Gay rights campaigners OutRage! continued their protests against reggae artist Buju Banton last week. Things almost turned ugly when they picketed outside the Coronet in east London last Sunday, where Banton was performing. The police were on hand to prevent fisticuffs between reggae supporters and OutRage! campaigners. One man was whisked away by police after he attempted to strike Tatchell. The irate crowd shouted insults at the determined Tatchell. After the stand-off, he and his group left and the concert went ahead. Buju Banton was at his spiritual and lyrical best. The artist packed his set with socially and morally conscious songs. The wafting cannabis which thickened the air inside the venue was enough to make his fans fly, but Buju took them to Inner Heights. Songs like Til’ Shiloh, It’s Not An Easy Road, Til’ I’m Laid To Rest, Untold Stories and Wanna Be Loved drew heavy endorsement. Faced with the pressure from OutRage! over his ‘murder music’, Banton berated “murderers” during his set, calling for peace and understanding. During the bashment segment of his show he took a swipe at OutRage!. “The police asked me not to sing Boom Bye Bye and I won’t. But tell me how they can fight a man for 12 years over one song? “I don’t like what they like and Buju will never bow! Shabba Ranks never bow.” He then called on the audience to support artists in their struggle and lambasted other artists who had apologised to gays. Then he performed a freeform song which emphasised his dislike of the gay lifestyle – but there was no advocacy of violence in any way. On Wednesday night, OutRage! were out again protesting at a venue in Milton Keynes where Banton was performing along with Beres Hammond. A concert scheduled for Manchester was cancelled after the promoters were threatened. Choice FM DJ Sugar Dread says OutRage! are drawing attention to themselves and while some members of the music industry have been able to prevent major incidents so far, there is no guarantee against reprisals. He said: “We have tried to be at the venues to maintain a sense of calm, but very soon we might not be able to hold it. There are some very irate people out there who feel that their right to leisure is being curtailed by OutRage!. We are just hoping the worst does not happen.” SOURCE: VOICE-ONLINE.NET