Sigur Rós have joined the likes of Grinspoon in gently protesting Margaret Court and the arena that still bears her name by releasing some special edition merchandise that takes aim squarely at the tennis star and her somewhat antiquated personal beliefs i.e. a longstanding record of blatant, old-school homophobia.
Along with a special t-shirt promoting marriage equality commissioned especially for the gig, the band have issued a statement explaining that “friends and fans have made [them] aware of recent comments by Margaret Court” as well as “her sider views on race and sexuality”.
The Iclandic outfit point out (embarrassingly for Australia, I might add) that their home country has recognised same-sex partnerships for almost 20 years, and the same adoption rights for a decade, with marriages finally being adopted in 2010 by the world’s first openly gay Prime Minister.
“We know Margaret Court’s opinions are not shared by the majority of Australians,” they add. “We want to add our voice to the call for marriage equality in Australia.”
The shirts will be available at the Melbourne gig on July 27, but will also be sold online, as well as at the Sydney show and Splendour in the Grass, with all proceeds going towards Australian marriage equality efforts.|
The full statement is included below, and the tees can be picked up here.
Sigur Rós’ statement on Margaret Court
DEAR MELBOURNE & AUSTRALIA,
SINCE WE FORMED SIGUR RÓS SOME TWENTY YEARS AGO, WE HAVE BEEN LUCKY ENOUGH TO VISIT AUSTRALIA SEVEN TIMES. WE’RE VERY MUCH LOOKING FORWARD TO OUR EIGHTH VISIT THIS JULY.
WE ARE CURRENTLY IN THE MIDDLE OF OUR WORLDWIDE TOUR, PLAYING MORE THAN 130 SHOWS AND VISITING 39 COUNTRIES. ALONG THE WAY WE HAVE PLAYED SOME OF THE WORLD’S FINEST VENUES, AND WE’RE FINISHING WITH A RESIDENCE AT THE HARPA CONCERT HALL IN OUR HOME TOWN OF REYKJAVÍK, ICELAND AT THE END OF THIS YEAR.
OUR NEXT MELBOURNE SHOW IS SET TO TAKE PLACE ON JULY 27TH AT MARGARET COURT ARENA. OUR FANS AND FRIENDS HAVE MADE US AWARE OF RECENT COMMENTS BY MARGARET COURT REGARDING HER OPPOSITION TO QANTAS’S SUPPORT OF SAME SEX MARRIAGE IN AUSTRALIA, AND HER WIDER VIEWS ON RACE AND SEXUALITY.
ICELAND IS A COUNTRY WHERE SAME SEX PARTNERSHIPS HAVE BEEN RECOGNISED SINCE 1996, AND WHERE SAME SEX COUPLES HAVE ENJOYED THE SAME ADOPTION RIGHTS AS STRAIGHT COUPLES SINCE 2006. SAME SEX MARRIAGES WERE UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED IN OUR PARLIAMENT IN 2010 (OUR THEN PRIME MINISTER, JÓHANNA SIGURÐARDÓTTIR, WAS THE WORLD’S FIRST OPENLY GAY PM, AND ONE OF THE VERY FIRST ICELANDERS TO BE MARRIED UNDER THIS LEGISLATION). WE ARE ALSO HAPPY TO SAY THAT SINCE 2008 THE CHURCH OF ICELAND, AND ALL OTHER RELIGIONS, WERE OFFICIALLY GRANTED PERMISSION TO BLESS SAME SEX UNIONS.
WE KNOW MARGARET COURT’S OPINIONS ARE NOT SHARED BY THE MAJORITY OF AUSTRALIANS. WE WANT TO ADD OUR VOICE TO THE CALL FOR MARRIAGE EQUALITY IN AUSTRALIA —RIGHT HERE ON MARGARET COURT ARENA ITSELF. AUSTRALIA SHOULD BE A COUNTRY THAT CELEBRATES POSITIVITY AND INCLUSION, AS WELL AS ACHIEVEMENT ON THE SPORTING FIELD.
WE’VE DECIDED TO COMMISSION A SPECIAL TEE-SHIRT FOR THIS MELBOURNE SHOW, WHICH WE’LL ALSO SELL AT OUR SYDNEY SHOW AND AT SPLENDOUR IN THE GRASS, PROCEEDS FROM WHICH WILL GO TOWARDS SUPPORT OF AUSTRALIAN MARRIAGE EQUALITY.
LET’S MAKE JULY 27TH MARGARET COURT ARENA’S MOST INCLUSIVE NIGHT EVER AND CALL FOR EVERY AUSTRALIAN TO HAVE THE SAME DIGNITY AND RESPECT RIGHT HERE ON CENTRE COURT.
TAKK FYRIR,
SIGUR RÓS
