May 1997 saw a landslide victory for New Labour in the general election, which changed the political landscape and also, of course, the satirical landscape too.
Like many NewsRevue writers, I found it harder to satirise a relatively young, fresh bunch of leaders who were elected in a mood of renewed hope and promised change.
This was my first post 1997 election effort and it ran and ran in the show. I still think it is one of my better efforts.
Just in case any readers are unaware, Tony Blair was the newly elected prime minister at that time. His wife, Cherie Blair (aka Cherie Booth) a highly-successful barrister and latterly QC.
MY CHERIE EARNS MORE
(To the Tune of “My Cherie Amour”)INTRO
La la la, la la la;
La la la, la la-la la;VERSE 1 – TONY
My Cherie earns more,
More than I earn as PM;
My Cherie earns more,
More than all of you could spend;
My Cherie earns more,
Because she is a leading “barristor”;
I am on the right side of the law,
But how I wish she wouldn’t smile.VERSE 2 – CHERIE
(Cherie smiles as best she can)
In the High Court,
Donning my full robe and wig;
Not a nice thought,
But at least my pay cheque will be big;
Cos Cherie earns more,
Than Tony ever could when he did law,
That’s why he’s the mere Prime “Ministor”,
I can run the show meanwhile.OUTRO
TONY: Cherie my darling. Who sent you those flowers at six in the morning?
CHERIE: (smiling as best she can) Mind your own fucking business and keep smiling.
Also a 22 July 1997 update version:
MY CHERIE EARNS MORE – BIG HAIR VERSION
(To the Tune of “My Cherie Amour”)INTRO
La la la, la la la;
La la la, la la-la la;VERSE 1 – TONY
My Cherie earns more,
More than I earn as PM;
My Cherie earns more,
More than all of you could spend;
My Cherie earns more,
Because she is a leading “barristor”;
I am on the right side of the law,
But how I wish she wouldn’t smile.VERSE 2 – CHERIE
(Cherie smiles as best she can)
In the High Court,
With my two grand hair cut and white wig;
Not a nice thought,
But at least my pay cheque will be big;
Cos Cherie earns more,
Than Tony ever could when he did law,
That’s why he’s the mere Prime “Ministor”,
I can run the show meanwhile.OUTRO
TONY: Cherie my darling. Who sent you those flowers at six in the morning?
CHERIE: (smiling as best she can) Mind your own fucking business and keep smiling.
TONY: But Cherie, my sweet. Did you really spend two grand on that haircut?
CHERIE: When you start earning some decent money you can start making some of the purchasing decisions.
The following video plays Stevie Wonder singing My Cherie Amour: