Musician Winston Marshall (above) who has left the band Mumford & Sons
This afternoon.
Musical differences?
No.
Musical similarities?
Stop that.
Via Winston Marshall
At the beginning of March I tweeted to American journalist Andy Ngo, author of the New York Times Bestseller, Unmasked. “Congratulations @MrAndyNgo. Finally had the time to read your important book. You’re a brave man”. Posting about books had been a theme of my social-media throughout the pandemic. I believed this tweet to be as innocuous as the others. How wrong I turned out to be.
Over the course of 24 hours it was trending with tens of thousands of angry retweets and comments. I failed to foresee that my commenting on a book critical of the Far-Left could be interpreted as approval of the equally abhorrent Far-Right.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Thirteen members of my family were murdered in the concentration camps of the Holocaust. My Grandma, unlike her cousins, aunts and uncles, survived. She and I were close. My family knows the evils of fascism painfully well. To say the least. To call me “fascist” was ludicrous beyond belief.
I’ve had plenty of abuse over the years. I’m a banjo player after all. But this was another level. And, owing to our association, my friends, my bandmates, were getting it too. It took me more than a moment to understand how distressing this was for them.
Despite being four individuals we were, in the eyes of the public, a unity. Furthermore it’s our singer’s name on the tin. That name was being dragged through some pretty ugly accusations, as a result of my tweet. The distress brought to them and their families that weekend I regret very much. I remain sincerely sorry for that. Unintentionally, I had pulled them into a divisive and totemic issue.
Emotions were high. Despite pressure to nix me they invited me to continue with the band. That took courage, particularly in the age of so called “cancel culture”. I made an apology and agreed to take a temporary step back.
Rather predictably another viral mob came after me, this time for the sin of apologising. Then followed libellous articles calling me “right-wing” and such. Though there’s nothing wrong with being conservative, when forced to politically label myself I flutter between “centrist”, “liberal” or the more honest “bit this, bit that”. Being labeled erroneously just goes to show how binary political discourse has become. I had criticised the “Left”, so I must be the “Right”, or so their logic goes.
Why did I apologise?
“Rub your eyes and purify your heart — and prize above all else in the world those who love you and who wish you well.” — Aleksander Solzhenitsyn once wrote. In the mania of the moment I was desperate to protect my bandmates. The hornets’ nest that I had unwittingly hit had unleashed a black-hearted swarm on them and their families. I didn’t want them to suffer for my actions, they were my priority.
Secondly, I was sincerely open to the fact that maybe I did not know something about the author or his work. “Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak,” Churchill once said, “courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen”. And so I listened.
I have spent much time reflecting, reading and listening. The truth is that my commenting on a book that documents the extreme Far-Left and their activities is in no way an endorsement of the equally repugnant Far-Right. The truth is that reporting on extremism at the great risk of endangering oneself is unquestionably brave. I also feel that my previous apology in a small way participates in the lie that such extremism does not exist, or worse, is a force for good.
So why leave the band?
On the eve of his leaving to the West, Solzhenitsyn published an essay titled ‘Live Not By Lies’. I have read it many times now since the incident at the start of March. It still profoundly stirs me.
“And he who is not sufficiently courageous to defend his soul — don’t let him be proud of his ‘progressive’ views, and don’t let him boast that he is an academician or a people’s artist, a distinguished figure or a general. Let him say to himself: I am a part of the herd and a coward. It’s all the same to me as long as I’m fed and kept warm.”
For me to speak about what I’ve learnt to be such a controversial issue will inevitably bring my bandmates more trouble. My love, loyalty and accountability to them cannot permit that. I could remain and continue to self-censor but it will erode my sense of integrity. Gnaw my conscience. I’ve already felt that beginning.
The only way forward for me is to leave the band. I hope in distancing myself from them I am able to speak my mind without them suffering the consequences. I leave with love in my heart and I wish those three boys nothing but the best. I have no doubt that their stars will shine long into the future. I will continue my work with Hong Kong Link Up and I look forward to new creative projects as well as speaking and writing on a variety of issues, challenging as they may be.
Why I’m Leaving Mumford & Sons (Winston Marshall)
Pic via Winston Marshall
He could have just said, “I’ve been in a terrible band for too long and I’ve had enough.”
Gruelling banjos.
Why are famous people on Twitter again?
Andy Ngo is a fascist though
Pot meet kettle
Another day, another jusayinlike new handle try out
Ah yes those fascist journalists reporting on current events.
Free speech is a very fascist invention too eh?
He is, though.
I have a much better idea – just turn off all the fupping electronic devices, play the music and enjoy your life minus the internet
it never ceases to amaze me how something that started off as a fancy typewriter has basically become our central nervous system (well for some anyway)
if they could step away from it for a day or two they’d see that it’s just such a pile of fupping nonsense
not a major fan of the band but I find all of this really “sad”
I disagree- I would never haver discovered this sensitive alarm person otherwise.
https://www.tiktok.com/@marcrebillet/video/694621440560025114?
that’s a 404 for me I’m afraid SOQ
(or maybe I’m just not kewl enough to be allowed to view it lol)
Interesting GB.
I hink it was Terence McKenna (maybe Alan Watts) who’s said something like – that one day, man’s nervous system will almost be figuratively linked to the telecommunication superhighway and that he would feel things from around the world that are taking place no where near him. Making him super sensitive to world events.
Smart bloke – whichever one said it. ;)
Micko/SOQ if you like an engaging read have a go at this one:
https://www.kennys.ie/shop/surveillance-valley-the-secret-military-history-of-the-internet-1
good to understand the medium that so much time on is burnt on all about, not majorly techy, a solid read
Cool. Looks interesting
I’ll check it out.
Ta
I hope he didn’t leave the band because of this storm in a teacup. I hope he left because he’s bored or wants to strike out on his own or any other good reason.
Do you think it’s a storm in a teacup though ?
It’s pretty awful
However I don’t care Lilly
And neither does anyone else – he’s an ex-banjo player ffs
And not even a good one
He’s no Scottser from Broadsheet
Or a Seamus Egan
Speaking of which has anyone noticed that V has actually left Broadsheet this time? Finally!
Should we say a mass or will a whole novena be required ?
May the Lord have mercy on her virtual soul
And May she arise again like Lazarus
This tone poem is written in her style as a form of Offertory Procession
Ah she’ll be back. She’s running for a credit union election or something. Once that’s over, she’ll be rolling up her sleeves to to bring us a slice of the legendary Cork Battenberg.
Who knew so many Americans actually read books…
The lad’s a Brit. So’s the band. But you’re right about Americans. Complete strangers to the written word.
To hell with Godwin’s Law, let’s consider what might’ve happened had a member of a popular musical act been outed as a Jew, a Communist or a Homosexual, in Nazi Germany.
This would’ve happened.
…What??
So, it’s… great to see the inverse?
Good
… for him.
(I’d dropped me phone on my face)
Hehehehehehee. Old age!
Never again!
https://m.indiamart.com/proddetail/lazy-neck-mobile-holder-21382947391.html
I know that I’m supposed to feel outraged/ horrified by this but I honestly couldn’t give one
Leaving Cert English Paper One;
Write an essay about being a banjo player departing from an average band.
Oh no!, what will trust-fund baby Winston Aubrey Aladar Marshall do for money now?
In other news: Glen Hansard’s Plateau Records Ltd post-tax profit down to €25.8k from €94.4k. Sitting on profits of €1.32m and shared director’s pay of €203.8k.
Perhaps being in a band with a better name than something that sounds like a family-run furniture removal firm in Lancashire would help his artistic creds.