Bloc Party's Kele Okereke has been talking to the NME about his own experiences of racism as part of the music mag's tie up with the Love Music Hate Racism initiative.
Discussing the first time he himself encountered racism, he said: "The only thing I can remember is when I was around four years old and I was in a playground and some kid made a comment. That was the first time I realised I had different coloured skin to other people... as a four year old realising that you're different, realising that although you live in this country there are certain avenues and doors that are closed to you".
Commenting on the Love Music Hate Racism campaign against the recent regrowth of the British National Party, he continues: "I was told about the situation with the BNP handing out racist music outside schools and I thought that was a really abhorrent thing because young minds are impressionable. Anything that I could do to try to stem that is completely fine with me. We live in a bubble in London that isn't the same as certain parts of the rest of the UK and you can't forget that. There are places we've played in the UK where they really don't see non-white faces".
The current NME comes with a free Love Music Hate Racism CD on the cover, which is a rather good quite frankly. And there's a load of bonus tracks available to download from LMHR website too. It's all certainly worth loving music and hating racism for.
The tracklisting on the CD is as follows...
The Enemy - Fear Killed The Youth Of Our Nation
Lethal Bizzle - Babylons Burning The Ghetto
Roll Deep - Racist People (Vocal Remix)
Helsinki - Ampersand
The View - Fireworks & Flowers
Hard-Fi - We Need Love (Wrong Tom Mix)
MIA featuring Afrikan Boy - Hussle
Bloc Party Vs Diplo - Where Is Home? (Diplo Remix)
Carbon/Silicon - The Networks Going Down
Natty - If I...
Babyshambles - Stone Me - What A Life!
Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly - If I could Build You A Tower (demo)
The Charlatans - Blank Heart, Blank Mind
Dirty Pretty Things - 9 Lives
Albert Hammond Jr - Cartoon Music For Superheroes
The bonus download tracks are...
Blood Red Shoes - Cant Find The Door
Manu Chao - Tristeza Maleza
Mecca 2 Medina - Who The Cap Fits
Akala - Electro Livin
Nine Black Alps - Burn Faster
Biffy Clyro - Love Has A Diameter
New Young Pony Club - Ice Cream (The Hooks Remix)
Billy Bragg - The Big Lie (Featuring Ian McLagan)
Maximo Park - Nosebleed
Statik - Summer Nights (Featuring Tom Paddington, Ears, Scorcher)
Fionn Regan - Campaign Button
The Noisettes - Shame
Johnny Flynn & The Sussex Wit - Cold Bread (Engine Room Demo)
Skream - Chest Boxing
More at http://www.nme.com/lovemusichateracism