Songwriters want work off Limbaugh show

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NEW YORK, March 8 (UPI) -- Several musicians, including English singer-songwriter Peter Gabriel, want U.S. right-wing talker Rush Limbaugh to stop playing their songs.

The Canadian band Rush and Kim Wilson of the Fabulous Thunderbirds also say they do not want to be associated with Limbaugh's radio show, Rolling Stone reported Thursday. Limbaugh, no stranger to controversy, created a firestorm when he called a Georgetown University law student a "slut" and "prostitute" on the air.

Limbaugh has been playing the Thunderbirds "Tuff Enuff" for years, but Wilson said enough is enough.

"I don't want people to think I'm affiliated in any way, shape or form with him," Wilson said. "The message he promotes is something I'm totally against."

David Iser, a lawyer who has represented musicians who wanted political campaigns to stop using their work, said blocking Limbaugh from using songs may not be legally possible. Premiere, which syndicates Limbaugh's show, has performance licenses with the groups that represent musicians, allowing it to use any of their songs as long as fees are paid.

But Iser said the artists have a constitutional right to object to Limbaugh's use of their work -- and that might be enough to convince him to drop it.

The flap has led some advertisers to pull commercials off Limbaugh and a handful of stations have dropped the show.