Thom Rylance, frontman of The Lottery Winners, has spoken about Prime Minister Andy Burnham's genuine interest in music, describing it as 'not fake'.
Burnham's musical credentials
Andy Burnham is known to be a fan of bands like The Smiths and Courteeners. Liam Fray, frontman for the Courteeners, publicly backed Mr Burnham's Labour leadership bid, praising his work in Manchester.
Rylance said Burnham had proven he cares about music with his 20 percent cut to business rates for pubs, clubs and live music venues in England.
Personal connection
Speaking at the Tramlines Festival in Sheffield on Sunday, where the band performed, Rylance told the Press Association: “I think our mate Andy, he lived around the corner from me, it’s madness, he cares about music.
“We’ve had funding from the Andy Burnham Greater Manchester Fund in the past to go over to America, and he really cares about music.
“I’ve had some great chats with him, and he loves the same bands that I love, and he talks passionately about it. It’s not fake with him and he’s always been supportive of us.
“He’s not text me back since he’s been Prime Minister. I did text him saying, ‘well done, mate’, and he did leave me on read.”
Political views
Rylance joked he was 'going Tory' as a result of not receiving a reply, while bass player Katie Lloyd revealed the Manchester band had previously been given a tour of Parliament by Mr Burnham.
The singer added: “I think no matter where you sit on the political spectrum, we can all agree that this country needs some changes.
“And I’m hoping… he seems to be doing the right things so far, because I know him personally, I know that his heart’s in the right place, and I really think that he’s going to do a great job.”
Mr Burnham, who became Prime Minister last Monday, has regularly spoken about his love of indie rock, pointing out a gold disc of The Smiths’ album The Queen Is Dead on the wall of his No 10 North office in a social post last week.
In the post he remarked: “I need to return that to Johnny Marr (The Smiths guitarist) actually.”
