Video | Muse’s Dominic Howard: We had to change our set list to play China
Drummer discusses restrictions on Asia leg of tour - and reveals the band have already talked about their next album
British rock band Muse dropped two songs from their set list as they played China for the first time, drummer Dominic Howard has revealed.
Uprising, from their 2009 album The Resistance, and Revolt from latest record Drones, were considered too politically sensitive for the trio’s Beijing and Shanghai shows.
In Uprising, frontman Matt Bellamy sings lyrics including “Interchanging mind control / Come, let the revolution take its toll”. On a similar theme, Revolt includes the line: “You can make this world what you want / You can revolt / You can revolt / You can revolt”.
“There were a couple of songs that we weren’t allowed to play. But, you know, there’s certain things that if the authorities feel aren’t necessarily in line with some Chinese culture then we’re not allowed to play it,” he said, adding: “You know, I get it. I understand if things are a bit sensitive over there.”
Muse are certainly not on their own when it comes to having to make changes to secure gigs in China. Last year, the Rolling Stones were forced to alter their set list after some songs were banned by the Chinese Ministry of Culture.