A WELSH folk rock singer has refused to back down in his unlikely transatlantic row with a top American TV evangelist.
In one corner is Penarth-born musician Martyn Joseph, who uses his work to highlight causes such as aiding Brazilian landless workers and children made homeless by war.
In the other is American former faith healer Dr Pat Robertson, known for insulting Islam as a religion, suggesting Venezuelan President Hugo Charvez should be assassinated and opposing gay rights.
The song, delivered at the Christian Greenbelt Festival in Cheltenham last year, has been criticised by Dr Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting Network.
The “offending” track, entitled Mr Robertson, left the 6,000-strong audience in no doubt about Joseph’s feelings for controversial US televangelist, a former faith healer who markets “age-defying pancakes” on his website.
Joseph, regarded by critics as one of the UK’s finest singer songwriters, took an unusual approach for a committed Christian when he unexpectedly threw in the F-word during the song and encouraged the audience to sing a chorus effectively telling Robertson to “go elsewhere”.
Martyn Joseph told the Western Mail, “The majority of the audience at Cheltenham were happy to sing along.”
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