Alison Chabloz

Readers will have no doubt seen the latest Cancel Culture Controversy concerning British comic, Jimmy Carr. I won’t go into details here, only to point out that Carr has been criticised and condemned, whilst no doubt laughing all the way to the bank.

Coming shortly after wokedom’s outrage over Whoopi Goldberg’s comments on race, it seems that cancel culture is truly out of hand.

For something different and distant from all the noise, here is a song I wrote in 2009. Let Love In is a Latin number; the lyrics speak for themselves and have, at least from my own perspective, stood the test of time quite well.

The song also formed part of the set of my 2011 Edinburgh Fringe show Girl With The Guitar. After receiving a decent review in the official festival magazine, Three Weeks, I was invited into their studio to record one of my show numbers. Let Love In was my choice back then, as it is again today.

That same 2011 run, I also appeared on stage with American comic, Jonathan Prager, as piano accompanist for his solo cabaret My Damage Is My Gift. No review there, but I was delighted to have been spotted for my very first solo show – something of a rarity at the Fringe, so I believe.

In 2015, I returned to Edinburgh for my next solo show Autumn’s Here: ‘A refreshing blend of acoustic song and musical satire’ – a dedicated show webpage, like this website, that went online for the first time the same year.

In 2016, my show Tell Me More Lies was pulled at the last minute following complaints that my songs were ‘too political’. I speak of course of songs that eventually saw me locked up in prison. For reasons that I find both sad and bewildering, successive courts disregarded the fact that satirical songwriting and performance have been the mainstay of my professional career for the past 30 years. As well, after first showing unwillingness to prosecute me for my songs, it took the Crown Prosecution Service more than three years (taking over an initial private prosecution against me by militant Zionist lobby groups) to convict me and then another two to have me sent to jail.

How quick were the likes of Countdown blonde, Rachel Riley, to whoop their contentment after seeing a singer jailed for thoughtcrime. Unsurprisingly, Riley has yet to condemn her colleague Carr: seemingly an impossible task when, according to her own testimony, Carr’s show had her in ‘fits of giggles’.

As for myself, an unknown satirical songwriter arriving back in Blightly after leading a comfortable existance far from the madding crowd, life has not been easy. As well, the past two years under Covidism have been difficult for most people. However, I currently feel happier here and now, in my home nation, than I have felt for quite some time. Let’s hope this continues.