Manic Street Preachers will not 'tolerate' English Defence League using their song
WELSH rock heroes Manic Street Preachers are said to be considering legal action after the English Defence League (EDL) used one of their songs to promote a rally.
'If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next,' which became the group's first number one single in 1998, was used as the soundtrack to a video on the EDL's website.
EDL supporters clearly misunderstood the song's sentiment, as it is actually a call to arms for anti-fascists and was inspired by the rise of General Franco in the Spanish civil war.
The songs lyrics, written by the band's bass player Nicky Wire, contains the famous line "If I can shoot rabbits, then I can shoot fascists."
A spokesperson for the Manics told NME that the band were "horrified" that their track was being used and that the label had demanded the video be taken down immediately.
The Manics, who hail from Blackwood in South Wales, exploded onto the music scene in the early 1990s.
Prior to the release of the group's first album 'Generation Terrorists' in 1992, lyricist and guitarist Richey Edwards claimed the record would sell 19 million copies, and the band would immediately split up.
The group continued, and in 1994 released the seminal album 'The Holy Bible' - voted as the best album of all time by viewers of BBC Newsnight.
The record touched on range of controversial subjects, including prostitution in Thailand, gun control in America and Edwards' own struggles with anorexia.
Edwards disappeared without trace in 1995, and was officially declared dead in 2008.
The group's commercial breakthrough came with 1996's Everything Must Go, which included what many fans see as the ultimate working class anthem 'A Design For Life'.
In 2011 the Manics performed a one-off extravaganza at the O2 Arena in London, playing all 38 singles to a sold out crowd.
Earlier this year they travelled down under to act as unofficial cheerleaders for the Lions rugby tour.
The group's 11th album - 'Rewind the Film' - will be released later this year.