David Cameron is also a big Mumford & Sons fan

Prime Minister David Cameron says he is hunting for a new favourite band after Johnny Marr and Morrissey said they did not want him listening to The Smiths.

Cameron previously listed the group among his favourites, leading Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr to tweet in 2010: ‘David Cameron, stop saying that you like The Smiths, no you don’t. I forbid you to like it.’

He appears to have taken their warning on board, with the Daily Telegraph quoting the PM as saying during a party celebrating the UK music industry’s highest ever share of global sales: ‘I’m a huge music fan but obviously it’s been something of a music crisis year for me because Morrissey and Johnny Marr have said I’m not allowed to listen to The Smiths anymore, so I’ve had to find some other stuff I am allowed to listen to.’

The Smith forbade the prime minister from enjoying their music . Photo by Andre Csillag/REX

The star spot on David Cameron’s iPod may well be filled by Mumford & Sons, who were invited to play at the White House by the prime minister.




Explaining how he got them the gig, Cameron said: ‘When Barack Obama said, ‘We’re going to have a bit of a party for you at the White House when you visit, who do you want to be playing there?’ I said, ‘Well, there’s this small band that I’m quite keen on and my wife’s quite keen on, I’m not sure you will have heard of them, they’re called Mumford And Sons’.’

He added: ‘And if only I had accepted a percentage, I’d be a lot better off.’