Phil Collins serves Trump with a cease and desist order after ‘In the Air Tonight’ plays at rally

Phil Collins has issued Donald Trump’s presidential campaign a cease and desist order.

The news follows after Collins’ hit song “In The Air Tonight” was used without authorisation during a Trump rally in Des Moines, Iowa on Wednesday (14 October).

In a statement made to Consequence of Sound, legal representatives for Collins confirmed that they served the order.

It read: “Yes we are well aware of the Trump campaign’s use of this song and we have already issued a ‘cease and desist’ letter via our lawyers who continue to monitor the situation.”

The “Take Me Home” singer has previously criticised the president. In the run up to the 2016 election, Collins told Billboard that Trump “is a big accident waiting to happen”.

Collins is the latest in a long line of musicians to object to Trump using their music at his rallies. Others include The Rolling Stones, Adele, Bruce Springsteen, Panic! At The Disco and Neil Young. However, not all have proceeded with legal action.

Earlier this month, Trump supporters were sent up for playing Springsteen’s "Born in the USA" outside the hospital where the president stayed amid his coronavirus diagnosis.

However, the song choice struck many on the internet as odd given that the track is widely believed to be a critique of America for marginalising working-class veterans upon their return to the homeland.

Springsteen himself has been vocal in his opposition to Trump. In June, the musician called the president a “threat to our democracy” and said he “makes any kind of reform that much harder”.

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