Liquidator R.I.P.

08 January 2004

Anc's protest banner at the Walsall game

Another Albion legend has bitten the dust. "Liquidator", by the Harry J All Stars, died quietly this morning when it was dropped from the Club's pre-match playlist thanks to pressure from the Safety Committee, a local authority body made up from Council and Police representatives. The same body have been forcing the Club to clamp down on standing during games, much to the dismay of many fans.

It seems that this innocent little instrumental number has been inciting trouble for years thanks to fans singing along to it with an abusive chant directed at our local rivals, the Wolves. The Club were warned about it at the start of the season, and have been trying hard to persuade fans simply to clap along instead, but according to Club Secretary, Dr John Evans, a minority of people have refused to co-operate with the efforts and the Club has been left with no choice but to remove it.

As BOINGer Graham Davies points out, "If you follow that same logic, then shouldn't they also ban the following from the Hawthorns as they all incite bad language: referees, linesmen, Dingles, Neil Warnock, Robbie Savage, Bluenoses, the Villa - the list could be endless". Indeed. Nobody we've spoken to has ever seen Liquidator and its accompanying chants lead to violence of any sort, and frankly it's pretty tame by comparison to some of the chants that continue to appear at games around the country.

BOINGer Anc was so angry at the decision that he made a protest banner to pass around the crowd at the Walsall game, although he later admitted that the sheet wasn't as solid as he expected and the spray paint had gone through and covered the wall of his landing! Anc was last seen hiding from the other half while frantically contacting emergency painters and decorators.

It remains to be seen whether the attention of the authorities will now be turned towards other songs with lyrics that could be construed as provocative or inciteful. Perhaps the Police members of the Safety Committee will consider the words "I never eat a pig cause a pig is a cop" to be somewhat undesirable. Certainly, lines such as "Yo, I'll bust em in the eye", "Anyone stepping to me you'll get burned", "So if you come to battle bring a shotgun" and "I'm coming to get ya, coming to get ya" are sure to feel the long arm of the law in due course. Which is all a bit bizarre really, because they all come from "Jump Around" by House of Pain - the song selected by the Club to replace Liquidator while the search for a suitable new terrace anthem continues.

Even more bizarrely, the song flies in the face of the Safety Committe by urging fans to "Get out your seats and jump around". At least someone, somewhere, seems to have a sense of humour.

We've managed to find an address for the people responsible for the ban in the first place in case you wish to write to them - for instance, to request further details of exactly what is so offensive about this particular song:

The Acting Chairman
Safety Advisory Group WBA FC
PO Box 42
Development house
Lombard Street
West Bromwich

Previous Stories:

  18 December 2003:  Horsfield signs

  17 December 2003:  Horse and Huck?

  15 December 2003:  Make way for the Horse!

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