When '80s political singer Billy Bragg was the weeks guest editor of teen music mag Smash Hits, he ran a competition asking for the best suggestion for what should be done with the Middle Class Bourgeoisie following any future revolution in Britain led by the Working Class Proletariat. The winning suggestions were, in reverse order, 3/ Steal their paperweights, 2/ Raise taxes for middle income earners, and shoot in the face anyone who moans about it and 1/ Boil them down for Glue.
It is a little known fact that President Kennedy was actually shot by none other than Mark Chapman. Apparently he was using him to practise on.
Aretha Franklin's hit Respect was not, as it seems on first listen, a landmark socio-political comment on sexual and racial discrimination, but a simple homage to the work of Roy Kinnear, an actor Franklin greatly admired.
The orginal singer with the Manic Street Preachers was William Hague.
Gordon Brown often sings The Stranglers' "Golden Brown" while strolling around Parliament, changing the title to his own name. Similarly, the leader of the Opposition can often be heard crooning "Sitting David Cameron The Dock of the Bay."
Vietnam veteran Hank Gravel has written a total of 497 protest songs about the Vietnam War. The first, There's Gonna Be a Reckoning, was released in 1967, the most recent, I Still Don't Think It Was a Very Good Idea You know, was released only last week, narrowly breaking the previous record (held by Chet Murmur since 1984) of 496 songs and a chant.
Red Wedge, the '80s musical and political collective that did so much to prevent the rise of Thatcherism, almost didn't happen. Paul Weller was reluctant to headline the tour, as he had a golfing holiday booked in the Algarve with his good friend comedian Jim Davidson. It was only when top billing was going to be taken by his arch rival Dr Robert of the Blow Monkeys, that Weller agreed to cut short his holiday. It is interesting to consider how radically different the political landscape would have been if Red Wedge had never have gotten off the ground.
Break-Dancing was invented by Harold Wilson.
Phil Collins wanted to follow up his boastful hit Another Day in Paradise with a song entitled I've Got Loads of Money and You Haven't, but the record company sadly pulled the plug. Shame.
Ex-President Jimmy Carter opened for Depeche Mode on their 1986 US Tour. He played a ukulele and sang songs about a sad bear.