Self-proclaimed anarchist rockers Chumbawamba apparently want to see U2

singer Bono, Hole singer Courtney Love and President Clinton die in a

plane crash.

Their song "The Passenger List for Doomed Flight #1721"is a wish list of

plane crash victims, including rock stars, politicians and other prominent

figures.

Their own label isn't sure it wants the song on the band's next album,

WYSIWYG, due April 4 in the U.S.

"[Chumbawamba's] political views are a little harsh," Avery Lipman, senior

vice president at Republic/Universal Records, said. "Their way of saying

someone's no good, or someone should be kicked out of office, is saying,

'I hope they're on this plane.' "

Others mentioned on "The Passenger List for Doomed Flight #1721" are

television character Ally McBeal, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, radio

shock-jock Howard Stern, Attorney General Janet Reno and several prominent

British politicians.

(Click

here for the full list of names in "The Passenger List for Doomed

Flight #1721.")

The tune, which will be released in Europe next week as part of a four-song

single for "She's Got All the Friends," already has made its debut on U.S.

radio.

'A Novelty Song'

Republic/Universal Records has not decided whether the song will appear

on WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get), according to Lipman.

The album already features 22 songs.

"Obviously the subject matter of the song is a concern," Lipman said on

Thursday (Jan. 27). "We are reviewing the situation."

The band has always been fiercely political, he added, and it doesn't

sugarcoat lyrics. But Republic "strenuously supports the views and creative

visions of our artists first and foremost," Lipman said. "This, like many

other instances in the art world, is a gray area."

Shortly after the electronica track begins, a woman's voice announces,

"Attention travelers: This is the final call for Flight 1721." Dunstan

Bruce, one of several Chumbawamba singers, calls out the names of each

"passenger," occasionally saying "bye-bye" between names. The song moves

into a rock feel with the chorus, as the bandmembers sing "Good-bye."

WXRK-FM in New York played "The Passenger List for Doomed Flight #1721"

on Wednesday, but "that will probably be the extent of it," music director

Mike Peer said. "It's a novelty song, there's absolutely no longevity in

something this goofy. The appeal of this one was mostly because it lists

Howard Stern, and he's our morning guy; he's in the building."

Peer said he sought to give a copy to Stern, but after listening to it

himself, he decided to play it on WXRK because "we like to shake things

up."

"We didn't think people would like it, we didn't think people would call

and say, 'Where can I get a copy of that?' " he said. "If it's gonna be

as political as it's supposed to be, I'd rather have it be more [overt].

You would never know what they're referring to unless the DJ tells you.

You just think it's a laundry list of famous people."

Negative Feedback

Peer said the station got several calls after airing the tune, and "every single one was negative." He said, "Howard may talk about it in the future, but we probably won't."

Spokespersons for Love, Bono, Reno and Gates could not be reached for comment.

Bono and Love both record with their respective bands for Universal Music Group subsidiaries.

Chumbawamba's U.S. publicist, Ellen Zoe Golden, said the group has not had a response from anyone named in the song. She said the band is not concerned about how the song will be received. "They are still on the path they've always been on, where they say what they feel," she said.

The overall intent of the song is a positive one, Lipman said, saying that the band tries to evoke a response from its audience and to inspire fans to question the world.

Always Controversial

Chumbawamba are no strangers to controversy. Singer Alice Nutter instructed fans who want to shoplift the band's albums to steal from large chains, and singer Danbert Nobacon has had run-ins with the law. The band also supports such hotly debated issues as the plight of death-row prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal.

The band recently offered a tune named after UK Prime Minister Tony Blair exclusively to members of their fan club. The '50s rock–styled ballad condemns an ex-lover named Tony, with the chorus featuring, "Tony, now there's nothing but your lies." Blair was also the subject of their hit "Amnesia" (RealAudio excerpt), from the album Tubthumper (1997). Last year, Nobacon further expressed how the band feels about the New Labour Party by dumping a bucket of water over the head of Assistant Prime Minister John Prescott.

Formed in a squat in Leeds, England, in 1984, out of the ashes of the anarchic punk-rock collective Crass, Chumbawamba came to international attention with Tubthumper, which featured "Tubthumping" (RealAudio excerpt), their uncharacteristically apolitical song about the joys of drinking and the trials of the daily grind.

The band recently announced that Paul "PJ" Greco, who played bass, harmonica and accordion in the band, has left to pursue other projects. Neil Ferguson, who has played with the band since its early days, is moving over to bass.

The tentative track listing for WYSIWYG is: "I'm With Stupid," "Shake Baby Shake," "Pass It Along," "Hey, Hey We're the Junkies," "The Health & Happiness Show," "I'm Coming Out," "I'm in Trouble Again," "Social Dogma," "WWW Dot," "New York Mining Disaster," "I'm Not Sorry, I Was Having Fun," "Jesus in Vegas," "The Standing Still," "She's Got All the Friends," "Ladies for Compassionate Lynching," "Celebration, Florida," "Moses With a Gun," "The Physical Impossibility," "Smart Bomb," "Knickers," "Lie, Lie, Lie, Lie" and "Dumbing Down."