Church leaders angry at plans to have The Damned switch on Christmas lights

A decision to have members of The Damned switch on the Christmas lights in Cambridge has sparked controversy among local church leaders. The city council asked the band to appear at the November 22nd ceremony because the event coincided with The Damned's Cambridge tour date.

Reverend Stephen Leeke of St Martin's Church commented "It is not appropriate for Christmas. They are a punk rock band with very doubtful lyrics... [the city council] should admit they made a mistake." He also expressed concern with Damned songs like "Anti Pope." City centre manager Annette Joyce explained the town's reasoning, "I did not anticipate it being a controversial switch-on. I can imagine that being the case if it was 20 years ago. It is actually a mixed cultural event that promotes what's happening in Cambridge. Some think it's blasphemous, others think don't be ridiculous."

A spokeswoman for The Damned said to the BBC that "the group found it laughable that the church has decided to criticise them for something as trivial as turning on Christmas lights."

You can get all the details at BBC News.