)

Published

on

By

National Freedom Front (NFF) leader Wimal Weerawansa has released a protest song titled “Whose Bullets Are These?” (original Sinhala: “Kageda Me Moonissam?”) today (July 08).

The song, written and performed by Weerawansa himself, is a response to recent airstrikes on Iran and ongoing violence against Palestinians, which he attributes to what he terms the “Yankee-Zionist alliance.”

ඊශ්‍රායල් හා ඇමරිකා එක්සත් ජනපද යුධමය ප්‍රහාර හමුවේ අසරණ වූ පලස්තීන ජනතාව වෙනුවෙන් හා පසුගියදා එම යැංකි-සියෝන් බල හවුල…

Posted by Wimal Weerawansa on Monday, July 7, 2025

(This post has been updated at 10.30am July 08, 2025)

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Star Wars actor Kenneth Colley dies aged 87

Published

on

By

Star Wars actor Kenneth Colley has died after contracting Covid and developing pneumonia, his agent has announced

Star Wars actor Kenneth Colley has died at the age of 87, his agent has announced.

The film and television performer is best known for starring in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi as Admiral Piett, an imperial officer in command of Darth Vader’s flagship.

He died peacefully at his home in Ashford, Kent, on Monday after contracting Covid and developing pneumonia, his agent Julian Owen said in a statement.

“Ken Colley was one of our finest character actors with a career spanning 60 years,” Mr Owens said.

“Ken continually worked on stage, film and television playing a vast array of characters, from Jesus in Monty Python’s Life of Brian to evil and eccentric characters in Ken Russell films, and the Duke of Vienna in Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure for the BBC.”

The statement said Colley had been admitted to hospital with an injured arm after a fall, but he quickly contracted Covid which developed into pneumonia.

He died with friends at his bedside, it added.

In later years, Colley reprised his role of Admiral Piett when he voiced the character in the 2012 animated Lego production, Lego Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out.

He also had parts in international productions including Clint Eastwood’s Firefox and the Second World War series War and Remembrance.

Mr Owen said Colley’s paticipation in Star Wars led him to being invited to conventions and fan events all over the world.

“Ken also loved his garden, art collecting and had a passion for fast cars,” he added.

Colley is also known for playing Jesus in Monty Python’s Life of Brian alongside John Cleese, Graham Chapman and Michael Palin.

(BBC News)

Continue Reading

Entertainment

‘Diddy’ denied bail after being cleared of most serious charges

Published

on

By

A judge has denied bail to Sean “Diddy” Combs after a jury convicted the hip-hop mogul of transportation to engage in prostitution, but acquitted him of the most serious charges: racketeering and sex-trafficking.

Lawyers for the recording artist had argued he posed no flight risk, pointing out his jet is being chartered in Hawaii.

But Judge Arun Subramanian cited Combs’ history of violence as he ruled the rapper must remain behind bars until sentencing later this year when he faces up to 20 years in prison.

In the nearly two-month federal trial in New York City, prosecutors accused Combs of using his celebrity status and business empire to run a criminal enterprise to sex traffic women.

A panel of 12 jurors deliberated for 13 hours before acquitting Combs of three of the most serious five charges.

He will continue to be held at the same federal jail in Brooklyn where he has been detained since last September.

The sentencing was tentatively scheduled for 3 October.

(BBC News)

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2024 Sri Lanka Mirror. All Rights Reserved