Rihanna got her marching orders after a farmer objected to the pop star peeling off her clothes while filming a new video on his land – but she received a warmer welcome in Belfast. Farmer Alan Graham, 61, was so shocked to see the singer in his barley field wearing a red bikini that he pulled up his tractor, objected to her “inappropriate state of undress” and called a swift halt to proceedings. Rihanna was recording a video for We Found Love with Scottish DJ Calvin Harris in a muddy barley field near Bangor, Co Down – ahead of three sell-out shows at Belfast's Odyssey Arena this weekend.
The filming was taking place close to a busy dual carriageway when she stripped to a bikini after removing a long checked dress. But the sight became too much for Mr Graham's Christian beliefs and he politely asked the filming to stop. "She understood where I was coming from. We shook hands and parted company on good terms," the father of four said.“If someone wants to borrow my field and things become inappropriate, then I say, ‘Enough is enough’.” “I wish no ill will against Rihanna and her friends. Perhaps they could acquaint themselves with a greater God,” he explained yesterday.
Police had to call in reinforcements to hold back up to 1,000 fans who crowded the narrow streets of Belfast's New Lodge district to watch the Barbadian singer and the production team at work.
Afterwards she grabbed a megaphone and thanked everyone for coming to see her before declaring: "I love you Belfast. Thank you."
They threatened to stop filming because of the public clamour. The singer spent 20 minutes inside one of the terraced houses and at one stage jumped up onto a trampoline in the back garden.