Nadia Khomami provides an excellent analysis of current dilemmas regarding political songs and engagement (‘A maelstrom of his own making’: how Ed Sheeran’s tour turned into a full-blown culture war, 19 September).
However, I do feel that it lacks a longer timeframe. Outspoken, overtly political singers and songwriters have been active for decades. My own generation was brought up on Bob Dylan and Joan Baez. A bit further back were Woody Guthrie and Billie Holiday. Who would dare to write Strange Fruit today? In all, far too many are being deterred by fears of censorship by media billionaires and their like. They need to get out there and shout and scream about the world’s appalling injustices. We need a hundred Billy Braggs, not just one.
Dr Richard J Goy
Cambridge
Most world leaders do not have sufficient understanding of the history and complications of the Arab-Israeli conflict or organisations such as Hamas to make informed decisions; Ed Sheeran certainly doesn’t, and I commend him for trying not to “pick a side” (Dear Ed Sheeran, fence-sitting is so last century: musicians can no longer opt out of politics, 17 September).
There’s nothing wrong with Ed admitting that his fans just want to have a fun time dancing and singing along. He is right to put these people first and acknowledge the importance of this work to all of the people backstage in the music industry. Terrible crimes are committed all over the world every second of the day, but it shouldn’t be a crime to try to bring people together through music.
Anna Emms
Ipswich, Suffolk
Jason Okundaye is absolutely right to chastise artists for failing to speak out, particularly in these times of assault by the extreme right on our liberal societies (Ed Sheeran thought fans didn’t want artists to be politically engaged. He’s finding out how wrong he was, 19 September). The failure of many to speak out against the rise of nazism in Germany and against fascists in Italy during the 1930s certainly allowed a fatal normalisation of dictatorial fascism. Let us not allow the same thing to happen again. We artists have a positive duty to speak out.
David Parry
Antingham, Norfolk
