No Faith to Lose

I’ve Complained to ITV

Tomorrow night’s Jonathan Ross Show on the UK’s ITV network was supposed to feature a song by Australian musical comedian, Tim Minchin. That song took a lighthearted view of the stories surrounding Jesus, particularly apt for this time of year. It can be viewed on YouTube here.

ITV has taken the worrying step of cutting the song from the broadcast, presumably in an effort to pre-empt the possible backlash from humourless Christians.

I’ve written the following email (send yours to viewerservices@itv.com or find other contact details here) to complain about what I think is an extremely regressive step by one of the UK’s most prominent television networks.

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To whom it may concern,

I’m not generally the type of person who complains about things. Well, not in a pro-active way. But upon hearing that ITV was taking the regressive step of censoring lighthearted musical comedy because it conflicted with a hardline religionist’s viewpoint, I was compelled to write to you.

I want to urge you to find the strength of character to stand behind a great performer and allow his voice to be heard on the Jonathan Ross show. The current course of action, to cut the performance from the broadcast, seems inspired by a kind of pathetic milquetoast attitude that your viewers can’t possibly be subjected to something which may offend a very vocal extreme minority.

It saddens and disgusts me that the ITV network would censor freedom of expression in such a way and I can only assume that, in the interests of balance, you won’t be screening any religiously themed programming this winter for fear of offending those who no longer celebrate Yule, Saturnalia or whatever other mythological or supernatural fable historical whimsy has dictated on us over the passage of time.

Thanks,

Peter Chapman

Without You

Without you
Skies are dark and rain is near
There is nothing left to feel but fear
I don’t know what I would do
Without you

Without you
Sadness as the cold wind blows
Everybody’s door is closed
The whole damn world is dark and blue
Without you

Without you
Every time I walk I’d fall
I can’t get out of bed at all
My smiles becoming far and few
Without you

Without you
I just can’t go on
You’re my evening sun, my morning song
There’s nowhere I am going to
Without you

Yeah, I write poetry sometimes.

The Day the Hunter Died

I think I’ll change my name
Move to another little town
Where no-one knows who I am
And the sun sets behind me every day

Surround myself with life
To forget the day the Hunter died
Got drunk on rum, fell off his bike
But nothing kills the fear

Working hard to build someone else’s dream
And nothing ever seems as real
As the setting sun behind me
And the great and manic Hunter’s words

Seared on a nation’s hidden thoughts
And blackened to the lifelong dream
Nothing ever seemed so real
And nothing brings it back again