A band has been dropped from a gig supporting the Kaiser Chiefs tonight after accusations of homophobia were levelled at them.
Promotors Rochester Castle Live (RCL) axed Sittingbourne-based group Spinner over lead singer Sammie Harris’ social media posts that it found “offensive”, particularly to the LGBTQ community.
But the allegations have surprised the three-piece outfit and they have apologised if any distress has been caused.
Their manager Sarah Latham said: “Our lead singer is most certainly not homophobic and it may be that the people making complaints were from people with animosity towards him [or] were personally known to him.
“However we regret and wholeheartedly apologise if there was any offence caused to anyone from the LGBTQ+ community, will trawl social media for post(s) and remove anything that could be considered offensive or upsetting to the LGBTQ+ or any other community and to be mindful of use of words in future, on social media, on and off stage.
“This has been a huge lesson learned and one we will take forward.”
The band had been looking forward to sharing the stage with the Indie rock giants at Rochester Castle Gardens after winning a Battle of the Bands competition last month.
Initially an Instagram message from RCL which they say “came out of the blue” said they were being removed from taking part in the three-day Downtown Festival this weekend.
It did not clarify the reason for the decision.
The band had paid out hundreds of pounds on publicity and studio hire for extra practice sessions.
After forming 15 years ago, they hoped their appearance as part of the festival would be their “big breakthrough”.
The 36-year-old musician was also upset for fans who had shelled out £50-plus for a ticket to see them at a high-profile venue.
The official RCL statement shown to KentOnline today says: “Following becoming aware of inappropriate comments made by Spinner’s lead singer on social media and onstage behaviour we (the organisers of Downtown Festival) have taken the decision to remove Spinner from the competition.
“We have found some of lead singer Sammie’s social media posts to be offensive, specifically to the LGBTQ community, and can no longer support the band by giving them a performance platform at Downtown Festival.
“Downtown Festival reserve the right to remove selected acts from the competition if deemed that they have the potential to cause verbal or physical harm to any of our Festival attendees.
“We have received a number of complaints from members of the public regarding Spinner’s participation in the competition and upon further investigation, decided to act upon the allegations and remove Spinner from the competition.”
The gig is one of the most prominent held at the venue in recent years with Kaiser Chiefs’ frontman Ricky Wilson expected to belt out their chart-topping hits, such as I Predict A Riot and Ruby.
The message Spinner received about being dropped, which failed to clarify a reason, read: ”Hello there, I hope you are well. Due to a number of social media posts that have been brought to our attention, we are unable to let you play at Rochester Castle Live.
“We understand that this will be difficult news for you, but have taken advice and this is our decision.
“We would like to wish you all the best for the future, Thanks, Rochester Castle Live.”
R & B group Eternal will be performing in the castle grounds on Saturday (tomorrow) and UB40 featuring Ali Campbell is the star act on Sunday.
