What To Say

In yesterday’s brief recap of Monday night’s gig I forgot to mention the performance of Invisible Sun. It was the only song for which a kind of video was used on the video screens otherwise employed for the usual images of the band in performance. I say video, but actually the film was a series of stills of children’s faces, beautifully photographed, reflecting the simple message of hope, or rather the need for hope, in the song. The performance was the tightest of the night, I suppose the need to synchronise closely with the images dictating a controlled performance of his nature. It certainly constituted ensemble playing of a high order.

But for me it also served as an reminder of the fact that, despite being a major hit single, the song received little air-play on the BBC, and the video itself was banned owing to the images connected to the Troubles in Northern Ireland. How odd that seems today when the song itself seems beyond reproach in terms of any ‘message’ involved. And how strange the BBC should have felt the need to protect British citizens from those images of conflict, almost as if reluctant to admit that any such thing was taking place.

As a general rule of thumb it might be useful to suggest that when the great and good decide what’s best for us we remember the words of a wise though rather feisty old Roman: Quis custodiet ipsos custodes. This might be very, very loosely Englished as: Whatever you say, say nothing (at least in its implications) but you’ll find a more accurate translation here.