McDonalds get knickers in a Twista

McDonalds are discovering that being gig promoters isn't quite the easy job they thought it was.

Instead of having a glorious bit of shiny PR, promoting new music and all that, the corporation has wound up with a mess in its own carpark, having invited Twista to take part, and then withdrawn that invitation quite sharpish:

McDonald's spokesman William Whitman said the company "respects free speech and expression".

"We want to ensure these free concerts are fun as well as appropriate for all of our customers," he added.

In other words, having announced the gigs, someone at the company listened to Twista, and heard a lot of shouting about drugs, and came over a little like Morgan Spurlock's liver.

It's not just that they've managed to make themselves look like they really are run by a bungling clown, and opened themselves to charges of censorship, as Twista has found an even better way to turn the knife:

Twista - real name Carl Terrell Mitchell - told the Associated Press the annoucement was unexpected after "hearing from certain people in McDonald's that they were fans of the music and backed me".

He added that he cleans up his act for mainstream shows, and had intended to do so for the Chicago date.

"I was actually going to have a school with a choir come sing the song Hope with me.

"So now McDonald's have to tell the kids that they can't perform," said the musician.

McDonalds break the shiny, shiny showbiz dreams of schoolchildren.

Ba-da-ba-da-dum, I'm lovin' it.

Do you want fries to go with that gig?

Obviously, any attempt to make money out of a musical career involves a certain amount of compromise; even Chumbawamba had to sell songs to arms manufacturers once in a while. But surely playing gigs in McDonalds car parks is a bit of a comedown for NeYo and Twista?

This is the first time McDonalds have put on a tour on their own; they seem to be trying to talk around the gaps in their schedule:

As for the rest of the tour's as-yet-unannounced lineup, [Douglas] Freeland [director of U.S. marketing at McDonald's] says, "We want to make sure we catch artists who are starting to break loose and getting spins at radio. If we lock down and commit with an artist too far in advance, you can't be 100% sure what's going to happen."

Ah... yes. That'll be it. Mind you, as they're starting to push the dates in store the week after next, you might think it'd be fairly safe to have inked in all the names.