George Osborne says NWA concert was his favourite ever show
The American rap group are known for their highly explicit lyrics and glorification of crime and violence
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Your support makes all the difference.Tory Chancellor George Osborne has revealed a surprising passion for West Coast gangsta rap.
The former Oxford University student, who had a poster of Winston Churchill on his wall as a child, told the Mail on Sunday he went to NWA at Brixton Academy in the early 1990s and that it was the best concert he had ever attended.
The iconic group and pioneers of West Coast hip-hop seem a surprising choice for the Conservative minister, given the notoriety they achieved for their highly explicit lyrics and glorification of crime and violence.
NWA, whose original line-up included Dr Dre, Ice Cube and Eazy-E, are the subject of the recently released biopic Straight Outta Compton, named after their first album.
Mr Osborne's musical inclinations do not seem to have boosted his street cred in the eyes of his daughter however, who banned him from going with her to a Taylor Swift concert because he is “really uncool”.
Aside from listening to hardcore rap, he also said he enjoys the more sedate melodies of alternative folk singer Sufjan Stevens and writes his speeches to JS Bach’s Goldberg Variations.
Mr Osborne also revealed he sends text emoticons to Cabinet minsters when he thinks they are doing well, expressing a penchant for “the one with the sunglasses on”.
Mr Osborne is not the first politician to disclose some unexpected music preferences.
Former Chancellor Gordon Brown famously declared himself a fan of rock band Arctic Monkeys, despite not being able to name a single track, and Ed Milliband announced his favourite song of all time as Angels by Robbie Williams, while appearing on Desert Island Discs in 2013.
Mr Osborne’s interview with the Mail on Sunday was described as his “most personal ever”, during which he disclosed the most frightening moment of his life was finding his son “floating, seemingly lifeless, in a swimming pool”; he has complete loyalty to Prime Minister David Cameron saying "One of the things that has made my job bearable is a very close friendship and partnership with David"; and that he met his wife Francis while attempting to set her up with a friend.
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