Thatcher on the Drums

[Deano!]

During the final days of the Thatcher era, I remember seeing a ridiculous PR stunt cooked up for her by some spin merchant who must have been working for Labour.

She was taken to a recording studio (possibly Abbey Road) where a set of rock band style drums were set up. Maggie was quite obviously not in the mood for stunts and banged the drums for a few seconds looking very cross before looking up at her minders and said something like "Well? Are you happy now?" before storming out.

I tried looking on YouTube etc for this classic moment but found nothing. Does anyone here remember this?

[JonnyHungwell]

No - but I think she appeared naked in the special edition of 'The Wellytops of Westminster'.

[max_tranmere]

I remember Prince Charles doing something like that. Not Maggie. Bear in mind that it wasnt the Opposition who beat her, or the public that turned against her, it was her own party. Once Geoffrey Howe had resigned, which weakened her tremendously (and his resignation speech where he really put the boot in); and once Michael Heseltine, her sworn enemy, had stood for the leadership, she was doomed. It was only a matter of time until she was gone. I don't think her mounting a drum stool and doing an impression of John Bonham would have saved her somehow!

[Jonesy]

I recall her dis-taste for stunts. Watch the intro to the film 'This is England' and see Maggie pull the trigger of a large missile launcher. The subsequent loud bang shocked her, and she looks like her eardrums have just burst.
Excellent!

[supsim96]

Maybe she was rehearsing for a cameo role at the "Free Nelson Mandela" Wembley gathering . . . .

[Deano!]

Thanks for your replies. Even though no one here recalls this, I'm still sure I saw this happen. It was only aired as a 'giggle item' between the sport and weather reports.

Perhaps I really have gone mad and I'm imagining things! EEErrrrrgh Creepy Crawlies!!! Get them off me! Get them off me!!!

[max_tranmere]

supsim96, I think you're on the wrong track with Maggie being a supporter of Mandela. She said for years she would not meet him because "I don't meet terrorists..."

[supsim96]

Max, there was more than a heavy hint of irony in my post . . . .

Thatcher was a tacit supporter of the apartheid regime in my opinion - she did nothing to attempt to pressurise the white supremacist government.

The rumour was that Dennis' multi-million fortune arose from SA investments. My belief was that she was merely happy that South Africa was free from Communism unlike several African countries at that time.

She denounced Mandela as a "terrorist" and apparently loathed everything about the man - hence my tongue-in-cheek comment about the concert!!!!

[steve56]

She was against the IRA but supported Mandela!