Chumbawamba singer Danbert Nobacon spent six hours in a Florence, Italy jail cell last Friday after local authorities objected to his wearing a skirt in public.|

In town for a show that evening, Nobacon was approached in the town center by three policemen who demanded to see his passport. According to Nobacon, he explained that he'd left it at the hotel, and the police "frog marched [him] to a police van."

"They saw me on the street and didn't like the fact that I was wearing a skirt," explained Nobacon. "Once at the police station, they put me into a cell and only brought me out for fingerprinting. They knew I hadn't committed a crime. They just wanted to have a go at someone who didn't fit their picture of manhood."

When Nobacon failed to show up for soundcheck that evening, the rest of the band called police stations and hospitals around town to no avail. "When it got past nine we began to think that Danbert was lying in an alley somewhere," said Chumbawamba's Dunstan Bruce. "We felt like we should cancel the gig."

Having been refused a phone call or legal representation, Nobacon was released only after describing his predicament on a piece of paper and pressing it against the glass window in the cell door. "If one of [the police] hadn't heard of Chumbawamba I'd probably still be there now," he said.

Nobacon immediately made his way to the venue, arriving just in time for the gig. (Isaac Josephson)