And Finally Artist News

Here’s that context you wanted on George Osborne’s NWA gig

By | Published on Wednesday 7 October 2015

George Osborne

The Daily Mail having dropped the fact that George Osborne once saw NWA live on us and run away without offering any further information, Guardian Editor-In-Chief Katharine Viner swooped to the rescue yesterday.

In a Q&A with the Chancellor at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, Viner quizzed him further. And for a man who seems to struggle to explain even the basics of the Tory policies that he was apparently involved in writing, he spoke surprisingly eloquently about the NWA show.

He explained, reports the NME: “It was an amazing concert. These were the angriest young band from America. And it is definitely the coolest thing I ever did. It is not like a pattern of going to all the latest concerts – I just happened to hit lucky and go to this band who were only together for a couple of years”.

“It was raw and angry”, he continued. “I’m not condoning everything they said or anything like that, but it was an incredible thing to go to. I didn’t realise at the time it would turn out to be such a big cultural moment as well – that this band would go on to being one of the most famous rap bands ever and that Dr Dre would become the guy who does the Beats headphones now”.

“I actually had [Dre] round for tea in Downing Street a couple of years ago”, he added. “I went to see him at Brixton Academy and he came to see me at Downing Street. He’s built up this headphones business, he sold it to Apple, so for someone given where he started off in life he’s made an incredible success of it”.

Asked what his favourite NWA track was, Osborne said: “It begins with ‘F’ but I think I’d better stop there”.

Most people are assuming he’s talking about ‘Fuck Tha Police’, though I like to think he means the lesser known ‘Findum, Fuckum & Flee’. It seems more appropriate, somehow.



READ MORE ABOUT: |