Christian fundamentalists want Switzerland's entry song to the Eurovision Song Contest, 'Vampires Are Alive', to be banned because of its allegedly satanic content.

Eidgenössisch-Demokratische Union (the Federal Democratic Union) in Schwitzerland handed in a 49,082-signature petition to the Swiss government on 27 March 2007 condemning DJ Bobo's entry song for the Eurovision Song Contest. The song was said to be an affront to people's religious convictions.

"The song has a destructive meaning and we want it stopped," the party's secretary Thomas Feuz, head of the union's petition committee, told Swissinfo's Adam Beaumont.

The top-selling Swiss singer and disc jockey is accused of trivialising hell and Satan. DJ Bobo's offending lyrics include lines such as "Free your spirit after midnight, sell your soul" and "From heaven to hell, enjoy the ride".


Stop vampire musical

The Eidgenössisch-Demokratische Union holds two seats in the federal parliament. The party also set their sights on stopping a school production of the musical 'Tanz der Vampire' ('Dance of the vampires') in the Alps. The teenagers in the secondary school in Bischofszell, Switzerland, are rehearsing a production of the popular musical which is based on Roman Polanski's 1967 horror/comedy film 'The fearless vampire killers'. The union claims that the "negative message" presented in the musical is "similar to DJ BoBo's" and should be set aside in favour of more Christian oriented themes.


Pressure from Evangelical Alliance

Earlier in March 'Vampires Are Alive' came under fire from the Swiss Evangelical Alliance, which appealed to DJ Bobo to change the lyrics of his song, and called on Swiss Interior Minister Pascal Couchepin to intervene.

According to Swissinfo, a number of Swiss-German radio stations are refusing to play 'Vampires Are Alive' – not because of the religious proclamations but simply because they think it is "rubbish". Yet the song entered the Swiss charts at number three on 19 March 2007.

The artist found the criticism ludicrous and absurd. DJ Bobo was quoted as saying: "The words are made up... everyone has the right to say what he wants."


Similar reactions

Last year's winner of the Eurovision Song Contest, Lordi, also faced accusations of being a satanic group. Secretary Thomas Feuz said: "The Finnish monster rockers Lordi ... opened the door to the occult and satanism at the Eurovision Song Contest".

Similar reactions from religious groups to socalled "satanic music", warning that this kind of music might send young people who are mentally unstable over the edge and commit suicide, have previously been seen in for instance Lebanon and Morocco.


About DJ Bobo

39-year-old DJ Bobo – real name René Baumann – is one of the best-selling Swiss recording artists. He has sold 13 million records around the world, and has won more than 80 awards, including a record-breaking ten World Music Awards.