January Sales

When Chumbawamba soaked John Prescott at the 1998 Brit Awards, they claimed he represented a Labour government that had betrayed its principles, that had sold out.  Many claimed their choice of target was misguided as he was the most Old Labour of New Labour but nevertheless Prescott's evening, where he had gone to watch Fleetwood Mac, was ruined.
Now since the turn of the year (though it might have been going on longer), I hear the one-hit wonder lefto-anarchists signature tune on the the television.  Obviously, being in obscurity has led to poverty as they have allowed their song to go on into advertising.  Now rank hypocrisy does affect the middle-aged quite acutely - Alexei Sayle claimed in his youth that he would never appear in adverts as he was a Marxist.  Thinking of Jay Leno, Bill Hicks excoriated 'good guys who sold out' for whom once the bridge had been crossed, it was burned and there was no way back, though of course Hicks died young.
But Chumbawamba have given consent for their song to appear on a personal injury claim advert (the one Joe Pasquale once voiced - is this what being 'King of the Jungle' means?) - they are associating themselves with ambulance chasers.  These companies manage to limbo under the low moral bar set by high street lending agencies.
Now maybe the song isn't theirs, legally, but that of the record company and they were particularly naive in negotiations over ownership yet I haven't heard any of the group come out and denounce this use of the music (they could even have claimed a fee for their story).  More likely, their principles have given way to their stomachs, though they should feel sick to the bottom of the latter.