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Artist News Gigs & Festivals
Massive Attack criticise Pete Tong over orchestral cover of Unfinished Sympathy
By Andy Malt | Published on Friday 15 December 2017
Massive Attack have hit out at Pete Tong for including their song ‘Unfinished Sympathy’ in his orchestral ‘Ibiza Classics’ show. The duo’s 3D has suggested, in an open letter posted on Facebook, that Tong donate some of the profits from the show to charity, as Massive Attack do when they perform the 1991 track live.
A collaboration with The Heritage Orchestra, Tong’s show is currently touring the UK, with performances at London’s O2 Arena tonight and tomorrow. A live album, including the cover of ‘Unfinished Sympathy’, was also released earlier this month.
“Thanks for covering one of our songs on your nostalgia nightmare roadshow”, writes 3D. “I don’t recollect you getting in touch to see if we would mind, but for your information: When we play that song we display photos of displaced people in refugee camps by the photographer Giles Duley on the screen to raise awareness for their plight and collect money for UNHCR”.
He continues: “If you do mean to carry on coining it, why don’t you divide your nightly profit by the number of songs you murder in your set, and hand the total of that one song over to UNHCR. It would be the least you could do”.
More ‘Ibiza Classics’ dates have been announced for November 2018, so maybe that will happen. Although it is being billed as “a whole new show”, so perhaps ‘Unfinished Sympathy’ just won’t feature. As yet, neither Tong nor the Heritage Orchestra have commented.
