For the second time in three months, the Rolling Stones have taken to Twitter to tell the world that they do not endorse Donald Trump and that the Republican presidential nominee has once again used one of their songs without their consent.
On Thursday, Donald Trump closed out his lengthy 76-minute acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention with the Rolling Stones hit “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” much to the dismay of fans and band members alike. On Friday, the official Twitter account for the Rolling Stones tweeted out their anger over the unauthorized use of their song, saying that Donald Trump used “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” without their permission and that the band does not, in any way, endorse Trump or his campaign.
The Rolling Stones lash out at Donald Trump for using their songs https://t.co/giheO5RWKL pic.twitter.com/XWlzH6IPp9
— The Sun (@TheSun) July 24, 2016
This isn’t the first time the Rolling Stones have had problems with Trump using their songs without permission during his presidential campaign. Back in May, Donald Trump walked out for his victory speech after the Indiana primary to the Stones song “Start Me Up,” after which a rep for the Rolling Stones spoke to Billboard and confirmed that the band did not authorize the use of their song.
“The Rolling Stones have never given permission to the Trump campaign to use their songs. [The band] have requested that they cease all use immediately.”
The Rolling Stones also aren’t the first band to ask that Donald Trump stop using their songs without express permission from the artists themselves. On Thursday, the Twitter account linked to the estate of the Beatles’ George Harrison tweeted about the anger felt at Donald Trump using their song “Here Comes The Sun” to introduce Ivanka Trump at the convention.
“The unauthorized use of # HereComestheSun at the # RNCinCLE is offensive & against the wishes of the George Harrison estate.”
The account then added that “[i]f it had been Beware of Darkness, then we MAY have approved it!”
On Monday, Trump took the stage at the Republican National Convention in a cloud of dry ice to Queen’s song “We are the Champions,” despite the fact that Brian May had previously told the Donald that they would not give authorization for the use of their music and asked that he cease using any of their songs. Following Donald Trump’s use of “We are the Champions” on Monday, the band responded by saying that Trump had never asked for permission to use the song and that it was used “against our wishes.”
Adam Lambert blasts Donald Trump for using Queen’s music https://t.co/gB1x0UHQiR via @GayTimesMag #gay #LGBT pic.twitter.com/hO4OmQleU7
— Gayety (@gayety) July 20, 2016
According to the Guardian , Adam Lambert, who has been touring with Queen in lieu of the late Freddie Mercury, was less than happy about Donald Trump’s use of the song and didn’t mince his words when speaking out against the Republican presidential nominee, who has not exactly been considered the most LGBT-friendly presidential candidate.
“If your political party spends decades treating gay people as second-class citizens, guess what: You don’t get to use Freddie Mercury’s music at your convention.”
“We are the Champions” was released in 1977 on Queen’s News of the World album. The rock anthem was written by Queen’s lead singer Freddie Mercury, who died from complications relating to AIDS on November 24, 1991, and who has become an icon within the LGBT community since his death, though, in life, he tended to keep his sexuality private.
The Rolling Stones, the Beatles, and Queen are joined by an ever-growing list of artists and bands who have expressed their dismay at Donald Trump using their songs during his presidential campaign. Adele, R.E.M., Neil Young, and Steven Tyler of Aerosmith are among the laundry list of musicians coming out of the woodwork to blast Trump for his unauthorized use of their works.
[Photo by Barry Brecheisen/Invision/File/AP Images]