Good for Bruce Springsteen for sticking up for the Dixie Chicks: -

'Springsteen said there was a "pressure coming from the government and big business to enforce conformity of thought concerning the war".

He said pressure "goes against everything that this country is about - namely freedom".

"Right now, we are supposedly fighting to create freedom in Iraq, at the same time that some are trying to intimidate and punish people for using that same freedom here at home," he said.

"I don't know what happens next, but I do want to add my voice to those who think that the Dixie Chicks are getting a raw deal, and an un-American one to boot. I send them my support."'