Rayner’s DJ set ‘nothing like Hancock’s spell in the jungle’
ANGELA RAYNER has been defended after comparisons were made between her charity DJ set and Matt Hancock’s appearance on I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here.
The deputy Labour leader entertained partygoers on Friday night as part of an event organised by Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, to raise money to buy emergency beds and food for rough sleepers.
Footage went viral of Ms Rayner dancing behind the decks as she played Set You Free, a rave track released in 1992 by N-trance, a dance act.
Responding to a comment that likened the clip to the behaviour of Mr Hancock, who spent three weeks in Australia for his appearance on the ITV reality show, Mr Burnham tweeted: “That was for his own enrichment. Angela did not gain personally from last night, but gave our homeless charity a lot.
In a separate tweet, he continued: “Our North West region rivals anywhere in the world for our musical culture. We need politicians that celebrate this – not hide away from it. Is that understood? Thanks.”
Mr Burnham faced off against Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City region, as they performed rival DJ sets that included tunes by the Nineties ‘Madchester’ band Inspiral Carpets.
“Just can’t be doing a DJ set without a bit of Oldham’s very own N-trance,” Ms Rayner wrote on Saturday alongside the grainy 51-second clip of her performance, which has been watched more than 1.6 million times. Kevin O’toole, one of the members of N-trance, wrote
‘Angela did not gain personally from last night, but gave our homeless charity a lot’
on Twitter in response to the footage: “I really like Andy Burnham and wish he was leader of the Labour Party.
“As a band we don’t like to get involved in politics, as we all have our own views within the band.”
Referring to Tony Blair’s adoption of the song Things Can Only Get Better as his general election anthem before his 1997 landslide victory, Mr O’toole quipped: “Should have picked our song over D:ream, though, in the Nineties.”
Ms Rayner was also pictured on Friday night with the singer Rowetta, who sang on Happy Mondays classics such as Step On.
The charity event formed part of the 1,000 Beds for Christmas campaign, an initiative organised by the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity.
The festive appeal, which is aiming to raise enough money to provide wraparound support that will help homeless people move into permanent accommodation, has so far raised slightly more than £9,000.