Scottish duo The Proclaimers have been dropped from King Charles‘ official coronation playlist — because of their “anti-royal” views.
Their worldwide 1993 hit “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles),” which peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, was one of 27 songs selected for the playlist, which includes music by artists from all over the U.K. and the Commonwealth. It no longer appears on the playlist, however, and the BBC reports it’s been removed by the British government.
The reason? According to the BBC, during an event for the king last year, a man was arrested for shouting, “Who elected him?” Following the arrest, Proclaimers member Charlie Reid said, “I thought that guy spoke for me, and he speaks for loads of other people. Not just in Scotland, but right around the UK.”
In addition, the band released a song called “In Recognition” in 2007, which they said was about “our overwhelming contempt for people on the left in this country who snipe against the royal family and then end up taking honors [like knighthoods].”
They continued, “For people who believe in the monarchy (we’re don’t, we’re republicans) then that’s fair enough, we don’t have a problem with that. But we feel total contempt for people who … declare that they’re against the monarchy but then think it’s ok to take an honor in later life.”
Artists remaining on the playlist include The Beatles, Ed Sheeran, Ellie Goulding, David Bowie, Coldplay, Spice Girls, Harry Styles, Kate Bush and Michael Bublé.
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