Therese Coffey’s first day as the Deputy Prime Minister and Health Secretary got off to an interesting start when, during a live interview on LBC, her phone started playing Dr. Dre, but she isn’t the first politician to be embarrassed by an unfortunate ringtone.
Ms. Coffey, 50, and Nick Ferrari, 63, both cracked up this morning when her 8 a.m. alarm played the Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg song “Still D.R.E.” from 1999.
Despite the odd interruption, the new Health Secretary was able to get over the unpleasant situation and continue the interview.
Politicians have a long history of being surprised by ringtones and receiving unexpected insights on their personal preferences.
Beyoncé’s appearance by Michael Gove
When Michael Gove’s high-tech smart watch went off at a Cabinet meeting in 2015 when he was serving as Chief Whip under David Cameron, it played one of Beyoncé’s well-known songs, leaving him mortified.
While his Cabinet colleagues watched in stony silence, the Tory MP was left writhing as he attempted to muffle the music that was becoming louder and louder.
The lawmaker from Surrey Heath received a Pebble smart watch for Christmas, but had an unpleasant experience when music began playing at the coalition table.
A “stern scolding” from then-Prime Minister David Cameron made things worse as the Chancellor of the Exchequer was “explaining a particularly complicated piece of fiscal policy.”
N.W.A. and N.T.F.
Tim Farron, the former leader of the Liberal Democrats, had a similar incident with a song that was much more explicit when NWA’s “F*** The Police” began playing on his phone during a meeting.
At 2016, Farron was in a meeting with his neighbourhood NHS Trust in Cumbria when the divisive novel, which incites violence against police, interrupted him.
Farron, the Lib Dem leader at the time, said that his kids had been playing with his phone while he had the rap music set as his ringtone.
A website had requested him to review NWA’s Straight Outta Compton album, he said, so he had the song downloaded on his phone.
It is rightfully regarded as a classic, although it is a little coarse, Farron later admitted at the Lib Dem convention.
Even while I really love Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, and Ice Cube, their approach to maintaining law and order differs from ours.
Therese Coffey would undoubtedly empathise with BBC presenter Nick Robinson, who struggled to control his laughter in 2014 when his iPad played Queen’s 1978 classic Fat Bottomed Girls live on television.
As the political editor for the BBC, Robinson interrupted a crucial section of a heated exchange between MPs Caroline Flint and Shailesh Vara on Andrew Neil’s Daily Politics programme.
As Queen’s legendary rock began to play, Robinson and Neil both fumbled for their gadgets, and Robinson managed to stop it just in time.
I’m going to turn it off before the really humiliating lyrics begin, he said.
Before being able to ultimately make her point on the broadcast, Labour MP Caroline Flint remarked, “This is a conspiracy!”
A UKIP parliamentary candidate created what is perhaps the worst ringtone in British political history before the 2015 election.
Candidate Mandy Boylett produced the song on her own, adding her own creepy vocals to a sparse background track.
The ringtone’s words were simple yet heartfelt: “Vote UKIP, vote UKIP, believe in Britain.”
The outcome is genuinely terrible, yet it is undeniably catchy and hence possibly a success, even if it did not help UKIP gain any seats in the election.
Pay attention at your own risk.