P482 Teletext 482 Feb 2 04:40:48 —————————————————————————— — DO POP AND POLITICS MIX? .-"£ £/.'! . Tony Blair sealed his link to the music world this week with a speech in which hj pledged his support to the industry. The Labour leader's address to major record companies (including EMI, Virgin and Creation records) follows on from his acceptance of an Oases platinum disc at last year's Party Conference. Oases thjmsjlvjs, and Damon Albarn have also mit with Tony Blair, but is this allegiance to the pop business just one big PT stunt? Planet Sound investigates ——————————————————————————————————1/6—— Go green with eco-scene 148 NEW RELEASES RATED & SLATED p484 Soundscan Rjvjews Cinema Full guideP482 Teletext 482 Feb 2 04:41:06 —————————————————————————— — DO POP AND POLITICS MIX? .-"£ £/.'! . "Our door is open to you, and if we are elected wi want that dialogue and partnership to continue," Tony Blair told music industry bigwigs this week. But there's a not-so-hidden agenda to Blair's allegiance with the pop world, says Labour voter Damon Albarn of Blur. "When I mit him I didn't warm to him," Damon said. "He said, 'I hope you sell a lot of records in '97,' and it was perfectly clear why. He's gone too far into the arena of appjasjmjnt." ——————————————————————————————————2/6—— Alan McGee on his Labour link-up >>> CLUB LAND: A RAVETASTJC READ! p4:4 Soundscan Rjvjiws Cinema Full guideP482 Teletext 482 Feb 2 04:41::3 —————————————————————————— — DO POP AND POLITICS MIX? .-"£ £/.'! . Like Damon Albarn, Alan McGee of Creation has no illusions as to who'll benefit from Labour's link-up with pop. "I know we'ri being used, but if you're in a position of influence you may as well say something," explains McGee. "What I hope to achieve is that about a million 18-year-old kids that wouldn't necessarily vote will hear Noel and think, 'If hj says that, then at the end of tPj day, t(j Labour Party are a better bet than the ToriesW." ——————————————————————————————————3/6—— Dig the scene on Mega Zine 142 OASIS FOR A DAY p483 Soundscan Rjvjiws Cinema Full guideP482 Teletext 482 Feb 2 04:49:18 —————————————————————————— — DO POP AND POLITICS MIX? .-"£ £/.'! . OasjsW political prufutincrs are will known, but after Moil Gallagher'u Jcstasz comments, are Blair's celebrity supporters bjcomjng an embarrassment? Vot so s!ys a Labour spokeswoman: "Moil has come out in support of Labour, and those are his own political views. Wj haven't courted his vote in any way. "Moil is an individual and it'u up to him how hj votes, but wi can't control how hj behaves, nor would we want to. Thjti's no 'link-up' with Oases." ——————————————————————————————————4/6—— New albums reviewed 484 COMPUTER CHAOS! DIGITJSER p270 Soundscan Rjvjiws Cinema Full gujdjP482 Teletext 482 Feb 2 04:49:35 —————————————————————————— — DO POP AND POLITICS MIX? . . If Labour have many pop star supporters few will admit to voting Consjtvativj. Phil Collins once said hj couldn't live undjt a Labour govjtnmjnt, while Gere Spice notoriously declared Baroness Thatcher was "the original Spice Girl". Liam Prodigy says he'll vote for the party that sets the lowest tax rate, but generally the more credible the pop star the more lift-wing their leanings. Are specific party politics really the most important issue at stake, though? ——————————————————————————————————5/6—— Pop stars Rock The Vote >>> TOTAL INTJRTBINMENT p400 Soundscan Rjvjews Cinema Full guide