Pro-‘Israel’ song by Boy George removed by music platform Bandcamp
Bandcamp has removed Boy George’s track “We Will Dance Again” and deactivated his artist profile, days after the Culture Club singer released the explicitly pro-‘Israel’ song.
The reggae track, which rejects the “genocide” label applied to ‘Israel’s’ assault on Gaza, had already triggered widespread criticism in the music industry.
The song opens with the line “You say genocide / I say war” and includes lyrics condemning what Boy George called selective criticism of Jews, declaring support for ‘Israel’s’ “right to defend itself”.
Boy George has been unapologetic about the track’s stance. “I stand with the Jews,” he has said, adding that the song is “for them.”
In a longer defence he stated: “The suggestion that I feel no compassion for Palestinians is both untrue and absurd. I am devastated for the loss of the innocent lives on both sides of this war and I call for peace… This song is for [my Jewish friends]. I come from a place of peace. I am a Jew-loving, trans-hugging queer hippy and my mother would be proud of me.”
The pro-‘Israel’ content quickly cost him. He was pulled from his scheduled role as King Herod in the West End production of Jesus Christ Superstar at the London Palladium, and he parted company with the manager of his Boy George Presents label after the manager refused to release the song.
“When someone is gutless, it really does not hurt to say goodbye,” Boy George said of that split.
After the track was blocked from major streaming services, Boy George uploaded it to Bandcamp.
The platform soon removed both the song and his profile.
In an Instagram video captioned “What a bunch of c***s!”, he told fans: “Sadly, Bandcamp have removed my profile so anyone trying to get a copy of ‘We Will Dance Again’ will have to just wait until I record it and find a way to put it out… It’s very disappointing.”
Bandcamp has stated that the removal was based on its policy against music “generated wholly or in substantial part by artificial intelligence,” a rule the singer himself acknowledged violating when he admitted using AI tools.
