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It’s looking mighty likely that Andy Burnham will become the UK’s next prime minister, and the current Labour MP for Makerfield has made music central to his public image.
The likes of Oasis and Elbow have soundtracked his by-election campaign, and his campaign logo even had a northern soul feel to it.
It’s hardly surprising that the former Mayor of Greater Manchester used these two Manchester bands – especially since his political ideology is often described as “Manchesterism”, characterised as “business-friendly socialism” by Burnham.
Now, Burnham has blind-ranked his favourite British bands in a recent interview, giving the public further insight into his listening habits.
His Top Five ranking started off with putting Manchester favourites Elbow at Number 2. The band, best known for their hits ‘Grounds For Divorce’ and ‘Magnificent (She Says)’, could be heard in his campaign video for the Makerfield by-election with the inclusion of the track ‘One Day Like This’.
Next came Londoners Wolf Alice, placed in 4, while Greater Manchester band The Courteeners took the third spot.
Left with the top and bottom spots to fill, Burnham put Britpop legends Oasis at 1 and indie icons The Smiths at 5 – with the caveat that he wouldn’t bottom-rank The Smiths had he known the bands in advance.
As for Oasis, the Manchester band contributed the track ‘Some Might Say’ to his aforementioned campaign video – which ended on the lyric “We will find a brighter day.”
Burnham has spoken of his love of Oasis several times.
In 2024, he shared with Sky News his excitement at them announcing their Live ‘25 reunion tour.
“This is the day that Manchester has been waiting for,” he said at the time. “I’ve had a bit of contact with Noel in recent times; they’re both brilliant,” he added, recalling that he had seen both brothers live on separate occasions.
Burnham also recalled how Noel Gallagher helped “when we were raising funds for homelessness”, and remembered how Liam Gallagher “did the announcements on our trams to support a new music conference we’ve got in the city – Beyond The Music”.
In October (7-9), Burnham will be participating in Beyond The Music – an event designed to “raise, discuss and solve some of the biggest problems facing the creative industries”.
The event, billed as a “transformative co-operative global music and content conference and festival, set in the vibrant city of Salford, Greater Manchester,” will explore “the pressing challenges facing the industry and find solutions, while spotlighting innovative talent and ground-breaking artists.”
Elsewhere for those still aching to know more about Burnham’s music tastes, a Quietus article from 2022 has resurfaced, in which the PM-to-be revealed his 13 favourite albums.
Alongside some critically-acclaimed records, he included some Manchester classics.
“These are not necessarily my favourite 13 albums, but instead these are the ones that had an impact on my life or were significant moments in my life,” he said at the time.
Here were his picks:
- The Beatles – 1962-1966 (The Red Album)
- The Smiths – Hatful of Hollow
- The Pogues – Rum, Sodomy And The Lash
- The Stone Roses – The Stone Roses
- The Wedding Present – George Best
- The La’s – The La’s
- Billy Bragg – William Bloke
- Radiohead – OK Computer
- Doves – The Last Broadcast
- The Strokes – Is This It?
- Big Thief – Capacity
- New Order – Power, Corruption and Lies
- Courteeners – Falcon
Some cracking records in there, and we’re particularly pleased about the inclusion of Doves’ ‘The Last Broadcast’ – the Manchester band’s sophomore album, featuring the stellar songs ‘There Goes The Fear’, ‘Pounding’ and ‘Caught By The River’.
The majority of Labour MPs have nominated Andy Burnham as the next Labour leader. He is so far the only MP standing and is expected to become prime minister later this month.