ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, April 17, 1997 TAG: 9704170092
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-5 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
The ACLU said the city was tampering with the performers' First Amendment rights.
City officials canceled a May 10 concert by Marilyn Manson, a self-avowed Satan worshiper whose rock band is known for lewd on-stage acts and songs about murder, rape, sodomy and self-mutilation.
The group ``was just not consistent with our community standards,'' City Manager Robert Bobb said Tuesday.
City Council learned about the concert from a resident who complained during a meeting Monday.
Manson's latest release is titled ``Antichrist Superstar.'' Among the band's songs are ``Diary of a Dope Fiend'' and ``Kiddie Grinder.'' The group sings lyrics such as, ``I am the ism, my hate's a prism. Let's just kill everyone and let your God sort them out.''
Kent Willis, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union in Virginia, said canceling the concert would violate the band's First Amendment rights.
``Political speech and religious freedom are the two most protected forms of speech,'' Willis said. ``This act is booked, and the city cannot cancel it based on the content of the band's message.''
But Bobb said the city determined that the contract between the band and the company that manages the city-owned Richmond Coliseum had never been signed and that a deposit had not been received from the concert's
Based on that information, Bobb said, he directed Spectacor Management Group to cancel the concert.
Bill Reid of the Richmond office of Cellar Door, the promoter of the band's show, said he knew nothing of the cancellation. ``We're on sale. We've been on sale,'' he said about tickets.
Marilyn Manson is the name of the band and the stage name of its leader, Ohio-born Brian Warner. He took his stage moniker from Marilyn Monroe and Charles Manson.
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