A band seeking donations for food banks had their album launch on the River Thames cancelled - because of their 'political' banner.
Scarlet Rebels had planned to play all of their new album, See Through Blue, on a boat on the river with the iconic London skyline as the backdrop, as it passed landmarks such as the Houses of Parliament and the London Eye, on Monday, January 31.
The group, who hail from Llanelli, were offering free entry to the event, but instead asked those joining them to bring donations to support local foodbanks, as they do at all their shows.
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But after the boat company became aware of their album cover, which was to feature on a banner tied to the boat, the booking was cancelled.
The sleeve features an image of a Boris Johnson-like figure at a lectern, from behind, and with a demonic shadow.
Capital Pleasure Boats, the company which rents the vessels, said it had not been aware of the band's appeal for food bank donations, but said it had a policy of remaining 'neutral on political matters'.
Scarlet Rebels frontman Wayne Doyle said: "We wrote the album during the pandemic about what we were seeing at the time, which appeared to be the Tory government feathering their own nests. We think it's probably more relevant now than when we wrote it.
"We've always tried to use our position to make a negative situation into something positive, which is why we're always asked people coming to our gigs to donate to foodbanks. The boat trip was free, all we were asking for was foodbank donations.
"So we were very surprised when we found out our boat booking had been cancelled. I thought in the UK you were meant to be able to have free speech. It’s sickening that at a time when food banks are being used more than ever thanks to a Tory government that’s turned its back on the working classes, that a boat company won’t even let us do our bit because of our 'inflammatory' album cover.
"We had arranged for lots of people from home to come to London for the launch, so a lot of people have been left out of pocket. They had arranged time off work, booked trains and hotels, only for it to be cancelled. It is very disappointing".
The band have had their music played at Parc y Scarlets and also enjoy support from Llanelli rugby legend Jonathan Davies.
Following the boat cancellation, they have instead been launching the album online and through in-store events.
Their record label, Earache Records, are hoping the album will hit the top 20 in the midweek album charts next week, which they said would be a first for a band from Llanelli.
A spokesman for Capital Pleasure Boats said: "We were not aware of the food bank support, we discovered that they wanted to display a banner with a satirical image of Boris Johnson outside the Houses of Parliament. As a company we remain neutral on political matters and do not allow functions to publicly display banners/signs of a political nature".
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