BG Entertainment abandons negotiations to bring Morrissey to Buenos Aires (due to Spacey comments)

Please excuse the long, scrappy nature of this information: it is all in Spanish and needed translation and is from various locations - which is beyond ironic given the gentleman concerned is relying on the 'iffy' translation from a German newspaper!
Daniel Grinbank is a huge music mogul / promoter / football club owner and has put on many, many iconic gigs like the Stones in Rio and practically all major musical artists.

Silencio via Google translate:
"Through his Twitter account, Daniel Grinbank claimed that his production company DG Entertainment abandoned negotiations for Morrissey to play in Buenos Aires after the controversial sayings of the singer in defense of Kevin Spacey and Harvey Weinstein became known.

"We are not interested in producing this type of artists with these values," the producer wrote about the former Smiths. As explained, DG had submitted an offer to bring it in 2018, but "having certified that their statements were true" to the German magazine Der Spiegel , decided to withdraw it."

https://silencio.com.ar/noticias/lo...-retiro-su-oferta-para-traer-morrissey-26413/

From Grinbank himself:
Original tweet:

Rough Twitter translation:

Then Instagram:

Original:

Then subsequent 'clarification':

Original:

Lastly:

Original:


If any of our fluent Spanish speakers can clean up the auto-translation so it reads more fluidly - please feel free.
I thought this story was worth sharing as it's the first negative reaction to his Das Spiegel comments to directly affect fans by the withdrawal of potential concerts.
Regards,
FWD.

 

[from Buenos Aires]

As a P.S,

It should be pointed out that right now Argentina is having a situation that is VERY similar to the situation of Hollywood with its sex scandals (K. Spacey, H. Weinstein, etc), BUT with the Music scene.

A lot of the persons involved in the scandals worked several times with Daniel Grinbank, which is not strange, he has worked with mostly every local musician or person involved in the local music scene.

i.e,
- The lead singer of probably the most popular Indie band is currently in jail due to Paedophilia (the lead singer of a band called "El Otro Yo").
-The lead singer of one of the most popular mainstream rock bands (Gustavo Cordera) is facing a trial after a public interview in front of students of journalism in which he strongly defended Paedophilia... He said later that he was "acting" as to help the students by placing them in an uneasy situation, but nobody is hiring him to play live.
-One of the most famous Radio Hosts (Ari Paluch), who was a historical member of the Rock & Pop radio of Daniel Grinbank has recently being accussed of "sexual harassment" by several of his female co-hosts and he got fired and he may never get a job again in his life.

These are some cases, there are several others.
So the "music scene" in Buenos Aires is right now living a lot of scandals related to paedophilia, sexual harassments and rapes.... So it became a VERY controversial subject quite recently, but specially when it comes to musicians (again, we are having something IDENTICAL to the "Hollywood sex scandal", but in the field of rock music). So what Morrissey said CAN be complicated locally. probably a bit more complicated than in other countries.

 

[Anonymous]

that explains his
and his
he is about his own buddies.

 

[from Buenos Aires]

this probably has more to do with the song 'Who Will Protect Us..'

now banned from playing anywhere in South America. Or not.

LOL.... not!!!!

If you wanna talk seriously about politics:

Venezuela was VERY important in South America till 2010-2012. They had a lot of "extra cash" and several countries payed the loans they had with the International Monetary Found by asking money from Venezuela. The "advantage" was that Venezuela was less intrusive economically and it offered by far better interest rates.

Of course, it was a "quid pro quo" and the deal involved that Venezuela was somehow the "leader" of the zone (with a main rival, that was Brazil).

The situation has changed a LOT since then and the governments of South America, specially the South of South America (pardon the redundant expression, but I mean Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay) became very "Venezuela-phobic".

The presidents of the South American Trading Bloc (Mercosur) have recently declared that Venezuela is a "Dictatorship" and that they want Maduro (president of Venezuela) to step down... See this link: https://www.ft.com/content/fe66fcd2-79fe-11e7-9108-edda0bcbc928

So, actually, the song is not banned in the "South of South America" and the presidents of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay would actually suggest the radios to play that song as much as they can (IF they cared about Morrissey), but the song is not "controversial" at all for the local governments of this whole zone... They would gladly play it every three hours on the official radio if there was one.

 

[ZOOM FROM GLOOM]

If you wanna talk seriously about politics:

no, not really.

 

[from Buenos Aires]

no, not really.

Hahaha... so, don't.

Anyway, "Who will protect us from the Police", which strongly attacks the government of Venezuela is NOT banned here is "the South of South America"... and what the song says is mostly the SAME thing that the local Governments are saying about Venezuela.

So that song is definitely NOT a problem, but quite the opposite... I can even imagine a local president quoting the song in a speech (though it would be somehow surreal to hear a president quoting Morrissey, but the specific ideas about Venezuela would be identical).

 

[Anonymous]

Who cares? Who cares about argentina? Anyway that country is (was) refugee of nazis (may all be dead by now). Come on. If he won't play there, no one cares, not even morrissey.

 

[AztecCamera]

Blimey, I reckon where is Banos Airease in Mexico? Is it close to Mexico city? He is playing Mexico City in March, why don't all you people just go see him there? It's going to be top mental because instead of bacon wrapped hot dogs like in LA, the Mexicans will be coookin' up Uncle Steve's favorite meal. Potato tacos, refried beans, coffee, and for desert chocolate chip cookies.

 

[from Buenos Aires]

Who cares? Who cares about argentina? Anyway that country is (was) refugee of nazis (may all be dead by now). Come on. If he won't play there, no one cares, not even morrissey.

I think Morrissey MAY care, but mostly because playing in Buenos Aires is very profitable for him... because of the weird oddity that he is a "stadyum artist" here (ask me why and I'll tell you that I don't know why). He can EASILY ask for a million dollars or two to play here... You know, that's not "nothing".

As for the Nazis... errr.... That situation is overrated and it's from 1945. So it's kinda silly, no artist would play in Berlin, excepy neo-Nazi bands because "They were Nazis".

Sao Paulo (Brazil), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and Buenos Aires (Argentina) are key places for probably every more or less well-known "Rock artist" because they are very populated cities and the "rock concerts" of any genre get very crowded (which means a lot of $$$$$).

 

[Anonymous]

That’s it, silence everyone. Don’t let anyone have an opinion. Liberals eating liberals - so fun to watch.

 

[Anonymous]

Before we all get swept away on a wave of public hysteria, it's worth remembering that at this moment in time, Kevin Spacey hasn't actually been convicted of anything - in fact, I don't think the police have officially charged him with anything yet.

 

[from Buenos Aires]

Blimey, I reckon where is Banos Airease in Mexico? Is it close to Mexico city? He is playing Mexico City in March, why don't all you people just go see him there? It's going to be top mental because instead of bacon wrapped hot dogs like in LA, the Mexicans will be coookin' up Uncle Steve's favorite meal. Potato tacos, refried beans, coffee, and for desert chocolate chip cookies.

It's not a bad option actually. Check the map, it's very close:

 

[Timeplease!]

He might say daft things from time to time but Moz is entitled to his opinion. Looks to me like nobody is allowed to say anything these days or to ever say what they mean. Moz was just articulating a different point of view. Maybe Spacey and Weinstein are guilty as sin but they've been judged by the media and political correctness without a trial or proper investigation. Whatever happened to 'presumed innocent '? Now its just everyone shitless that they'll upset anyone. What a load of boring bland bollox.
I'm just hoping Moz's big mouth doesn't ruin his relationship with the record label or destroy all chances of another couple of records before he retires.

Articles occasionally appear that liken the rash of allegations in high places to a witch hunt - https://www.counterpunch.org/2017/11/22/the-great-american-sex-panic-of-2017/

Even Angela Lansbury is at it today; interrogating victim behavior first - https://www.her.ie/entertainment/angela-lansbury-says-women-take-blame-sexual-harassment-376972

Sometimes it's people trying to make sense of what's going on, coming out with risky observations. Just cause I said it don't mean that I meant it, as Adele sings. But not everyone admits they might be wrong. At the end of that article about Lansbury, it says, 'disgraced producer Weinstein is currently being sued for alleged sex trafficking in France'. He's starting to rival Fred West in his vast perverse appetite.

 

[Marco]

He took the same position 20 years ago with an artist who wanted to play 'the river'?
What the F is he talking about?

If Im not mistaken he is talking about the River Plate Stadium...

 

[from Buenos Aires]

Since we are discussing this issue, it is worth mentioning that the "Free Speech" laws of Argentina are different than the "Free Speech" laws of other Countries (the USA comes to my mind). The laws guarantee Free Speech, but it has some limitations. There are 2 things which CAN'T be said without facing consequences (legal consequences):

-Promoting crimes, violence, etc.
-Racism, Xenophobia, Sexism.

i.e, You are free to say things like "I hate the president", "I think the president is an idiot", "I think the president is an asshole"... that's OK.

HOWEVER: "I would kill the president for the safety of mankind" is NOT OK here.... You can express disgust, disagreement, whatever you want, but NOT something that suggests a crime (i.e, the intention to kill).
Same thing with expressions like "I wish someone killed the president"... you can end up in jail for such thing (for a day or two... not really a lifetime).

Same thing with other comments...
You are free to say: "I don't believe that X raped those women, I think he's innocent"... and that's not a problem.
BUT if you say "The women that X raped actually deserved to be raped", then you will probably face a trial.

Same thing goes for other comments like "Did you see the thing on the news about their treatment of animals and animal welfare? Absolutely horrific. You can't help but feel that the Chinese are a subspecies."... If you say something like that in Argentina, you will face a trial.

It is a bit like Germany and the prohibition to make the Nazi salute in public. We do not have the North American concept of "absolute free speech". This isn't North Korea, but some things can't be said (especially things related to racism, xenophobia... and things which are openly promoting a serious crime, like the idea of killing someone, the president or any other person).

 

[Anonymous]

Honestly, if Morrissey doesn't smarten up and watch what he says, it would not surprise me to find ourselves in same situation as 2014 - Morrissey unceremoniously dropped from his record label. With the comments referenced above, and now the Trump one.... you've got to figure the folks at BMG are second guessing their decision.

BMG for Gods sake, ditch Morrissey and all of his disgusting, despicable, sick, attention seeking, opportunistic, vile thoughts. So vile. That's not fame.

 

[from Buenos Aires]

If Im not mistaken he is talking about the River Plate Stadium...

Yeah, he's talking about the River Plate stadium (a soccer club with a BIG stadium -60,000 persons capacity).
It is one of the biggest ones and certainly NOT a place where Morrissey would play, it's "too big" for him.

Sme persons who played at River are The Rolling Stones, Madonna, Michael Jackson, etc... and in a strange way, The Ramones*... but it's "too much" for Morrissey.


*Another oddity of Argentina: The Ramones were here a VERY mainstream band with an audience as big as the one that Madonna or Michael Jackson may have. There are historical reasons for such thing, but they played for audiences as big as 60,000 persons.

I've just checked in wikipedia and they played 27 times in Argentina (a few times playing in a stadium in 5 consecutive days and completely selling all the tickets for each show -They did such thing at least twice).

But, in short, naming "River" is simply naming the biggest stadium available.... and a way to explain that he has organized VERY big concerts.

The BIGGEST stadium in which Morrissey played here is G.E.B.A., which is for 12,000 spectators (River is for 60,000).... unless you count a Festival similar to a local version of Lollapalooza in which he closed the Festival and played for maybe 50,000 persons, but that's a tricky number, because it was an audience that mixed the fans of many different bands (you know, a Festival with many bands often has a larger audience than the concert of a single artist).

 

[Anonymous]

Yeah, he's talking about the River Plate stadium (a soccer club with a BIG stadium -60,000 persons capacity).
It is one of the biggest ones and certainly NOT a place where Morrissey would play, it's "too big" for him.

Sme persons who played at River are The Rolling Stones, Madonna, Michael Jackson, etc... and in a strange way, The Ramones*... but it's "too much" for Morrissey.


*Another oddity of Argentina: The Ramones were here a VERY mainstream band with an audience as big as the one that Madonna or Michael Jackson may have. There are historical reasons for such thing, but they played for audiences as big as 60,000 persons.

I've just checked in wikipedia and they played 27 times in Argentina (a few times playing in a stadium in 5 consecutive days and completely selling all the tickets for each show -They did such thing at least twice).

But, in short, naming "River" is simply naming the biggest stadium available.... and a way to explain that he has organized VERY big concerts.

The BIGGEST stadium in which Morrissey played here is G.E.B.A., which is for 12,000 spectators (River is for 60,000).... unless you count a Festival similar to a local version of Lollapalooza in which he closed the Festival and played for maybe 50,000 persons, but that's a tricky number, because it was an audience that mixed the fans of many different bands (you know, a Festival with many bands often has a larger audience than the concert of a single artist).

Yes, OK, he told some HUGE act to hit the road. LOL Ok

the guy is either puffing on a couple of those funny cigarettes, who knows what
exactly he is talking about.

 

[countthree]

The presidents of the South American Trading Bloc (Mercosur) have recently declared that Venezuela is a "Dictatorship" and that they want Maduro (president of Venezuela) to step down... See this link: https://www.ft.com/content/fe66fcd2-79fe-11e7-9108-edda0bcbc928

I only agree with this part of your post. I was going to write a lot of things here, but I deleted them. I'm very outraged with everybody. This world is full of hypocrites. Politicians and businessmen are the worst. The ONLY ideology they respect is MONEY. If the shoe fits, wear it. Everybody lives on lies, and they don't care. They even believe their own lies.

 

[countthree]

If any of our fluent Spanish speakers can clean up the auto-translation so it reads more fluidly - please feel free.

Know what? Trash can't be cleaned.

 

[countthree]

Since we are discussing this issue, it is worth mentioning that the "Free Speech" laws of Argentina are different than the "Free Speech" laws of other Countries (the USA comes to my mind). The laws guarantee Free Speech, but it has some limitations. There are 2 things which CAN'T be said without facing consequences (legal consequences):

-Promoting crimes, violence, etc.
-Racism, Xenophobia, Sexism.

i.e, You are free to say things like "I hate the president", "I think the president is an idiot", "I think the president is an asshole"... that's OK.

HOWEVER: "I would kill the president for the safety of mankind" is NOT OK here.... You can express disgust, disagreement, whatever you want, but NOT something that suggests a crime (i.e, the intention to kill).
Same thing with expressions like "I wish someone killed the president"... you can end up in jail for such thing (for a day or two... not really a lifetime).

Same thing with other comments...
You are free to say: "I don't believe that X raped those women, I think he's innocent"... and that's not a problem.
BUT if you say "The women that X raped actually deserved to be raped", then you will probably face a trial.

Same thing goes for other comments like "Did you see the thing on the news about their treatment of animals and animal welfare? Absolutely horrific. You can't help but feel that the Chinese are a subspecies."... If you say something like that in Argentina, you will face a trial.

It is a bit like Germany and the prohibition to make the Nazi salute in public. We do not have the North American concept of "absolute free speech". This isn't North Korea, but some things can't be said (especially things related to racism, xenophobia... and things which are openly promoting a serious crime, like the idea of killing someone, the president or any other person).

A lot of things can't be said in our loved and generous country. I agree. But we still manage to kill a woman every 30 hours and police rarely catch the criminals. The biggest thieves and corrupts are free and walking the streets after having stolen half the country during the last decade. BUT you can't say certain things. THAT is hypocresy and people are very tired of it. I hope you read it, Grinbank. Please, take the time to tell us what sins you need to wash trolling Morrissey.