POP/ROCK - March 18, 1988

Things got a bit chilly for Mr. Mister lead singer Richard Page during a recent performance at the Vina Del Mar Festival in Chile. Page dedicated his rendition of Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground” to Chilean artists, saying they had been “frightened to death” by the military regime after a recent anti-government rally. In an interview on KMPC-FM, Page said authorities immediately asked him to read a retraction. He instead thanked the crowd and wished them well. But a guard apparently translated Page’s remark as a retraction. Said Page: “The concert was broadcast all over the country. There were people who understood English and knew what I really said. It’s important to defend artists who are threatened with death and demoralized by those bent on silencing (them).”