Boycott of Record Label Urged Over Manson Song

A nationwide boycott of Geffen Records was urged Tuesday afternoon by the Doris Tate Crime Victims Bureau, which is demanding that Guns N’ Roses remove a song written by mass murder ringleader Charles Manson from their new album.

The composition, “Look at Your Game, Girl,” which appears on “The Spaghetti Incident?” album--released two weeks ago--has come under fire from law enforcement and victims’ rights groups. They include the organization named for the late mother of actress Sharon Tate, who was one of seven people murdered in August, 1969, in a Benedict Canyon killing spree masterminded by Manson.

The boycott announcement was made after the deadline for today’s Calendar section, which reports the band’s decision to keep the song on the album because Manson’s copyright royalties will be paid to the son of Wojiciech (Voytek) Frykowski under a 1971 court order. Frykowski was among the victims of the Manson-ordered blood bath.

“We intend to send a very clear message to Geffen Records and every other company in the entertainment business: Stop profiteering at the expense of crime victims and their families,” said Patty Tate, the sister of Sharon Tate, who now runs the victims’ rights group.

Tate was unmoved by news that Manson will receive no royalties from the song or that Geffen Records has stated its intention to donate money to the Tate family’s victims’ bureau.

Tate voiced concern that Guns N’ Roses had decided not to pull the song from its album, and she vowed to mount a coalition of victims’ rights groups to boycott all records, movies and other products affiliated with MCA-owned Geffen Records, a division of the Japanese electronic giant, Matsushita. The label’s roster includes Nirvana, Peter Gabriel and Aerosmith.

“We’ve had enough of this anything-for-a-buck mentality and we’re going to fight it on every front,” added Tate. “We intend to hurt them in the only place they seem to care about: their wallets.”

As protesters picketed the West Hollywood and New York offices of Geffen Records late Tuesday, representatives for the label declined comment on the boycott.

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