I read with interest last week that David Cameron had gone to some lengths to recreate the iconic 1980's photograph of The Smiths, by posing in front of the Salford Lad's Club.

It appears that Hazel Blears, the local MP and Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government had originally managed to disrupt Cameron's photo opportunity, by mobilising local Labour Party activists, who demonstrated outside the said club. It's heartening to know that everything's going so well in our communities and local government that she now has time to rush around her constituency like an eighteen year old student, during rag week.

It appears that big D, is a lifelong fan of Mozza and the boys, indeed he chose "This Charming Man" as one of his songs on Desert Island Discs.

Call me cynical, but is this just another case of an out of touch politician trying to appear cool? When I spied the picture of the Old Etonian in the Daily Mail, smirking in front of the club entrance, long buried memories of the awful "Cool Britannia" era and images of Uncle Tony, strumming his Fender leapt back into my mind, like the annoyingly flush resistant "floaters" one accasionally encounters in a railway carriage toilet pan.

Rumours that Gordon Brown is a closet Public Enemy fan and has taken to wearing an alarm clock around his neck, a la Flavor Flav, in cabinet meetings, have yet to be confirmed by number 10, although when asked recently by the BBC's Nick Robinson, to comment on the ongoing police pay dispute, the premier simply answered, "911 is a joke".

Politicians trying to look cool is nothing new of course. During the sixties, Harold Wilson was pictured with The Beatles.

Whilst still leader of the opposition, Margaret Thatcher was regularly pictured in the pages of NME, pogoing and hurling gob onto various punk bands. Indeed, if rumours are to be believed, she only gave up going to concerts, under pressure from the shadow cabinet, after a three day bender following a Stranglers gig. It's doubtful whether the Tories would have had such a landslide election victory in 1979, had Willy Whitelaw not been on hand to spirit her out of the fire doors of the Marquee Club and into Jim Prior's waiting Austin Allegro, to be driven away from the prying eyes of the world's media.

It's not just British politicians. Remember Bill Clinton playing the saxophone.

Even Adolf Hitler got in on the act, inviting Lancastrian songsmith and movie star, George Formby, to his mountain retreat at Berchtesgaden. In a charming but little known scene from Ava Braun's home movies, Adolf can be seen engaging enthusiastically in a jamming session with Formby, who he had earlier presented with a signed eukelele, whilst Goebbels accompanies them on drums.

The visit in early 1937 is said to have had a major effect on Formby's subsequent work, as can be seen in his 1938 German language film, "Zunachst Anschlag Moskau, Georg!" or "Next Stop Moscow, George!" which received a somewhat lukewarm reception in his home country.

I guess nothing much changes, like I said, stop me if you've heard this one before.