Photo: Carsten Windhorst

The Conservatives have defended using a song by Keane at their manifesto launch in London on Tuesday (April 13).

The party’s decision to play ‘Everybody’s Changing’ was criticised by the band’s drummer, who said he was “horrified”.

Richard Hughes also told his Twitter followers that he would not be voting for the party and that they had been given consent to use the 2004 track.

A Conservative spokesperson failed to clarify whether they had approached the band about the song , but said leader David Cameron was an admirer.

"It's a great song and David's a great fan,” the spokesperson said.

'Changes' by David Bowie was also aired during the launch event at Battersea power station.

The misappropriate use of music at political events has long been a controversial issue with artists.

During the 2008 US election campaign, numerous bands threatened legal action against the Republican Party after they used songs without permission.

Keane live