Singing This Song Can Get You Arrested

Under no circumstance should anyone ever sing the following song in a taxi:

London calling to the faraway towns
Now war is declared - and battle come down
London calling to the underworld
Come out of the cupboard,you boys and girls
London calling, now don't look to us
Phoney Beatlemania has bitten the dust
London calling, see we ain't got no swing
'Cept for the reign of that truncheon thing

CHORUS
The ice age is coming, the sun's zooming in
Meltdown expected, the wheat is growing thin
Engines stop running, but I have no fear
Cause London is burning and I live by the river

London calling to the imitation zone
Forget it, brother, you can go at it alone
London calling to the zombies of death
Quit holding out - and draw another breath
London calling - and I don't wanna shout
But while we were talking I saw you nodding out
London calling, see we ain't got no high
Except for that one with the yellowy eyes

CHORUS x2
The ice age is coming, the sun's zooming in
Engines stop running, the wheat is growing thin
A nuclear error, but I have no fear
Cause London is drowning and I, I live by the river

Now get this
London calling, yes, I was there, too
An' you know what they said? Well, some of it was true!
London calling at the top of the dial
And after all this, won't you give me a smile?
London Calling

I never felt so much alike, like-a, like-a...

Why? I hear you say.

This is the song that Harraj Mann, aged 24, of Hartlepool, was singing in a taxi on his way to the Tees Valley Airport before boarding a plane bound for London.

Apparently the words "now war is declared and battle come down" and other terrorist type words like "meltdown expected" made Mann's taxi driver suspicious to the point where he contacted British anti-terrorism detectives who then escorted Mann off the plane he was hoping to catch.

The taxi had been fitted with a music system which allowed Mann to plug in his MP3 player and he had been playing The Clash, Procol Harum, Led Zeppelin and the Beatles to the driver.

Mann told newspapers that if the taxi driver didn't like Led Zeppelin or The Clash, he didn't think there was any need to tell the police.

Mann, a mobile phone salesman from the Rossmere area of Hartlepool, was going to London to visit members of his family.

He said: "I got frogmarched off the plane in front of everyone, got my bags searched, asked every question you can think of, from what school I went to, to the more obvious, what am I going to London for?

"I was being held for questioning under the Terrorism Act.

"I was laughing about it, but all my mates are absolutely furious.

"It's just left me bemused. I can agree that there's a culture of fear. They acted on the information they had.

"I'm just frustrated that it happened to me. It's a mystery."

Mr Mann, who is of Indian descent, ended up missing his flight and getting a taxi home - and is still not sure if he will be reimbursed. Still, it's nice to know he kept his sense of humour about him.

It seems that it would be a great idea if taxi drivers were taught basic punk tunes so this error doesn't occur again.

Posted By: Lint | 05:58 AM | Lint

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