Joan Baez has told the Washington Post that she was banned from performing at a gig for recovering soldiers at a US army hospital. The singer and anti-war activist says that she was invited to take part in the concert by John Mellencamp, and that she had accepted that invite, but that army officials intervened.
Baez said: "I have always been an advocate for non-violence and I have stood as firmly against the Iraq war as I did the Vietnam War 40 years ago. I realise now that I might have contributed to a better welcome home for those soldiers fresh from Vietnam. Maybe that's why I didn't hesitate to accept the invitation to sing for those returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. In the end, four days before the concert, I was not 'approved' by the Army to take part. Strange irony".
The official line seems to be that the request for Baez's involvement was submitted too late to be approved, but Mellencamp is quoted by RollingStone.com as saying: "They didn't give me a reason why she couldn't come. We asked why and they said 'She can't fit here, period'".