Afrikaans musician Steve Hofmeyr. Image: Twitter/@mbueckert
The Blue Bulls rugby union has denied banning the “Bloubul” song of the controversial Steve Hofmeyr at Loftus Versfeld stadium in Pretoria, they told Pretoria East Rekord.
“We deny banning the song,” said spokesperson Shanil Mangaroo on Tuesday.
“We have simply decided to change up the playlist and to rotate songs.”
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Questions arose after the song appeared to have been removed from the stadium’s playlist at the last two Currie Cup rugby matches at Loftus Versfeld.
Fans voiced fears that the song might have been banned in view of Hofmeyr’s political image. He has raised the ire of many in recent years by singing the old apartheid anthem “Die Stem” at some of his shows.
Mangaroo said it was true that the “Bloubul” was not played as the Bulls players were running onto the field at the last two Loftus matches. But this was merely because the sequence had been changed for entertainment purposes, he said.
Hofmeyr said he was not surprised.
“Good traditions are no longer a tradition in South Africa. Die Stem and the Bloubul song are on the chopping list every four years in the run-up to general elections,” he said.
“Members of the public will not be prescribed to. This … is about estranging us from the SA anthem and stadiums. But our sense of tradition will remain untouched.”
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