A music venue has apologised "unreservedly" for booking a homophobic Jamaican singer.

Concorde 2 in Madeira Drive, Kemp Town, Brighton, cancelled the gig by Buju Banton after Brighton and Hove City Council threatened to withdraw its licence because homophobic material is against council policy.

At first the club was unrepentant, saying it cancelled the July 5 concert because of pressure from the council, police and the gay community and claiming Buju had been misunderstood.

Now it has made a complete U-turn, saying the booking was made in "innocence" of any opposition.

In a statement, venue owner and director Christina Haynes said: "Concorde 2 takes any complaint in respect of their event schedule or towards their premises very seriously indeed.

"The management apologises unreservedly for any problems they may have caused or feelings they may have hurt through booking the Buju Banton concert, which was cancelled due to pressure from the council, members of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community and Brighton and Hove police earlier this month.

"When this event booking was made it was done in the innocence of any opposing stance felt by members of the LGBT community. This was mainly due to the fact that Buju Banton had played in Concorde 2 three years previously without any resistance to the event.

"It had been a peaceful show, convivial and spiritual. The venue understands that attitudes change and it has now been issued guidelines by Brighton's licensing officer as to which live acts are not permissible to book. They will now adhere to this without failure."

In 1992 Buju Banton wrote and recorded a song called Boom Bye Bye, which advocates the shooting of gay men. He is banned from performing it in this country but gay campaigners claim he performed it abroad as recently as last year.

Concorde 2 is due to stage an after-show party on Saturday, August 5, on the evening of the main event of Brighton and Hove Pride.

Earlier this week the city's Gay Business Forum pledged that, unless an apology was issued by the club, they would boycott it after that date.

Mrs Haynes said Concorde 2 was looking forward to the party, presented by the Candy Bar, of St James's Street.

She said: "Concorde 2 looks forward to bringing more in the way of alternative and stimulating acts to Brighton to serve as many different parts of the community as possible."

A forum spokesman said: "The Gay Business Forum acknowledges the unreserved apology issued by Concorde 2 and thanks the directors for listening to our concerns.

"We all look forward to working with Concorde 2 in the future."

James Ledward, editor of city gay magazine GScene, said: "Actions speak louder than words. In my books the Concorde gets loads of brownie points. They listened, realised that events had moved on and issued the appropriate apology. As a member of the forum I support all efforts to make Brighton a more inclusive place for everyone to live and do business."