Your mirror - Simply Red

I wouldn't exactly mind if Margaret Thatcher, the former leader of the UK's Conservative Party, would have a very long, painful and unpleasant death bed. I don't often wish for bad things for people, but that sorry excuse for a woman has caused so much grief in her country, that she deserves nothing less than a revengeful payback.

Thankfully, I am not alone in feeling this way: Morrissey once recorded the very pleasant track 'Margaret on the guillotine' (with the repeated line 'When will you die?') and Simply Red recorded 'Your mirror' on their 1992 album 'Stars'. It is an extended critique of the Thatcherite politics. The song criticises the selfishness, individualism and nationalism (including attachment to nuclear weapons) that typified it. The opening verse references Thatcher's famous 'There is no such thing as society' speech. The song suggests these attitudes are inhuman and unnatural by contrasting them with the human instinct towards sharing, and (more fancifully) with the natural environment - the birds singing their 'faithful song' - and a sense of inner beauty. The single reached number 17 in the UK singles chart.

My collection: 7" single no. 1688
Found: Melody Maker, Den Haag, August 1, 1992
Cost: 6,5 guilders
Tracks: 'Your mirror' / 'Your mirror (live)'