Brian Wilson has called on his former band The Beach Boys to cancel a planned performance at a trophy-hunting convention where Donald Trump Jr will be among the speakers.
Wilson said he and his fellow Beach Boys co-founder Al Jardine have nothing to do with the group’s appearance at the Safari Club International Convention in Reno, Nevada.
The 77-year-old tweeted saying it was a version of the band fronted by Mike Love, another founder, who owns the legal rights to the Beach Boys name.
It has been brought to my attention that on Wednesday February 5, The Beach Boys touring group licensed by Mike Love are headlining at the Safari Club International Convention in Reno, Nevada…
— Brian Wilson (@BrianWilsonLive) February 3, 2020
This organization supports trophy hunting, which Both Al and I are emphatically opposed to. There’s nothing we can do personally to stop the show, so please join us in signing the petition at https://t.co/vOUtJDq6t2
— Brian Wilson (@BrianWilsonLive) February 3, 2020
Longtime Beach Boys member Bruce Johnston is also part of the band, who are set to appear at the convention on Wednesday.
Wilson said: “It has been brought to my attention that on Wednesday February 5, The Beach Boys touring group licensed by Mike Love are headlining at the Safari Club International Convention in Reno, Nevada.”
Wilson said both he and Jardine are “emphatically opposed” to trophy hunting and asked fans to share a petition demanding the Beach Boys pull out of the event.
According to the Safari Club’s website, attendees will be able to shop for the latest weapons and organise hunting trips. Mr Trump Jr, a long-time trophy-hunter, will deliver the keynote speech.
The petition demanding the Beach Boys pull out was launched by Eduardo Goncalves and has so far attracted more than 65,000 names.
Addressed to the band’s manager Elliott Lott, it asks: “Wouldn’t it be nice if all the Beach Boys, Stayed away from those who kill for fun?”
The petition also threatens a boycott against the group if they go ahead with the appearance.
It states: “We the undersigned pledge to stop buying or downloading all Beach Boys music, going to Beach Boys concerts, and purchasing any Beach Boys merchandise until the Beach Boys withdraw from the SCI Convention and publicly state their opposition to this sick ‘sport’ of killing animals for ‘fun’.
“We will call on the Beach Boys’ record label, agent and publicists to disown the Beach Boys, and on members of the public to protest at forthcoming Beach Boys concerts, unless they do so.”
The Beach Boys were founded in sBrian outhern California in 1961. Perhaps their most acclaimed album, 1966’s Pet Sounds, features a cover showing the band feeding goats at a zoo.