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Dr John spills his anger towards BP

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Robyn Bresnahan Robyn Bresnahan | 00:02 UK time, Monday, 31 May 2010

NewOrleansprotest.jpgHurricane season here in Louisiana starts in two days. Today, Mother Nature gave us a preview.

The rain came down in full force as hundreds of people descended on Jackson Square in New Orleans for a protest against BP.

It was unlike any protest I've ever been to. There were colours, there were costumes, and there was Cajun music. This is people-power Mardi gras style.

But amongst the merriment, there was a real sense of anger. Remember, this is the city that survived Katrina five years ago. This oil spill feels like a kick, while the people here were already down.

Some of the protest signs read: Brass balls, not tar balls. BP = Bad People. Stop the oil, heal the Gulf.

And among the residents, some celebrities braved the wind and the wet too. The film maker Spike Lee was there shooting a documentary.

I was recording sounds of the protest chants when a man came up and tapped me on the shoulder.

"Did I hear you say you were with the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ World Service?" he asked.

"Indeed you did," I said, hoping he didn't mishear someone and mistake me for being from BP (which has happened a few times during the trip).

"Well, I love the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳, and because I do, I'm going to point out someone to you. Behind you - that's the legendary Dr John."

I whipped around, and indeed there he was wearing a snazzy hat and speaking to his "biggest fan" - a woman who professed to own every piece of music he had ever written.

drjohn_protest.jpg

I edged my way over just in time to hear him say, "The British are to blame for this oil spill. I'm going to London to spread the message."

Cue me.

"Hello Dr John. I'm from the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ in London."

"Well, then you're just the person I want to talk to," he said in his deep dulcet tones.

I asked him why he was at the protest.

"I'm here because thoroughly upset at why the perpetrators of a crime that killed 11 people are still in charge of the crime site."

He went on.

"I am disgusted with this company."

I asked him if he was venting his anger through music.

"Music is the only thing I have to get a point across. I'm getting reading to go over to the United Kingdom and believe me, I will be singing about this."

For more pictures from the protest, go .

Oh yeah, and s the story of the fishermen I spent last Friday.

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