James Blunt's letter to Chris Bryant !!

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User removed 4

New member
May 9, 2008
13,331
Haywards Heath
Whatever you think of his music , he absolutely destroys Bryant with this letter :lolol:

Dear Chris Bryant MP,

You classist gimp. I happened to go to a boarding school. No one helped me at boarding school to get into the music business. I bought my first guitar with money I saved from holiday jobs (sandwich packing!). I was taught the only four chords I know by a friend. No one at school had ANY knowledge or contacts in the music business, and I was expected to become a soldier or a lawyer or perhaps a stockbroker. So alien was it, that people laughed at the idea of me going into the music business, and certainly no one was of any use.

In the army, again, people thought it was a mad idea. None of them knew anyone in the business either.

And when I left the army, going against everyone’s advice, EVERYONE I met in the British music industry told me there was no way it would work for me because I was too posh. One record company even asked if I could speak in a different accent. (I told them I could try Russian).

Every step of the way, my background has been AGAINST me succeeding in the music business. And when I have managed to break through, I was STILL scoffed at for being too posh for the industry.

And then you come along, looking for votes, telling working class people that posh people like me don’t deserve it, and that we must redress the balance. But it is your populist, envy-based, vote-hunting ideas which make our country crap, far more than me and my shit songs, and my plummy accent.

I got signed in America, where they don’t give a stuff about, or even understand what you mean by me and “my ilk”, you prejudiced wazzock, and I worked my arse off. What you teach is the politics of jealousy. Rather than celebrating success and figuring out how we can all exploit it further as the Americans do, you instead talk about how we can hobble that success and “level the playing field”. Perhaps what you’ve failed to realise is that the only head-start my school gave me in the music business, where the VAST majority of people are NOT from boarding school, is to tell me that I should aim high. Perhaps it protected me from your kind of narrow-minded, self-defeating, lead-us-to-a-dead-end, remove-the-‘G’-from-‘GB’ thinking, which is to look at others’ success and say, “it’s not fair.”

Up yours,

James Cucking Funt
 




Bushy siding with the Eton-Harrow public schoolboys again
 




Stat Brother

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jul 11, 2003
73,888
West west west Sussex
It's a shame Mr Blunt decided to start with You classist gimp.

That does rather stop him from owning anyone, irrespective as to how justified his point may be.
 


Bombadier Botty

Complete Twaddle
Jun 2, 2008
3,258
He's done a fvcking sight more for this country than you ever have .

And we're off. 120 pages of pointless crap to follow? Would this not better off posted on the Chelsea forum instead Bushy? You might get up to 260 pages worth of pointless crap on there.
 






Da Man Clay

T'Blades
Dec 16, 2004
16,286
And for balance - the reply from Chris Bryant.


Dear James

Stop being so blooming precious. I’m not knocking your success. I even contributed to it by buying one of your albums. I’m not knocking Eddie Redmayne, either. He was the best Richard II I have ever seen.

If you’d read the whole of my interview, you’d have seen that I make the point that the people who subsidise the arts the most are artists themselves. Of course that includes you. But it is a statement of the blindingly obvious that that is far tougher if you come from a poor family where you have to hand over your holiday earnings to help pay the family bills.

I’m delighted you’ve done well for yourself. But it is really tough forging a career in the arts if you can’t afford the enormous fees for drama school, if you don’t know anybody who can give you a leg up, if your parents can’t subsidise you for a few years whilst you make your name and if you can’t afford to take on an unpaid internship.

You see the thing is I want everyone to take part in the arts. I don’t want any no-go areas for young people from less privileged backgrounds. And I’m convinced that we won’t be Great Britain if we waste great British talent in the arts. You seem to think talent will always out. My fear is that someone like Stanley Baker, the son of a disabled miner in the Rhondda, who rose to be one of Britain’s greatest film actors (Zulu), would have found it even harder to make it today.

That’s why we need more diversity at every level in the arts – in education, in training, on-screen, on stage and backstage – and we need to break down all the barriers to taking part so that every talent gets a chance.

Yours bluntly

Chris
 


BlockDpete

Well-known member
Oct 8, 2005
1,144
Chris Bryants reply.....

Dear James

Stop being so blooming precious. I’m not knocking your success. I even contributed to it by buying one of your albums. I’m not knocking Eddie Redmayne, either. He was the best Richard II I have ever seen.

If you’d read the whole of my interview, you’d have seen that I make the point that the people who subsidise the arts the most are artists themselves. Of course that includes you. But it is a statement of the blindingly obvious that that is far tougher if you come from a poor family where you have to hand over your holiday earnings to help pay the family bills.

I’m delighted you’ve done well for yourself. But it is really tough forging a career in the arts if you can’t afford the enormous fees for drama school, if you don’t know anybody who can give you a leg up, if your parents can’t subsidise you for a few years whilst you make your name and if you can’t afford to take on an unpaid internship.

You see the thing is I want everyone to take part in the arts. I don’t want any no-go areas for young people from less privileged backgrounds. And I’m convinced that we won’t be Great Britain if we waste great British talent in the arts. You seem to think talent will always out. My fear is that someone like Stanley Baker, the son of a disabled miner in the Rhondda, who rose to be one of Britain’s greatest film actors (Zulu), would have found it even harder to make it today.

That’s why we need more diversity at every level in the arts – in education, in training, on-screen, on stage and backstage – and we need to break down all the barriers to taking part so that every talent gets a chance.

Yours bluntly

Chris
 




JJ McClure

Go Jags
Jul 7, 2003
11,110
Hassocks
I like Blunty. Always comes across as a good bloke.
I have no idea who Chris Bryant is, but as a politician there's a high percentage chance that he is a gimp and a wazzock as described in the letter.
 


Stat Brother

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jul 11, 2003
73,888
West west west Sussex
And for balance - the reply from Chris Bryant.


Dear James

Stop being so blooming precious. I’m not knocking your success. I even contributed to it by buying one of your albums. I’m not knocking Eddie Redmayne, either. He was the best Richard II I have ever seen.

If you’d read the whole of my interview, you’d have seen that I make the point that the people who subsidise the arts the most are artists themselves. Of course that includes you. But it is a statement of the blindingly obvious that that is far tougher if you come from a poor family where you have to hand over your holiday earnings to help pay the family bills.

I’m delighted you’ve done well for yourself. But it is really tough forging a career in the arts if you can’t afford the enormous fees for drama school, if you don’t know anybody who can give you a leg up, if your parents can’t subsidise you for a few years whilst you make your name and if you can’t afford to take on an unpaid internship.

You see the thing is I want everyone to take part in the arts. I don’t want any no-go areas for young people from less privileged backgrounds. And I’m convinced that we won’t be Great Britain if we waste great British talent in the arts. You seem to think talent will always out. My fear is that someone like Stanley Baker, the son of a disabled miner in the Rhondda, who rose to be one of Britain’s greatest film actors (Zulu), would have found it even harder to make it today.

That’s why we need more diversity at every level in the arts – in education, in training, on-screen, on stage and backstage – and we need to break down all the barriers to taking part so that every talent gets a chance.

Yours bluntly

Chris

Now that reads like an 'owning'.
Back in your box Blunty
 


Simster

"the man's an arse"
Jul 7, 2003
54,955
Surrey
Whatever you think of his music , he absolutely destroys Bryant with this letter :lolol:

No, he really doesn't. Anyone can rant. What was actually said that prompted Blunt's outrage in the first place? If, as the reply suggests, he is whinging because someone dared to say it's easier for a posh boy to succeed than for a poor one, it would suggest Blunt is somewhat unhinged.
 




Bombadier Botty

Complete Twaddle
Jun 2, 2008
3,258
Why shouldn't I post it on here ? Why add to it if you don't want 'pointless crap' ?

Don't frickin' knock it! I'm trying to help you get to 100 pages for fark's ache! Anything less might be deemed a bushy PR disaster by some, especially in light of recent NSC 'Charlie Hebdo' 'Islam' and 'Ched Evans' threads all effortlessly hitting the ton plus page target, so I think even you'd admit that there is a bit of pressure on you as the thread starter for this one.
 


n1 gull

Well-known member
Jul 25, 2003
4,639
Hurstpierpoint
I agree with Blunt. It's too easy to knock success and claim life's unfair.
Labour need to up their game and stop talking about millionaire tax cuts etc and show some aspirational thinking.
Just bleating on about posh people is lazy and boring
 






Grombleton

Surrounded by <div>s
Dec 31, 2011
7,356
Unpopular opinion: I like James Blunt. And his music.
 


Dick Head

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Jan 3, 2010
13,893
Quaxxann
I like Chris Bryant's letter best.
 


Dick Head

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Jan 3, 2010
13,893
Quaxxann
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Arts world must address lack of diversity, says Labour’s Chris Bryant

Shadow culture minister calls for fewer Eddie Redmaynes and James Blunts and more Albert Finneys and Glenda Jacksons



Rowena Mason, political correspondent


The Guardian, Friday 16 January 2015 18.52 GMT


Eddie-Redmayne-011.jpg

‘We can’t just have a culture dominated by Eddie Redmayne [pictured] and James Blunt and their ilk,’ Bryant said. Photograph: Michael Nelson/EPA

The arts world must address the dominance of performers like Eddie Redmayne, James Blunt and their ilk who come from privileged backgrounds, according to Labour’s new shadow culture minister.
In his first interview in the job, Chris Bryant said one of his priorities if he became a minister would be to encourage diversity and fairer funding in the arts. In particular, he suggested that Labour would try to address a “cultural drought” afflicting areas outside London and the south-east because of lower funding, as well as encouraging the arts world to hire people from a variety of backgrounds.
“I am delighted that Eddie Redmayne won [a Golden Globe for best actor], but we can’t just have a culture dominated by Eddie Redmayne and James Blunt and their ilk,” he said.
“Where are the Albert Finneys and the Glenda Jacksons? They came through a meritocratic system. But it wasn’t just that. It was also that the writers were writing stuff for them. So is the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, doing that kind of gritty drama, which reflects [the country] more? We can’t just have Downton programming ad infinitum and think that just because we’ve got some people in the servants’ hall, somehow or other we’ve done our duty by gritty drama.”

3ab039ec-f351-4475-bab3-68f603273ff3-460x276.jpeg

Glenda Jackson as Mary Queen of Scots Photograph: Allstar/Sportsphoto Ltd


The 33-year-old actor Redmayne attended Eton College, while 40-year-old singer James Blunt went to Harrow school in north-west London. Bryant’s comments echo those of actor David Morrissey, who last year said the arts were being closed off to many young people by a culture of elitism.
“The truth is that people who subsidise the arts most are artists themselves,” Bryant said. “That of course makes it much more difficult if you come from a background where you can’t afford to do that. I’m delighted that Arts Council England have done more on their apprenticeship scheme, but I think a lot more museums, galleries, arts companies need to pay not just lip service to or tick the box of diversity, but embed themselves in a much wider community to increase access.”
Bryant said Labour would not force the arts world to open up, but would strongly encourage those in the creative industries to look at the way people join the sector. “It is something the industry needs to do and we need to look at how the BBC fosters talent,” he said.
“Sometimes it is just saying to arts organisations: what are you actually doing to extend your reach here, or is everyone just going to be an arts graduate from Cambridge?”
The problem does not just lie with those working in the arts world, but those who are consuming culture, he suggested.
Challenging theatres to increase their appeal to a wider range of social groups, he said: “It’s great to have a £10 a ticket system, but if all the £10 tickets are being sold to people who were buying them for £50 the week before, then that’s no great gain. I’m not going to tell the National Theatre how to do its ticketing … but it’s always fascinated me that the National Theatre has no windows out on to the community in which it sits, just windows on to the Thames.”

2254ad92-613a-4e9a-9317-77fa4398a1ab-460x276.jpeg

Albert Finney as Hercule Poirot in Murder on the Orient Express (1974). Photograph: Allstar/EMI/Sportsphoto Ltd

Bryant spoke to the Guardian after Labour received criticism for tweeting that it would not reverse £83m of cuts to the Arts Council of England’s budget, which some writers took as “bragging” about its commitment to reducing funding. The shadow minister said it was true that his party would have to show the arts “love in a cold climate” because there will not be huge amounts of cash to throw around. However, he said it would still be possible for Labour to make a big impact in the arts by spreading funding more fairly.
Reports by Rebalancing our Cultural Capital and Place have recently pointed out big postcode disparities in the spending per head on arts provision. They found that Londoners benefited from £69 spending per head, compared with just £4.50 in the rest of England. Bryant said that making sure the English regions had enough funding for culture was “the direction of travel” for Labour.
“You can’t have one part of the country flourishing and the rest of the country in a cultural drought,” Bryant said. “One of the difficulties is that a lot of the institutions that have historically received direct grants in aid or money through the Arts Council of England are London- and south-east-based. Everything else is reliant on local authority support, and those are seeing dramatic cuts from central government.”
Labour is expected to publish a manifesto for the arts in the coming weeks as it celebrates the 50th anniversary of Labour politician Jennie Lee becoming the first minister of the arts.
Bryant said Labour still has Lee’s goal of “extending access so you have more people reading a book, maybe writing a book, going to see a play. And I don’t think that’s impossible even within the constraints we have.”
Bryant, who is known for his battle against phone hacking, is writing his first novel about a group of gay and bisexual politicians who opposed appeasement and were branded the “glamour boys”.
He claimed that he and shadow culture secretary Harriet Harman would be passionate champions of the arts, in contrast with the Conservative culture secretaries, Sajid Javid, Maria Miller, and Jeremy Hunt.
 


DTES

Well-known member
Jul 7, 2003
6,022
London
James Blunt's letter definitely does read as though he owns Chris Bryant - until you read Bryant's reply, or what Bryant actually wrote in the first place.

Shame - as Blunt's "ownings" on Twitter are generally pretty funny.
 




Herr Tubthumper

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jul 11, 2003
62,737
The Fatherland
James Blunt's letter definitely does read as though he owns Chris Bryant - until you read Bryant's reply, or what Bryant actually wrote in the first place.

Shame - as Blunt's "ownings" on Twitter are generally pretty funny.

So, in summary the OP has posted a load of unfounded twaddle......again.
 


Tony Towner's Fridge

Well-known member
Aug 22, 2003
5,547
GLASGOW,SCOTLAND,UK
Bryant is a big pot calling a kettle black. He is from a privileged background himself .
Also the Labour Party are planning on tens of millions of pounds of funding cuts in the arts if they are elected. It has been proven, like investment in apprenticeships/training/sustainability (I could carry on) that small investments reap greater rewards not only in direct revenue but in indirect revenue. So why the cuts?

Luckily and hopefully we won't see the likes of Bryant , Moribund , Balls and their ilk, anywhere near 10 Downing Street in May.

Shudder to think what our economy will look like in two years time, let alone the arts and culture part of our society, if they did win the election.

TNBA

TTF
 


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