Guitarist of Chumbawumba says they rejected £30,000 offer for song to be used in Doncaster-born Jeremy Clarkson's new show

TV presenter Clarkson has been the subject of huge public criticism recently following a column in the Sun newspaper about Meghan Markle in which he said that he hated the Duchess of Sussex on “a cellular level”. He went on to write that he was "dreaming of the day when she is made to parade naked through the streets of every town in Britain while crowds chant, ‘Shame!’ and thrown lumps of excrement at her."

Chumbawumba’s guitarist Allan ‘Boff’ Whalley, posted on Twitter this week saying that the group had turned down an offer for one of their songs to be used in association with Clarkson, writing: “So anyway today we turned down £30,000 for our song to be used for a trailer for Jeremy Clarkson’s new TV series. I can’t tell you how much satisfaction that gave us.”

Which song it was that was requested was not specified but many posted their approval of the group’s decision, with DJ Shaun Keaveney replying: “You Are My Heroes.” Another person responded: “That's a life-changing sum for us songwriters, but I'd have done the same. Massive kudos to you.”

The politically-charged group lived and rehearsed together in a squat in Armley after forming in 1982 and released their biggest single ‘Tubthumbing’ in 1997. They recently played at Headingley Stadium as part of the launch of Leeds 2023.

Clarkson spent his early years growing up in Doncaster and living in Burghwallis.