The Squids' US tour cancelled over flag-burning imagery

Northhampton, UK–based The Squids have been forced to cancel their American tour after a dispute over some inflammatory imagery used in the band's tour posters. According to a local paper, the band used the images of flaming stars and stripes pictures on a MySpace flyer for three New York shows, which prompted the US venues to cancel the band's gigs.

Singer Stuart Fraser explained:

We used a picture of an American flag and it said 'The Squids are coming to burn America'. We didn't think it was too offensive, just a bit rock 'n' roll. We were contacted by the venues, who said it was offensive and asked if we would take it down, but we said no. A few days later, all our shows were cancelled.

We're annoyed by what's happened. It was only a burning American flag. We didn't even know it was illegal to burn them. We just thought it was a bit of fun; we saw the picture and thought it would do. We wanted to show we were coming and we were going to make an impact, but they obviously have no sense of humour.

You can see the flyer in question here.