“Tim Booth has called out Tommy Robinson use of his song (Picture: James Edmond/Shutterstock) Tim Booth, the lead singer of the band James, has criticised the use of his song during a Tommy Robinson protest. Large-scale protests took place across central London yesterday, which were organised by Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon. Tens of thousands”, — write: metro.co.uk
Tim Booth has called out Tommy Robinson use of his song (Picture: James Edmond/Shutterstock) Tim Booth, the lead singer of the band James, has criticised the use of his song during a Tommy Robinson protest.
Large-scale protests took place across central London yesterday, which were organised by Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon.
Tens of thousands of far-right activists joined Robinson for what has been dubbed the ‘Unite the Kingdom’ march to Whitehall.
A song by James was played on a large screen set up on Whitehall, which was used to display numerous speeches from far-right politicians and celebrities, including Elon Musk.
The song Sit Down played in the background of a video posted on X, showing the size of the protest.
After seeing the video, the frontman called out Robinson for using his tune, saying the lyrics of the song were the ‘antithesis’ of the far-right organisation.
‘Disgusted to see the cynical use of ‘Sit Down’ by @TRobinsonNewEra. No permission was granted, and we are looking into our options. The song and most of our topical lyrics, make it very clear where we stand, and it’s the antithesis of this organization,’ he said on X.
Disgusted to see the cynical use of ‘Sit Down’by @TRobinsonNewEra.No permission was granted, and we are looking into our options.The song and most of our topical lyrics, make it very clear where we stand, and it’s the antithesis of this organization
— Tim Booth (@RealTimBooth) September 13, 2025
Booth is the lead singer of James (Picture: Mariano Regidor/Redferns) Booth previously insulted fellow musician Morrissey in 2018 – who he was previously friendly with – as he noted that the former Smiths frontman expressed sympathy for Robinson.
‘I knew Morrissey as a friend when he was sweet, very shy, very frightened. Wanting success, wanting what happened with The Smiths and also terrified of it simultaneously,’ Booth told PA. ‘I saw about their seventh gig in Manchester and they were fully formed. They were ready, they were locked and loaded. And we weren’t.
‘They were so kind to us. Morrissey called us the best band in the world, they took us on tour, they tried to take us to America but we actually turned them down. And they were so sweet, all of them, for years.
‘But I know he’s become a bit of a d**k,’ he said.
He then added: ‘As I say, he did some very kind things for us so therefore it’s hard for me to say he’s a d**k but he’s being a d**k at the moment.’
Robinson was joined by several high-profile figures to lead the protestors yesterday, including Katie Hopkins and Ant Middleton.
Elon Musk also made an appearance at the rally vido video call, which was met with huge cheers from the crowd.
The ‘Unite the Kingdom’ rally overran the 6pm cut-off time imposed by police under the Public Order Act. A Stand Up To Racism counter-protest took place across London yesterday as well.
Metropolitan Police estimate up to 150,000 people attended the rally, while 5,000 people were at the counter protest.
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