David Peckham

Rainbow were one of the first bands I ever went to see. At the Royal Court in Liverpool 1981, the 'Difficult to Cure' tour. That era of Rainbow isn't anything I'd choose to listen to now, but the earlier stuff about stargazers and men on silver mountains still has a certain bombastic, silly charm. I believe Blackmore has swapped his Stratocaster for a lute and now plays along to medieval madrigals. I think I saw four bands that year, the others were Japan, New Order and The SpeciaIs. I still listen them occasionally, but not as much as I listen to stuff that influenced them -stuff I wouldn't have heard unless I'd read interviews about what they were into: Roxy; Bowie's Berlin trilogy; Lou Reed/ Velvet Underground; Krautrock. The Specials got me into King Tubby, Augustus Pablo etc. The NWOBHM bands I was into really haven't aged well, but Led Zeppelin still sound relevant. I've played 'Whole Lotta Love' far more recently than 'Wheels of Steel'. One genre I couldn't stand around then was soul/ R&B, but really got into the early - mid 70s Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and Isaac Hayes stuff, which obviously influenced it, during the Acid Jazz thing in the early 90s. From denim to corduroy in just over 10 years.

They've made an offer to meet the owner. What do you want? Jam on it? Mounting what amounts to a witch-hunt within 48 hours of first posting is a massive overreaction. Tacitly suggesting a boycott, employing multiple social and print media channels and calls to get MPs and the police involved are totally unwarranted. You could do huge damage to a business which has taken nearly a decade to build up. I think you owe it to the owner to listen to what they have to say.

Wouldn't it be better to give them the time to explain? It seems highly unlikely that a vegan bakery, which names its range after 'strong women' is at the vanguard of the far-right. It's a business that has grown over almost ten years in Deptford, one of the most diverse areas of southeast London, without causing offence. I'm not a Greek speaker, and I have no dog in the fight, but by dismissing their replies, and taking to as many media channels as possible, you're guilty of the gaslighting that you accuse them of.