Photo: WENN

The Republican Party has been criticised for using a song by the 1970s group Heart twice without permission.

Heart's song 'Barracuda' was played during a speech by Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, whose nickname is barracuda, at the National Convention on Wednesday (September 3rd).

In a statement released yesterday, the group revealed that the party had not asked for permission to use the song and that they had sent out a cease-and-desist letter to prohibit any further use.

“We have asked the Republican campaign publicly not to use our music. We hope our wishes will be honoured,” the statement read.

But the track was played again at the conference last night (September 4th) when Palin joined Republican Presidential hopeful John McCain on stage.

“I think it’s completely unfair to be so misrepresented,” Heart singer Nancy Wilson told EW. “I feel completely fucked over.”

The band have since released a further statement stressing that Palin's “views and values in no way represent us as American women.”

“The song ‘Barracuda’ was written in the late ’70s as a scathing rant against the soulless, corporate nature of the music business, particularly for women. (The ‘barracuda’ represented the business.)” the statement added.

“While Heart did not and would not authorize the use of their song at the RNC, there’s irony in Republican strategists’ choice to make use of it there.”

McCain's campaign has previously come under attack over its song choice. In stark contrast, Democratic Presidential hopeful Barack Obama has drawn strong praise from the music world.

To see all the musicians that have supported him, CLICK HERE.