Margaret Thatcher was sent her a briefing note on a hisotory of punk ahead of an interview with Smash Hits
As so many Prime Ministers have shown, ‘getting down with the kids’ was not Mrs Thatcher’s forte.
So when she was lined up with an interview for teen pop magazine Smash Hits, aides sent her a briefing note on a hisotory of punk – and especially the Sex Pistols.
The question-and-answer session was one of the many appearances that prime ministers make only during general election campaigns, much like appearing on children’s television and kissing babies.
So when the Prime Minister was told she would have to do a music programme, staff briefed her ahead of an interview with Tom Hibbert, deputy editor of Smash Hits, warning her: ‘You may not enjoy this interview.’
The prime minister was urged to show she was ‘confident and relaxed’ while navigating questions on contemporary music and her personal tastes in a bid to appeal to the youth population.
The Downing Street press office briefing stated: ‘You may not enjoy this interview. Mr Hibbert may ask superficial questions which betray a lack of understanding.
‘The challenge of the interview will be for you to demonstrate that just because you are not part of the pop scene, you are still in touch with youngsters and understand their needs.’
Referencing Lady Thatcher’s earlier appearance on BBC1 children’s TV show Saturday Superstore, it went on: ‘The important thing is to show you are confident and relaxed. The way you handled the Superstore appearance is still the subject of praise from youngsters.’
A history of punk – at its most vocal during the previous Labour Government – was attached to the note, hinting at the possible challenges posed by the Smash Hits interview.
It read: ‘The ‘PUNK’ era which hit the music world between 1976-1978 was a very basic musical style featuring a strange bunch of anti-establishment acts, most famous of which were THE SEX PISTOLS with songs such as God Save The Queen and Anarchy In The UK.
‘Other PUNK acts such as THE CLASH and THE DAMNED were popular for a while but when the SEX PISTOLS split up in 1978 the style died out, to be replaced by the current technological musical era featuring computers, synthesizers and videos.’
So when she was lined up with an interview for teen pop magazine Smash Hits, aides sent her a briefing note on a hisotory of punk – and especially the Sex Pistols
When Mrs Thatcher visited Jamaica later in the year, her speech, drafted by her foreign policy aide Charles Powell, contained a reference to the reggae song by Bob Marley Get Up, Stand Up.
He writes to her saying: ‘You will also see that I have made references to Jamaican reggae music and modern Jamaican poetry, with which you many well not be entirely familiar!’
Aides also felt the need to remind her of the price of bread, among other everyday items.
Preparations for the prime minister’s March 1987 encounter with Tom Hibbert, deputy editor of Smash Hits, have come to light in the latest release of her personal files.