The new single from British alternative rock outfit, Babybird, ‘The Jesus Stag Night Club’, featuring Johnny Depp has been released just in time for Christmas. The song is causing a massive furore from critics, particularly Christian groups claiming the song is blasphemous.
The lyrics of the song tell of a Jesus look-alike hired to organise a stag night. At the end of the song, it turns out man is actually Jesus himself.
Johnny Depp plays guitar on ‘The Jesus Stag Night Club.’ Despite his small involvement with the song, critical ire has been aimed squarely at the actor. It’s understandable, Depp is much more famous than Babybird. Still, it seems not just a little unfair.
‘The Jesus Stag Night Club’ is from Babybird’s sixth studio album, The Pleasures of Self Destruction. Depp partially funded the album and according to most sources is “a long time fan” of the band. The connection runs a bit deeper than that. Atlas Jams reports Depp and current members of Babybird played in alt rock band, The Kids together in the early 1980s.
A spokesperson for the Focus on Family campaign describes ‘The Jesus Stag Night Club’ as “a slap in the face to Christians everywhere.” While Lee Douglas of the Christian Coalition insists “Johnny Depp and his cronies will face the judgment of our Lord and they will burn in hell for this filth.”
Depp’s publicist has not made a public comment. Babybird frontman, Stephen Jones dismisses the song as a joke. Joey Malone, Babybird guitarist insists the song has nothing to do with Christmas “None of this is a result of strategic planning. The album was released in the UK in October. Christmas has nothing to do with this album!”
I would guess ‘The Jesus Stag Night Club’ would have attracted the same amount of controversy no matter what month it was released in, and the Christmas timing has been nothing more than a well timed vehicle for moral critics.
Sure, ‘The Jesus Stag Night Club’ is blasphemous by definition of the word, it’s also a great sounding track with plenty of the fuzzed out melancholic rock Babybird have built a respected career on. It’s also very easy to turn off if you don’t want to hear it. If you do want to hear it, you can listen to it right here!
Babybird – ‘The Jesus Stag Night Club’
by Kate Krake
