OFF: Pat Boone

[Martyn White]

Thought you might find this of interest, Martyn
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Pat Boone rocks the boat in his leather gear
By John Hiscock in Los Angeles

PAT Boone, the American pop singer and Christian entertainer, has had
his weekly religious television show cancelled after complaints about
his new, heavy metal look.

Thousands of viewers protested to the Trinity Broadcasting Network
about Boone's bare-chested appearance in a leather jacket and jeans,
a studded dog collar and tattoos.

"A lot of our prayer partners had a real problem with that," said an
employee of Trinity, whose programmes are carried worldwide. The show,
Gospel America, which has been on the air for four years,
was immediately dropped.

Boone, 62, known for decades for his freshly scrubbed, boy-next-door looks,
adopted the heavy metal gear to promote an album In a Metal Mood/No More
Mr Nice Guy and, he says, to preach the Gospel message throgh rock music.

He said: "I'm being welcomed into the society of the metal heads, the bikers and the hard rockers -
folks that were just as judgmental of me in my appearance, as, I confess, I was of them."