The punk band from Brighton aren’t the first to pull out of the festival that takes place in Austin, Texas, from March 12th until the 14th. Also refusing to perform include Scowl, Okay Shalom, Gel and Squirrelflower with further artists joining the boycott.
“We are pulling out of SXSW tomorrow,” wrote the Brighton band in a statement on social media. “We won’t be going to Austin whatsoever.”
They continued, “For transparency, the reason it’s taken us a few days to pull out the festival is because we received funding from PRS Foundation to play. We were trying to find a way to out of the situation whilst keeping our moral integrity in tact and not having to repay thousands of pounds at the same time.”
A docufilm about the legendary Billy Preston that’s set to debut at SXSW
Billy Preston Documentary Hit With Fraud Lawsuit By Sam & Dave Singer And Others Ahead Of SXSW Premiere
The Paris Barclay-directed documentary, Billy Preston: That’s The Way God Planned It, is set to make its world premiere at 6:15 p.m. CT Friday at the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, according to Deadline.
The two-claim complaint (read it here) seeks an immediate “injunction preventing Defendants from exhibiting, screening, distributing, selling or otherwise exploiting the Documentary containing intellectual property and other materials provided by and belonging to Plaintiffs, including, without limitation footage from the interviews given by Plaintiffs Joyce Moore, Samuel Moore and Kenneth Burke.”
Preseton was a singer, songwriter and keyboard wiz who famously collaborated with the Fab Four, a teaming chronicled in Peter Jackson’s epic docuseries The Beatles: Get Back, before going on to a successful solo career. He hit No. 2 in the U.S. with his Grammy-winning 1972 instrumental “Outa-Space” before topping the Billboard 200 with “Will It Go Round in Circles” and “Nothing From Nothing” during the next two years. He also worked with George Harrison after the Beatles’ breakup, earning a second Grammy for his contributions to The Concert for Bangladesh. Preston died in 2006 at 59.
The 29-page complaint is very specific about its discontent with the doc.
“In particular, the Documentary contains extensive commentary from an individual who never even met Mr. Preston regarding the roots of his homosexuality and impact of childhood sexual abuse,” the jury trial-seeking filing says. “The prominent feature of that scandalous material originating from someone to whom Mr. Preston was a complete stranger (and who apparently was owed a favor on a quid pro quo basis by the film’s director) is jarring and out of place. Their inclusion, the overall framing of the Documentary and the manner in which the film is being marketed, all confirm that this project is about pushing the director’s and producers’ personal agendas and financial benefit rather than the homage to Billy Preston that was sold to Plaintiffs.”
