Shami Chakrabarti

Album: Vile Pervert (2007)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • At first sight this is a straightforward tribute song to a woman named Shami Chakrabarti; there would be nothing unusual about that if it were not written by Jonathan King, because at the time it was written Miss Chakrabarti was at least 25 years too old for him. And female, of course.

    Although this song does say nice things about the lady in question it was written as yet another swipe at the British legal system. Shami Chakrabarti was born in 1969, graduated from the London School Of Economics, qualified as a barrister, and after working for the Home Office joined Liberty in 2001, becoming its Director in September 2003.

    Liberty was founded in 1934 as the National Council For Civil Liberties, and campaigns for and against a large number of civil liberties issues - against ID cards and torture, for homosexual rights, but it is doubtful if Miss Chakrabarti or any bona fide member of her organization supports Jonathan King's idea of homosexual rights, ie legalizing sex between men of his age and young boys.
  • King wrote the song for his highly acclaimed musical Vile Pervert - highly acclaimed by Jonathan King, that is. The title song sums up King in his own words. Writing in the June 2008 issue of the prison newspaper Inside Time, Bob Woffinden said, "It's still possible that the British legal authorities will come to rue the day that they convicted and imprisoned Jonathan King."

    Sure, the Judges of Appeal are already quaking in their boots. Woffinden also approves of a song written in tribute to this eloquent campaigner. No doubt she would have appreciated it too, had it been written by anyone but Jonathan King. >>>
    Suggestion credit:
    Alexander Baron - London, England, for above 2

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Kristian Bush of Sugarland

Kristian Bush of SugarlandSongwriter Interviews

Kristian talks songwriting technique, like how the chorus should redefine the story, and how to write a song backwards.

Christmas Songs

Christmas SongsFact or Fiction

Rudolf, Bob Dylan and the Singing Dogs all show up in this Fact or Fiction for seasonal favorites.

Alan Merrill of The Arrows

Alan Merrill of The ArrowsSongwriter Interviews

In her days with The Runaways, Joan Jett saw The Arrows perform "I Love Rock And Roll," which Alan Merrill co-wrote - that story and much more from this glam rock pioneer.

Gary Numan

Gary NumanSongwriter Interviews

An Electronic music pioneer with Asperger's Syndrome. This could be interesting.

The Fratellis

The FratellisSongwriter Interviews

Jon Fratelli talks about the band's third album, and the five-year break leading up to it.

Director Wes Edwards ("Drunk on a Plane")

Director Wes Edwards ("Drunk on a Plane")Song Writing

Wes Edwards takes us behind the scenes of videos he shot for Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley and Chase Bryant. The train was real - the airplane was not.