Dublin rock band defend Gerry Ryan 'dead junkie' T shirts as 'legitimate point'
T shirts with the band's name, Crows, and a photo of the late Gerry Ryan with the slogan "Just another dead junkie"
More photos:
A DUBLIN band has caused controversy with T shirts emblazoned with the band’s name, but bearing a photo of the late Gerry Ryan, with the slogan ‘Just another dead junkie’.
The Irish Daily Star reports today that they band have argued they are doing nothing more than highlighting the hypocrisy of the late radio presenter for being a drug user, despite his anti-drugs public stance. Beside a description of the T shirt on the band’s website they offer the explanation: “Gerry Ryan was a greedy motherf*cker who got what he deserved in the end.”
The phrase ‘just another dead junkie’ has been applied to celebrities whose drug abuse led to their premature deaths, including Jim Morrison, Amy Winehouse and John Belushi. When asked by the newspaper if the band considered Gerry Ryan’s family’s feelings, a Crows band member said they believed they were making a “legitimate point.”
“It might be putting salt in their wounds, but the information is not new, it’s been well documented in the media,” Joe Breaker (22) told the Irish Daily Star.
The T shirts coincide with the release of the band’s concept album 'Better Off Dead' and according to their website it: “focuses on the types of people who have played a role in the collapse of Irish societal values and cultural identity, and as a result are better off dead. Bankers, socialites, overpaid broadcasters, blah blah blah.”
Amateur music label Sour Milk, which was selling the t-shirts on behalf of the band, said when contacted last night that the line of T shirts would be discontinued. However the band have vowed to continue producing them.
“They’ll still be sold, even if we have to sell them ourselves,” said Mr Breaker.
The band have put out an appeal for their forthcoming European tour on their Facebook page - “Get touch if you’re interested in putting us on. We only want a place to sleep and a small bit of cash for food/petrol/spliff.”
RTE declined to comment on the story.
- Independent.ie reporters
