If you're anything like us, you're already bored of the forthcoming referendum over whether to stay in the EU or not. But it's worth remembering that it's an incredibly important decision, which will undoubtedly shape the way we live over the coming decades.
And, while the arguments for and against Brexit have largely consisted of a load of playground squabbling, made-up 'facts' and fearmongering on both sides, the pro-EU campaign has suffered from the problem of having to speak up for something that is pretty unexciting, quite imperfect and is the status quo - after all, the grass is always greener on the other side, isn't it? (quite literally judging by the scenery above).
Until now.
Gruff Rhys, lead singer of Welsh band Super Furry Animals - one of the most innovative bands of the last few decades - has written a brilliant, heartful song explaining just why he loves the EU, in the guise of an electronic love song. It's really quite moving, and we can't think of an occasion so far in which an actual emotive case has been made for the 'In' campaign.
He explained, "My new song genuinely came to me in a daydream whilst I was trying to tune-in my faulty DAB radio. I heard a snippet of news about this badly timed referendum on staying/leaving the EU and suddenly it hit me hard how much I’d miss it if the UK, true to its tradition of recreational vandalism managed inexplicably to kick itself out of this sophisticated European nightclub.
"The club itself? Well it’s a very complex warren of a nightclub with many rooms playing very different songs. People rarely dance to the same tune but it’s the best night out. This song is basically just an attempt to make an emotional case for Mother Europe – this flawed, fantastic, potentially Utopian mega-club that I’ve been lucky enough to grow up in.
"My initial idea was to record an undercover song that could be played to xenophobes as a regular love song. I had no inkling that I was going to be writing this particular song on that day but somehow or other that’s how things turned out so I went with it. In the end I didn’t want to sit on the fence so I called it “I Love EU”.
"This song isn’t about definitive political policy detail but about the genuine friendship I’ve felt as a touring musician living in the EU – which, as a child of the 1970s, is all I’ve ever known."
You can read the full story on his blog here.
