An article about Mark Seymour’s Roll Back the Stone and the PETA Hunters name change request.

Author:  Marta Jary, Daily Mail Australia.

Date: 9 April 2017.

Original URL: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-4394286/Mark-Seymour-Hunters-Collectors-announces-new-album.html

Article Text

Mark Seymour of Hunters and Collectors announces new album with anti-racism track…after being asked by PETA to change his band’s name

Mark Seymour has had an illustrious 30 years of songwriting under his belt and now the Aussie icon is releasing a new album.

The new album, Roll Back The Stone, includes reworked Hunters and Collectors classics including a version of Throw Your Arms Around Me that includes a new verse welcoming refugees and immigrants.

The 60-year-old, who as been a vocal opponent of Pauline Hanson, tells The Daily Telegraph, ‘That verse was inspired by that spate of handheld videos which came out with people yelling s*** on buses and trains which were real full-on.

Busy man: Mark Seymour has had an illustrious 30 years of songwriting under his belt and now the Aussie icon is releasing a new album

‘I found them incredibly unnerving I decided to write this verse about ‘you can ride on my bus anytime’. I think it was a line one of these punters used when they posted one of those videos,’ he says.

Mark is also heading on tour, with dates in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane in July.

It comes after Mark’s Iconic Aussie rock band Hunters and Collectors was urged by PETA to change their name to discourage people from ‘killing defenseless animals’.

Ashley Fruno, The Australian associate director of campaigns for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, wrote to the band personally.

Fighting for their rights: Ashley Fruno (pictured) The Australian associate director of campaigns for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, wrote to the band personally

‘We feel sure that it was never your intention to promote the killing of intelligent, sensitive, and defenseless animals,’ Ashley’s letter began.

She continued, ‘But your name may nevertheless make hunting seem appealing to your fans’.

‘Nearly 300,000 Australian waterbirds face an agonising death during hunting season, which opens in Victoria and Tasmania next week,’ she wrote.

Protests: Ashley is an outspoken campaigner for the animal rights organisation and has stripped off for the cause at protests in North Korea and Thailand

Plea: ‘We feel sure that it was never your intention to promote the killing of intelligent, sensitive, and defenseless animals. But your name may nevertheless make hunting seem appealing to your fans’ Ashley’s letter began

Ashley concluded, ‘As your Adelaide reunion show is coming up, now is the perfect time for a band namelift.’

‘Changing its name would be a win-win situation for the band’, Ashley was quoted as saying on the site.

She added: ‘The name would no longer be synonymous with animal suffering, and the move would help persuade people to aim for less violent hobbies.’

Live:Mark is heading on tour, with dates in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane in July

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