To argue that musicians should not be able to give their view on current affairs or even their own political stance is ridiculous. You wouldn’t restrict strangers from giving their political opinions, so why should we musicians?
It can be said that some musicians simply state their take on current politics to spark uproar and draw attention to themselves. Take the once great Smiths frontman, Morrissey, as an example. In May, when appearing on the Jimmy Fallon show, Morrissey was wearing a badge supporting the far-right political group ‘For Britain’. When asked further about this he showed his support for the party by describing their leader Anne Marie Walters as ‘Very engaging and very funny’. As controversial as this may be it cannot be said to be fair that we criticise Morrissey for this and then praise another musician for their open support of the left. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and whether they decide to talk about it openly is their own choice. Morrissey, however, just seems a bit hungry for attention.
Many musicians have such huge platforms that they feel the need to give their opinions on current political situations, which can be mostly seen as a great thing. Artists have the power to cause a change to happen, so why shouldn’t they use it? Take Matty Healy from The 1975. He is actively trying to strive towards creating a better future for the youth of today. The first single released off their next album Notes on a Conditional Form ‘The 1975’ features teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg delivering a speech about the dangers of the warming climate. This eagerly awaited single took fans by surprise as they weren’t greeted by the normal 1975 intro and were instead delivered a warning that something needs to happen. By promoting this message at the forefront of their music The 1975 are showing that they are happy to join the rebellion started by the people. By stating their view on current politics, they hope to make a much-needed change in the world
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To conclude, although we may not agree with the political stances of some major musicians, we simply cannot strip them on their ability to speak freely on such matters. They have the ability to change the world and inspire millions, so if they want to, they should.
