Indie band say Conservative conference did not have permission to play song

The indie band ‘Friendly Fires’ have criticised Prime minister Boris Johnson for walking out to one of their tracks before his keynote address to the Conservative Party conference.

The band’s 2011 song ‘Blue Cassette’ was played as Mr Johnson made his way to deliver the speech in Manchester on Wednesday.

In a statement posted to Twitter and Instagram the band said: “We do not endorse the Conservative party’s use of our track Blue Cassette.

“Our permission was not sought, and we have asked our management to make sure it isn’t used again.”

Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL), are responsible for licencing the use of recorded music in the UK and require political events such as party conferences to “obtain permission from the relevant rights holder” before using a song.