Scots band The Ronains received a death threat from Russia after their new single artwork for Lunatics featured an image of Vladimir Putin.
The band, whose new track questions how society labels those with mental health issues, had decided to use images of Donald Trump, Boris Johnson, Vladimir Putin, Joe Biden, North Korean Kim Jong-Un and other world leaders to question what real insanity might look like.
They suggested Putin and his peers might be better suited to an asylum than others with mental health issues - and couldn’t believe it when they received a death threat from a Russian Facebook user. The message they received privately said: “Watch your drinks you Ukrainian British f***, we know what you look like and will track you. Russia forever”.
Jim Ronain of the band, which also has members Debi, Linzi, and Ciaran, said: “We always like to question the norm and have a bit of a laugh at other people’s expense so we put out the artwork to accompany our single for its release next month, but we couldn’t believe it when we got a message in Russian from someone who took our message way too seriously.
“It’s actually really scary, particularly because they said they know what we look like. With us gigging and touring they could access us at any time really and we are concerned because we do like a drink, and don’t always think about what we are gulping down.”
He added: “We actually have filed a police report on the matter because it is considered a serious threat.”
The Ronains, who count Peaky Blinders Tommy Flanagan amongst their famous fans, received a further blow when the artwork for the song which has been mastered by U2 and Oasis producer John Davis, got banned from all outlet stores, Spotify, TikTok, Amazon, FB, Instagram and iTunes to name a few.
It’s not the first time the band have attracted controversy with their music.
Guitarist Jim was handcuffed and fined £90 after he leapt inside an empty cop car to stick his band’s CD No Courage Without Fear EP a blast while coppers were in a filling station shop getting grub.
Their debut album Love, Drugs & on the Dole was also based on the true story of controversial local Glasgow character Lizzy Coyne and her life of debauchery and their last single, a cover of Flower of Scotland beat Noel Gallagher to the number one spot on the UK Rock charts.
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