EXCLUSIVE: Sticky Fingers Deny Singer Made Racist Taunts At Sydney Gig

11 August 2016 | 2:13 pm | Neil GriffithsBrynn Davies

"Us being accused of being racists is ridiculous."

Dylan Frost & Sticky Fingers @ Splendour 2016. Pic by Markus Ravik

Dylan Frost & Sticky Fingers @ Splendour 2016. Pic by Markus Ravik

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Sydney indie outfit Sticky Fingers have denied allegations that their singer made racist taunts at an indigenous band's gig in Sydney last month. 

The guitarist for local act DISPOSSESSED took to Facebook the night after the show at Red Rattler and accused Sticky Fingers frontman Dylan Frost of hurling racist taunts towards them during the performance. 

"I am not a monkey to play on command and we walked off stage when the lead singer of Sticky Fingers among many others began grossly shirt fronting us..." Birrugan Dunn-Velasco wrote.

Read the full statement below.

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However speaking exclusively to theMusic today, Sticky Fingers bassist Paddy Cornwall and guitarist Seamus Coyle have called the claims a "massive misunderstanding".

"Basically Dylan was at the show and there was a speech being made," Cornwall explains.

"There were a few words being thrown around the room. Dylan yelled out 'Fuck Pauline Hanson' and he’s admitted that, you know, it was like not really his place to, sort of, yell out something and he’s apologised for it.

"But I think he was mistaken to say something else about maybe being pro-Pauline Hanson or something of the like.

"And Dylan also isn’t white. He’s actually a Maori, so it kinda doesn’t really make any sense. We’re not racists, basically. Us being accused of being racists is ridiculous."

What followed Dunn-Velasco's post was a string of comments from online users on Sticky Fingers' Facebook who slammed the band, while some, shockingly, applauded the alleged comments.

Coyle confirmed that as they handle their own social media accounts, the band intentionally did not respond to the feedback.

"...We don’t wanna give the actual dickheads and racist idiots of this country a platform in which they don’t deserve to say and do horrible things," Cornwall says.

"Once again, hate only breeds hate. And yeah, we actually stand with the DISPOSSESSED crew and what they’re about. I dunno, we didn’t really feel like them character assassinating not just Dylan, but the entire band, was really fair."

Cornwall and Coyle says the band have tried to reach out to DISPOSSESSED, but are yet to receive a response.

"You’d have to ask Dylan about it, he wrote the apology letter to [guitarist] Serwah [Attafuah]," Cornwall says.

"I’ve also reached out to Birrugan but haven’t heard back."

Cornwall further claims that Sticky Fingers are close with the family of famous Aboriginal activist Charlie Perkins, who advised them to not make a statement on the alleged incident and instead attempt to make peace with DISPOSSESSED privately.

"They were actually the ones who sort of reached out to us and said 'We’ve got your backs because we’ve been family for years', he says of the Perkins family. 

"Since [DISPOSSESSED] haven’t really gotten back to us we’re still trying to arrange to meet up with them and, sort of, settle it peacefully, rather than just create some bullshit hype crap on the internet."