Australian rock band the Hoodoo Gurus have issued a blunt message to right-wing party One Nation and its followers: “Don’t play our music, don’t listen to our band, do not pass go!”

The slap down came after the group’s 1987 hit What’s My Scene was played as One Nation leader Pauline Hanson walked onto the stage at an anti-immigration March for Australia rally in Brisbane on Australia Day.

In a statement posted on social media, the Hoodoo Gurus said they were “disgusted” to hear that the song had been played “by a bunch of wannabe fascists yesterday (One Nation)”.

“Like most Australians, we have always been appalled by Pauline Hanson and the toxic nonsense she spouts,” they wrote, going on to insist that she should not play their music.

“We want nothing to do with you. In fact, we wouldn’t piss on you if you were on fire.”

What’s My Scene was the biggest hit for the Hoodoo Gurus, who were formed by frontman Dave Faulkner in 1981 and are also known for songs such as My Girl and Bittersweet.

They were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2007, and in 2023 played live at a “Yes” campaign event in Sydney attended by PM Anthony Albanese ahead of the Indigenous Voice to Parliament vote.

Their social media post has been flooded with comments, including from One Nation supporters who were urged to troll the band.

But while some Facebook users left comments such as “Hoodoo who?” and “leave the politics in music to Midnight Oil”, others were supportive of their stance.

“Glad to hear one of my favourite bands is not afraid to speak up and hide behind the excuse of artists supposedly having to be silent about politics and the realities of our world,” wrote one.

Dave Faulkner told ABC Radio Perth he had personally written the statement as “a gut reaction to the unpleasant news”.

“We’re obviously quite upset about it all,” he said.

“We don’t want anyone else’s grubby hands all over our work and putting words in our mouths – we don’t associate ourselves with stuff like that.”

The Hoodoo Gurus statement comes less than a week after Grammy-winning musician Colin Hay told anti-immigration protesters to stop using his iconic song, Down Under.

The Men At Work frontman wrote a scathing post on Instagram ahead of the March for Australia events, saying he did not want the 1980s hit hijacked by people “who attempt to sow xenophobia”.

“Let me say that I most strenuously disapprove of any unauthorised, unlicensed use of Down Under, for any ‘March For Australia’ events,” Hay wrote on Instagram.

He said it did “not belong to those who attempt to sow xenophobia within the fabric of our great land, our great people”.

“Down Under is ultimately a song of celebration. It’s for pluralism and inclusion; unity, not division.”

Hay signed off: “Colin Hay (immigrant).”

 

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A post shared by Colin Hay (@colinhay)

Speaking to the ABC, the Hoodoo Gurus’ Faulkner acknowledged that the unauthorised use of music at rallies was “a grey area” and difficult to stop.

He was mostly concerned that people might think he or the band supported One Nation.

“It’s my song and it’s expressed as a personal thing for me and it’s not to be used for their jaundiced view of the world and grubby political games.”

The stoush comes as the latest Newspoll shows One Nation with a 22 per cent primary vote – the first time the far-right party has had greater support than the Coalition in the poll’s history.