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Legendary band hits back after PM’s ukulele session

<p>New Zealand band Dragon have hit back at Prime Minister Scott Morrison after his "cynical" cover of their cult classic song on a special interview with <em>60 Minutes</em>. </p><p>In the sit-down interview with Karl Stefanovic, the PM is filmed with his family, strumming a ukulele while singing the band's smash hit <em>April Sun in Cuba</em>. </p><p>In a response to the serenade, Dragon has accused Scott Morrison of using their song to "humanise" himself in the face of the Australian public ahead of the upcoming federal election.</p><p>In a statement released by the band, they accused the PM of dragging the band into the headline for "all the wrong reasons" in what they believe was a "cynical" act of electioneering in order to strike a cord with Australians. </p><p>The band also used their statement to resurface damning criticism of the PM for taking a family holiday to Hawaii during the 2019-2020 bushfire crisis, which saw 34 people lose their lives and nearly 3,000 homes destroyed. </p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Statement from the band Dragon after the Prime Minister of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Australia?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Australia</a> appeared on television singing one of their songs. They said it was “a cynical move by a politician to co-opt music in an attempt to humanise themselves come election time”. <a href="https://t.co/85RVXFtF2S">pic.twitter.com/85RVXFtF2S</a></p>— Stephen McDonell (@StephenMcDonell) <a href="https://twitter.com/StephenMcDonell/status/1493057963753418754?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 14, 2022</a></blockquote><p>"It is a cynical move for a politician to co-opt music in an attempt to humanise themselves come election time," the band's statement said.</p><p>"Maybe if his trip to Hawaii had not been cut short, he could have learnt the lyrics to the rest of the chorus."</p><p>In the now-viral video of Scott Morrison performing the tracks he repeats one line twice  ("Take me to the April sun in Cuba, oh oh oh"), rather than progress the song along with the original lyrics.</p><p>The song was originally penned in 1977 by two New Zealanders who were living in Australia, and became a smash hit in Australia and New Zealand after placing in the top 10 in both country's music charts. </p><p>When the video of Scott Morrison playing the ukulele first surfaced in a preview for the <em>60 Minutes</em> interview, it was instantly branded as "extremely cringe" by viewers. </p><p>Sally McManus, Secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, suggested the performance was a cynical ploy to improve Mr Morrison’s image ahead of the federal election.</p><p>“We need to brace ourselves for how far he will go the more desperate they get,” she wrote on Twitter.</p><p><em>Image credits: Nine - 60 Minutes / Twitter</em></p>

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"Extremely cringe": Scott Morrison blasted for musical clip

<p dir="ltr">In what has been quite a tough week for the Prime Minister, he has become the centre of attention once again - this time for <a href="https://au.news.yahoo.com/make-it-stop-social-media-loses-it-over-desperate-scott-morrison-034918812.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">an awkward clip</a> of him armed with a ukulele.</p><p><span id="docs-internal-guid-2de16ea2-7fff-7703-cc1d-119870453419"></span></p><p dir="ltr">The video was first shared by Channel Nine in a tweet on Friday before it quickly circulated online, showing Karl Stefanovic joining in on a family singalong with Scott Morrison and his family, led by Mr Morrison on the ukulele.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">This Sunday on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/60Mins?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#60Mins</a>, meet the Morrisons. 8:40PM on <a href="https://twitter.com/Channel9?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Channel9</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/9Now?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@9Now</a>. <a href="https://t.co/1rQwT8TsPV">pic.twitter.com/1rQwT8TsPV</a></p>— 60 Minutes Australia (@60Mins) <a href="https://twitter.com/60Mins/status/1491964286545297408?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 11, 2022</a></blockquote><p dir="ltr">The clip was a preview of an upcoming episode of <em>60 Minutes</em> with Mr Morrison and his wife, Jenny, as well as their two daughters, Lily and Abbey.</p><p dir="ltr">Users on social media were quick to share their thoughts on the PM’s rendition of Dragon’s popular song <em>April Sun in Cuba</em>, with many connecting his performance to his widely-criticised trip to Hawaii.</p><p dir="ltr">“Extremely cringe,” one person wrote. “Scott Morrison is LITERALLY reminding everyone about that infamous Hawaii trip during the bushfires. All he’s missing is a Hawaiian shirt etc.”</p><p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-c8b1d0fb-7fff-a51d-ce70-eaec90054a70"></span></p><p dir="ltr">Even <em>Today </em>host Ally Langdon got in on the joke, introducing the clip saying: “I think he learned that in Hawaii, didn’t he?”</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">When I was a teenager, we used to call people ‘try hards’ all the time. It was definitely a ‘thing’ in the 90s. I think it’s time to bring back the phrase specifically to describe Scott Morrison playing a ukulele.</p>— Queen Victoria (@Vic_Rollison) <a href="https://twitter.com/Vic_Rollison/status/1491994187776290819?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 11, 2022</a></blockquote><p dir="ltr">Sally McManus, Secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, suggested the performance was a cynical ploy to improve Mr Morrison’s image ahead of the federal election.</p><p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-db668391-7fff-bce4-a460-f920db6a3aca"></span></p><p dir="ltr">“We need to brace ourselves for how far he will go the more desperate they get,” she wrote on Twitter.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Everbody: "This can't get worse"... Scott Morrison: "Hold my beer"...*takes out a ukelele*....<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ScottyTheCompletePsycho?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ScottyTheCompletePsycho</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/auspol?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#auspol</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/60Mins?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@60Mins</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AlboForPM?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AlboForPM</a> <a href="https://t.co/ZJ22iMpctV">https://t.co/ZJ22iMpctV</a></p>— John Coates (@JohnCoatess) <a href="https://twitter.com/JohnCoatess/status/1491913001917579265?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 10, 2022</a></blockquote><p dir="ltr">The <em>60 Minutes </em>clip comes within a week of the Prime Minister sparking discussion online with his appearance at a hair salon where he washed a woman’s hair.</p><p dir="ltr">Donning an apron and mask and washing a woman’s hair at Coco’s Salon in Mount Eliza, Victoria, the Prime Minister was labelled as “creepy” and “terrible”, prompting the hashtag #ScottyTheHairdresser to emerge online.</p><p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-f1eaaa91-7fff-d297-f9d8-057416298976"></span></p><p dir="ltr">Labor MP Kristina Keneally took to the social media platform to poke fun at Mr Morrison and promote Labor’s election promise regarding TAFE.</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Labor’s plans for good, secure jobs includes Fee Free TAFE, helping workers of all ages reskill into any profession that’s in demand. <a href="https://t.co/pAsTQr4RmX">pic.twitter.com/pAsTQr4RmX</a></p>— Kristina Keneally (@KKeneally) <a href="https://twitter.com/KKeneally/status/1489692665624989697?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2022</a></blockquote><p dir="ltr">“Under Labor’s Fee Free Tage program, you’ll be able to reskill into any profession that’s in demand,” a graphic she shared read, appearing next to a photo of Mr Morrison with the caption, “Scotty, 53” underneath it.</p><p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-b161fafa-7fff-e71a-170f-7bdf489dcc2d"></span></p><p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Channel 9</em></p>

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