Debate was sparked over whether a summer party which featured a tribute band Forever Queen on the evening of her death was 'poor taste'.

Oxford University Press said the event started at lunchtime and the news only broke once it was underway.

But one employee, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "Oxford University Press hosted a Queen tribute band on the evening that the Queen passed away. The band played Another One Bites the Dust. 

"Pretty poor taste. 

"I thought it was incredibly insensitve for the party to continue, especially given the band that was playing. It would have been really easy to have asked the band not to play, but instead the event went on as if nothing had happened.  

"So many other major events stopped because of the Queen's death, and I don't know why the same shouldn't have applied to OUP.

"It just felt disrespectful." 

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Discussing the party on Facebook, another colleague added: "Did they actually sing that??"

A third wondered if they had played Who Wants to Live Forever.

But OUP said the summer party, which had been months in the making, was to say a special ‘thank you’ to colleagues and their families from all over the UK for their hard work over the past few years during the pandemic.

A spokesperson said: "It is of course very sad that our event happened to take place on the same day as Her Majesty the Queen’s death.

"The programme began just after lunchtime and it was not until the evening that we received the news of the Queen’s passing.

"At that point, our CEO said a few words on stage to all those present reflecting on Her Majesty’s achievements and contribution to our lives during her reign, as well as the long history of links between Her Majesty the Queen and the University of Oxford and the Press."

She added that since the event, the feedback received from colleagues "has been overwhelmingly positive".

"We had several live musical acts performing at the event. There was a tribute act to the band, Queen, who performed a selection of their greatest hits," she added.

 

 

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