It seems the Rolling Stones pulled “Brown Sugar” from their current setlists due to a group of female activists that infiltrated a fan message board, according to The Daily Mail. The band’s 2021 dates mark the first time since the tune’s release in 1971 that the Stones have omitted the chart-topper from their shows.
The popular online fan site and message board IORR — named after the band’s 1974 classic “It’s Only Rock N’ Roll (But I Like It)” — was besieged by an “organized group of woke activists systematically targeted hundreds of thousands of devotees around the world by infiltrating their online fan club. . . and relentlessly hammering fans and discussion threads with angry political trolling posts slamming the song’s reference to slavery.”
IORR founder, Norwegian Bjornulf Vik revealed: “IORR has been spammed by political posts related to ‘Brown Sugar’ lately. Like many other things, some people do make this a highly political discussion. It seems like it is impossible for some to discuss ‘Brown Sugar’ without getting highly political and offensive.”
Earlier this month, co-writer Keith Richards touched upon the recent wave of “cancel culture,” telling The Los Angeles Times the 1971 classic’s banishment was racially motivated: “You picked up on that, huh? I’m trying to figure out with the sisters quite where the beef is. Didn’t they understand this was a song about the horrors of slavery? But they’re trying to bury it. At the moment I don’t want to get into conflicts with all of this s***. But I’m hoping that we’ll be able to resurrect the babe in her glory somewhere along the track.”
Mick Jagger — who wrote the tune with Richards back in 1969 — was less specific about the song not being included: “We’ve played ‘Brown Sugar’ every night since 1970, so sometimes you think, ‘We’ll take that one out for now and see how it goes.'”
INTERNET COMMENTS via DailyMail.co.uk – agree or disagree???
Not the last word wrote: “Audiences should demand it for the encore! A stadium full of shouted requests might ensure common sense prevails. This song is against what the woke are against, they just don’t , or won’t, take account of context so there is no nuance.”
NorthLondoner76 wrote: “F the woke nerds and just sing the song………and sing it L O U D”
Ipootoo wrote: “Maybe every radio station etc should play it frequently in support of common sense?”
Johnnyo wrote: “Now these idiots know weak fools will give into them, they will try to do this with everything – just because they can. They are searching the archives, and scraping every barrel as we speak.”
adinfinitum wrote: “The majority of the Stones fans on that forum, and the Stones themselves, should have stood up for the song and for their views. The Marxist Minority only gets its way when fearful people cave in to them. Have some stones, Stones and fans!”
GoodOldDays wrote: “Why is everyone so willing to cave in to a vocal minority, what happened to democracy and the will of the majority.”
Mjel wrote “Still on iTunes-people have to stop caving to the perpetually offended.”
FAST FACTS
- “Brown Sugar” was started by Mick Jagger in 1969 when he was Down Under filming his second movie, Ned Kelly.
- It was supposedly inspired by one-time Ikette, Claudia Lennear.
- Some have supposed the song was inspired by Mick Jagger’s love interest, singer/actress Marsha Hunt — the mother of his first child, daughter, Karis.
- The Rolling Stones‘ “Brown Sugar” was recorded between December 2nd and 4th at Alabama’s Muscle Shoals Sound Studio.
- The tune, reportedly at guitarist Mick Taylor‘s request, was world premiered on December 6th, 1969 in Livermore, California, during the band’s infamous concert at the Altamont Speedway.
- In 1970, the band recorded a version with Eric Clapton supplying slide guitar, that although heavily bootlegged, was left unreleased until the 2015 “Super Deluxe” version of Sticky Fingers.
CHECK IT OUT: The Stones on June 25th, 1972 performing “Brown Sugar” live in Houston: