Jerry Dammers

Dammers publicly opposed Paul Simon's decision to record his album Graceland in Apartheid South Africa in the 1980s. When Simon played the first of six nights at London's Royal Albert Hall on April 7 1987, Dammers joined Paul Weller and Billy Bragg in protesting outside and delivered a letter demanding that Simon give a "complete and heartfelt apology to the UN General Assembly".

[on Paul Simon and "Graceland"] The leadership of the South African people made it clear that a campaign of sanctions against isolating Apartheid South Africa was the way to get rid of Apartheid. History has shown it was the correct strategy. With any boycott, if you start making an exception for this pop musician, or that professor, then the whole campaign is in danger of being undermined... To walk into that situation in defiance of an established boycott was very irresponsible, and predictably proved extremely divisive.