London Profiling

A man was arrested today in London after his taxi driver became suspicious when he sang along with The Clash's "London Calling" on his way to the airport:

Detectives halted the London-bound flight at Durham Tees Valley Airport in northern England and Harraj Mann, 24, was taken off.

The taxi driver had become worried on the way to the airport because Mann had been singing along to The Clash's 1979 anthem "London Calling," which features the lyrics "Now war is declared -- and battle come down" while other lines warn of a "meltdown expected."

Mann told British newspapers the taxi had been fitted with a music system which allowed him to plug in his MP3 player and he had been playing The Clash, Procol Harum, Led Zeppelin and the Beatles to the driver.

"He didn't like Led Zeppelin or The Clash but I don't think there was any need to tell the police," Mann told the Daily Mirror.

Clearly this is a case of overracting. I mean, if he was singing along with Procol Harum's "A Whiter Shade of Pale" and sang "72 vestal virgins" instead of "16 vestal virgins" there might be cause for alarm, but there's no indication that this happened.