Pearl Jam's anti-Bush lyrics cut

Lyrics sung by Pearl Jam criticising President George W Bush should not have been censored during a webcast, telecoms company AT&T has acknowledged.

Pearl Jam have now put the unedited song on

their own website

The firm broadcast the performance from Chicago's Lollapalooza festival.
 
Two lines from Pink Floyd's Another Brick in the Wall were included as part of Pearl Jam's song Daughter and both were cut.
 
These included the line "George Bush, leave this world alone". AT&T described the decision as "a major mistake".

"We regret that this happened and we're upset," said spokesman Michael Coe.
 
"Those lyrics in no way, shape or form, are something that should have been edited."
 
He promised to address the issue with the company it had contracted to oversee the webcast, which went out last Sunday.
 

AT&T's actions strike at the heart of the public's concerns over the power that corporations have when it comes to determining what the public sees and hears through communications media Pearl Jam statement

And he said that AT&T would seek permission from the group to put the unedited version of the track on its website.
 
A statement on Pearl Jam's own site described the situation as "a wake-up call", and said this was "about something much bigger than the censorship of a rock band".
 
"AT&T's actions strike at the heart of the public's concerns over the power that corporations have when it comes to determining what the public sees and hears through communications media."
 
The Seattle-based grunge group, led by Eddie Vedder, shot to fame with the release of their 1991 album Ten, which spawned hits such as Alive.
 
They have since sold tens of millions of albums around the world.