Ugly Rumours (band)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ugly Rumours was the name of a rock band founded in part by the current (as of November 13, 2006) UK prime minister Tony Blair, while studying law at St John's College, Oxford during the early 1970s; he sang and played guitar. The band's name came from the cover of the Grateful Dead's album From the Mars Hotel.
Another member of the band was Mark Ellen, who later went on to present BBC TV's Old Grey Whistle Test music show and become the founding editor of British music magazine Q.
On January 19, 2006, Channel 4 broadcast a docudrama entitled Tony Blair: Rock Star, which stated that the band's first gig was at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, during which the drum kit fell apart, and that the band played a total of six gigs before disbanding. It was also mentioned that Blair passed his audition for the band primarily because he was the only auditionee who knew all the words to the song he was asked to sing, "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" by Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones, whom he imitated during his performances.
