'Spunky and spiky’
Fry raves about comics' protest song
Stephen Fry has raved about a protest song by comedians Liam Mullone and Hils Barker that dubs Lord Mandelson a ‘jumped-up little psycho’ .
The pair’s track, Only Idiots Assume, won £3,000 in a competition encouraging artistic attacks on Government plans to disconnect suspected illegal fire sharers from the internet.
Fry, who judges the contest, said: ‘I am insanely in love with Only Idiots Assume. It's got the anger, the wit, the musical skill - all in a wonderful package That Reminds Me of the high days of my youth when punk roamed the land and the young were angry and funny and spunky and spiky.’
Mullone said the song was ‘a ska-punk reply to Peter Mandelson’, the minister behind the controversial Digital Economy Bill . He added: ‘Assuming that people with high download volumes are stealing stuff is like calling someone a witch because they have a black cat. It’s a medieval premise.
‘I'm used to having my material taken because you can't protect a joke. I sympathise with any artist who gets discouraged at the thought of not making a living.
‘But just because a problem is bigger than the government's imagination, it isn't bigger than the Magna Carta or the principle of due process.’
Here is the song which won the competition, organised by broadband provider TalkTalk:
Published: 3 Feb 2010
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We do not currently hold contact details for Hils Barker's agent. If you are a comic or agent wanting your details to appear here, for a one-off fee of £59, email steve@chortle.co.uk.