Bill Carmichael: Billy’s out of tune with reality

He sang a few out-of-tune songs to sparse audiences, including a slightly weird, politically correct version of the socialist anthem, The Internationale.

Certainly the words seemed to have changed a lot since my days on the barricades.

The third line, which I knew as “For reason in revolt now thunders”, has been changed to “Don’t cling so hard to your possessions” – and the millionaire pop star belted it out without even the merest hint of a blush.

Hypocrisy aside, Billy and I have some things in common. We are close in age, and we both come from solidly working class stock, but there the similarities end.

I’ve worked in journalism for more than 30 years. I’ve never been out of work for long, but neither have I enjoyed spectacular success or a big salary.

At times money has been tight and it has been a struggle to put a roof over our heads, food on the table and ensure the children are adequately clothed and shod.

In the Occupiers’ parlance, I am very much one of the 99 per cent.

Billy couldn’t be more different. He’s an international superstar, has made many hit records and can fill stadia with thousands of adoring fans. He lives in some splendour in a £1.5m mansion in the pretty county of Dorset, and his record loyalties alone are probably sufficient to maintain him in some style for the rest of his life. He is definitely part of the one per cent.

But despite these disparities in wealth, I would describe myself as reasonably content.

The Occupiers argue that I am wrong to feel this way. They say I should be seething with rage and resentment because Billy has a bigger slice of pie than I do.

They say I should demand that the state expropriates Billy’s wealth and redistributes it to the rest of us. And they argue I should be sulking in a tent in the centre of Leeds or Sheffield until I get my way.

My biggest problem with this is that I cannot in my heart bring myself to resent Billy one penny of his wealth or one iota of his success. He’s worked hard and has reaped the rewards – so good luck to him.

Billy’s music is not to my taste, and frankly I find the proletarian posturing faintly ridiculous, but a lot of people like his stuff and are prepared to pay hard cash to listen to it.

In fact Billy is the sort of hugely successful capitalist that we should all admire. Britain could do with more people like Billy.

I hope this explains why I can’t stand in solidarity with the Occupiers – I just can’t summon up the necessary degree of envy, resentment, bitterness and rage.

And I do wonder if a movement entirely predicated on such negative emotions can ever achieve anything positive.

Preoccupied

The Occupy movement also provided the biggest laugh of the week.

In New York two of the leaders of the movement were found staying at a £450 a night hotel while their supporters shivered in tents on the street. When confronted in the swanky hotel lobby, one of them said: “Tents are not for me.”

The other is quoted as saying: “It is an expensive hotel. Whatever.”

The more this goes on, the more it resembles Animal Farm (well worth a re-read by the way).

Remember: “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.”

And the last words of the book: “The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.” Oink, oink!