A SCOTTISH band have spoken of their surprise when they spotted their pro-independence song in the official UK charts.
Feet of Clay’s vocalist Johnpaul McMullen said it was “really unexpected” to have his song No Apologies reach number 83 in the charts. “We have just been promoting the song on Twitter and playing on local radio stations but we’ve had no national airplay,” he said. “We didn’t expect it to happen.”
Feet of Clay was formed 10 years ago and is signed to Button Up Records, which is run by Garry John Kane of the Proclaimers.
McMullen said he didn’t plan to write a political song, telling The National: “I write about whatever is bothering me. I didn’t set out to write anything political. You've got to apologise for supporting independence these days since we lost the referendum in 2014.”
The song’s music video, which has only had about 500 views, features scenes from various independence marches across Scotland with the lyrics “together we are one/I’m not ever apologising”. “You take and you take and you just can’t give” is sung over pictures of the royal family, statistics about lack of disability benefits and support for the homeless and the Tories controversial Covid contracts.
McMullen added: “The song is unapologetic as the lyrics say ‘take and take and won’t give’. We want to get rid of the Tories and have our own government.”
He says the band’s other members – Bif Brown, Brian Imrie, Craig Croal, Andy Kirkpatrick and Mick Mullen – also support independence.
McMullen continued: “We played a gig at Yes in the Park [a pro-independence event at Glasgow's Strathclyde Park] before 2014 so we always had our colours nailed to the mast.
“The meaning [of No Apologies] could bypass you if you didn’t know what the song was about. Everyone is now desperate for independence – I thought there was a big majority before the last referendum but it is definitely bigger now.”
McMullen said people don’t use the arts enough in Scotland to convey political messages, pointing to the Cool Britannia movement which coincided with the 1997 General Election where Tony Blair's New Labour government won in a landslide.
He added: “I don’t think enough people use the arts to convey political messages. When New Labour came in they used Oasis. I don’t think we do that in Scotland.”
McMullen advised Yes voters to avoid getting caught up in party politics, concluding: “I see a lot of people fighting about the SNP and Alba. We tell No voters independence is not a party thing but all of a sudden it’s about new parties. What matters most is that we all vote for independence.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel