Delilah’s off the playlist for choirs at city stadium
THE Welsh Rugby Union has removed the song Delilah from its Principality Stadium choirs’ playlist, it has announced.
Sir Tom Jones’ 1968 hit, about a jealous lover stabbing his unfaithful partner, has become a Welsh rugby anthem but will now not be played at the Principality Stadium and not sung by choirs.
The announcement comes after a damning week which saw the WRU come in for intense criticism amid allegations of a “toxic” culture and misogyny.
A Principality Stadium spokesman said: “Delilah will not feature on the playlist for choirs for rugby internationals at Principality Stadium. The WRU removed the song from its half-time entertainment and music playlist during international matches in 2015. Guest choirs have also more recently been requested not to feature the song during their pre-match performances and throughout games. The WRU condemns domestic violence of any kind. We have previously sought advice from subjectmatter experts on the issue of censoring the song and we are respectfully aware that it is problematic and upsetting to some supporters.”
The move comes seven years after Rhondda MP Chris Bryant called on Welsh rugby fans to stop singing Delilah.
Speaking in 2016, he explained: “Violent crime has risen 23% in recent years in Wales and it’s a simple fact that domestic violence is one of the prime killers of women. It devastates families and communities and it has to stop. But that means we’ve got to look deep into our souls for the cultural reasons that are sustaining this violence.”
Commenting on the news, Welsh Conservative Sports Minister Tom Giffard MS said: “The decision is a wrongheaded one that amounts to simple virtue signalling, designed to ease the pressure the WRU are currently under. Calls to ban the song span at least the last decade, yet the WRU have chosen now to act.
“What people have been calling for is institutional change, improved working practices and a better complaints process for the WRU, but instead they are choosing to ban a much-loved song. This action will solve nothing.”