Don’t get mad, get songwriting

Revenge is a dish best sung cold, according to Canadian country musician (and David Tennant-lookalike) Dave Carroll.  When he flew United Airlines to Nebraska last year for a gig, he found his $3,500 Taylor guitar had been badly damaged by baggage handlers.

After nine months of unsuccessfully chasing compensation, he decided that if he couldn’t get recompense he’d get even in another way.

So he’s written and performed a song about his experience – ‘United breaks Guitars’ – and has promised two more songs of revenge.  Story here.

The irony is, as he points out, that the whole episode left him in an extremely creative mood, and he ought to thank United Airlines for their obstructiveness.

An insanely catchy song, and a fantastic video!

But where have I seen this before?  Of course, on Esther Rantzen’s That’s Life.  The jolly revenge song (or poem) was a staple of the show in the 1970s, I seem to recall.

The amazing thing is how this has all panned out. For example, guitar maker Bob Taylor responded with a simple speaking-to-camera video probably done on a mobile phone.  Great PR that will have helped his business no end.