It’s no secret that Babyshambles lead Pete Doherty has made his fair share of boneheaded mistakes. If it’s not all the drugs or Amy Winehouse, then it’s his latest blunder of regaling the crowd at Munich’s On3 Festival with the Nazi anthem.
According to a report from Gigwise.com, the crowd began to boo almost immediately after Doherty began the song, causing security to whisk him off stage. Festival organizer and coolest named person ever Bayerischer Rundfunk said of the incident, “We decided to stop Peter Doherty’s appearance on stage as quickly as possible. The live radio broadcast was cut immediately.” Video evidence below.
The first verse of “Song of Germany” is the tune in question and was used by the Nazis during their reign. Now the Germans just use the third verse as their national song. And only adding fuel to the fire of Doherty’s anti-establishment leanings is the recent unveiling of the anti-British National Party song “BNP Blues”.
Please, Pete, just go back to getting arrested.
Doherty’s spokeswomen has since issued a statement (via Sky News) noting that the musician “was unaware of the controversy surrounding the German National anthem and he deeply apologises if he has caused any offence.”
“[He] wanted to celebrate his appearance in Munich by assimilating and integrating with the crowd, something he tries do wherever he goes,” the statement continues. “Peter himself is from Jewish descent and has fought against racism and fascism with numerous organisations including Love Music Hate Racism.
“This is a subject he feels very strongly about.”
