Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev invites veteran rock band to perform at special new year shindig
Led Zeppelin riffs set his heart racing and the booming chords of Deep Purple are said to shake the walls of his chintzy living room. Now Russia's president, Dmitry Medvedev, has revealed a new passion for British rock after inviting veteran Bradford band Smokie to appear at an exclusive Kremlin dinner.
The West Yorkshire outfit, who had hits such as Living Next Door to Alice in the 1970s, performed four songs at an invitation-only new year jamboree in Moscow on 30 December, it has emerged.
The band, whose song Pass it Around was banned from Radio One in 1975 because of alleged references to drugs, played to Medvedev and several hundred guests, including politicians and military figures. Vladimir Putin, the prime minister, was also said to be present. Guests were treated to octopus carpaccio, baked veal with tuna sauce and panna cotta with a raspberry topping.
Bassist Terry Uttley, 60, said he was honoured to take part. "I think Medvedev and Putin were at the first table in front of the guitar player, although I couldn't be certain," he said. "It was very highbrow. There wasn't any dancing in the aisles."
The event was controversial in Russia because several opposition figures attended after criticising recent election results allegedly manipulated by the Kremlin.
Smokie have a large following in eastern Europe and had just finished a Russian tour when they got the invitation last month, said their manager John Wagstaff.
"Their number, What Can I Do, is especially popular," he said. "I've even heard that Russian students turned it into a drinking song called Vodka I Do."
The Kremlin has become a regular spot for big western acts. Medvedev invited his ultimate hard rock heroes Deep Purple for tea and buns when they visited last year and Putin met Paul McCartney when he played in Red Square in 2003.
Putin's spokesman denied reports in 2009 that an Abba tribute band had performed for the prime minister and a "glamorous" woman at a theatre 200 miles north of Moscow.
Bono of U2 held a meeting with Medvedev in 2010 but upset the Kremlin by inviting Yury Shevchuk, a popular Russian singer who has criticised the ruling elite, to join him on stage at Luzhniki stadium.
Uttley said the State Kremlin Palace, where the new year concert was held, looked smarter than when he had visited it in 2004, although there were some signs of austerity. "Back then, they served us wines from Joseph Stalin's personal cellar," he said. "This time it was Australian Shiraz."
Medvedev announced in September that he would not run for a second presidential term, preferring to step aside – some believe reluctantly – to allow Putin to return to the Kremlin this spring.
Smokie may have wisely avoided performing their hit, Changing All the Time, at the gig. It contains the line: "We both knew there'd be things we'd have to face but it is true that I can never take his place."