In the run-up to an election, emphasis is often placed on the various party leaders’ allegiances with a particular group or artist. Music, a signifier of social preference, is key cultural currency – that’s why Ed Miliband has outed himself as a fan of Ellie Goulding (toying with that teen appeal even before Milifandom swept the nation), Nick Clegg has previously stated that he’s a Chopin devotee (serious, sombre, no philistines need apply), while David Cameron continues to cosy up to the white-bloke indie scene (despite Johnny Marr’s total rejection of his advances) by admitting his love for the War on Drugs. But what about us common folk? The voters? What might a SNP follower listen to while treading dog dirt into a St George’s flag? What might a Ukip supporter play while sinking their 21 pints of warm British ale?
Thankfully, new research carried out by a company called DigitasLBi has the answers to these highly generalised and slightly offensive questions: its study reveals the musical affinities of political party followers, by scanning Twitter and gathering account overlap data (an overlap being the percentage of fans following an account that also follow another account). The results range from the peculiar to the predictable.
Perry’s broad appeal
Katy Perry tops the table among Twitter followers of Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat and Ukip persuasions. This could have something to do with her ability to unite all corners of the political spectrum with her world-conquering pop anthems – but is possibly more to do with the fact that she has the biggest following on the social network of any other pop star. Nevertheless, next time you go and see Perry live, consider that within that tight-knit tween hug during Firework there is in fact a heated debate about welfare cuts going on.
Weird Will.i.am
Most incongruous of all the results is Will.i.am’s emergence as a bastion of Scottish Independence: the songwriter and producer was popular across the board, but in particular emerged as the most popular choice of SNP followers (11%). There are a few conclusions to be drawn here: it could have something to do with Stevie McCrorie – winner of The Voice 2015, who was mentored by Ricky Wilson, but clearly drew eyes to quirky beats’ advocate Will.i.am in the process. Perhaps the artist’s successful solo career, away from the Black Eyed Peas, symbolises everything that could have been for the SNP following last year’s referendum. Most likely, however, is that Nicola Sturgeon’s crew are bang into Lego accessories.
Noel renews Labour support
Noel Gallagher’s infamous handshake with Tony Blair may have crippled the cool of Britpop for good, but it looks as if the Oasis frontman unwittingly aligns himself with the party once more. Gallagher has a crossover with only two of the seven parties – SNP (4%) and Labour (3%), with Labour followers in general showing their loyalty to solo artists: Alicia Keys, Drake, George Michael, Emeli Sandé, Bruno Mars and Kelly Clarkson among them – but no other party, a fact which has prompted me to come up with the potential Labour campaign slogan: “Don’t spoil your ballot – listen to ballad.” Pay me later.
Pitbull’s team Tory
Elsewhere, Pitbull – omnipresent bastion of masculinity, famed for his empty declarations of love – proved popular among Conservative voters. Maybe we should have paid more attention to his veiled support of the privatisation of the NHS during his song Hotel Room Service: “Your man just left / I’m the plumber tonight / Let me check your pipes / Oh, you’re the healthy type.” You don’t get more private than that, am I right? Anyone?
The Green gang
Billy Bragg will be happy: his presence is one that rallies against Ukip (no crossover) and drums up support among the minority parties – the key favourite of Plaid Cymru (10%) and Green (10%), with a strong following among SNP (9%), while Pink Floyd, Snoop Dogg and Rizzle Kicks are all popular with Greens. There’s a weed joke in there somewhere, but I used up all my wit on that corker of a Labour slogan. Ian Hislop shall sleep sound tonight.
Ukip luvs Shady
And who could forget Ukip? What does the average Ukip supporter listen to while trolling lefty feminists on Twitter? It looks as if relatively unbalanced white men are the ultimate score, with Eminem and Robbie Williams both showing strongest crossovers with Ukip followers (and SNP too, but that ruins this cultivated conclusion a little).
The full results are here, so do leave your own offerings of political satire in the comments below.
