Europe

Alexander III ~ The second last Tsar of Russia from 1881 to 1894. A notorious reactionary who famously censored artists and writers, he had little patience for the traditional balls and dances of the Romanov court. To cut short these concerts one of his favorite tricks was to summarily dismiss the band one member at a time until there was nobody left but a piano and a violin, the guests usually got the point by then. Oddly Alexander himself was actually a trained musician having learned the trumpet and trombone. He could in fact play and read music well enough to occasionally join in band and play along when in a good mood. It's not known if the band found this more disturbing then being dismissed.

Silvio Berlosconni ~ The popular conservative prime minister of Italy and all around buffoon throughout the 1990's to 2011. He's also a businessman and media tycoon who owns most of the television and newspapers in Italy. However he started out as a bass player and cruise ship lounge singer in the 1960's.

Cicciolina; The Hungarian born Italian porn star (real name Ilona Staller) who gained international notoriety by getting elected to the Italian Parliament in 1987 running as a Green candidate serving one term. She had actually been running for office since 1979 and would do so again, both in Italy and Hungary without success. She has announced her intention to run again in the upcoming Italian elections to be held next year.

CICCIOLINA ~ "BABY LOVE";


Krzysztof Cugowski; Polish rocker who served a term in the Polish Senate.

Queen Elisabeth of Belgium ~ Elisabeth of Bavaria(1876-1965), Queen Elisabeth of Belgium, was the Queen escort of Albert I of Belgium, she was raised with a deep love of painting, music, and sculpture. Because of her love of music and an accomplished violinist, the original Ysre International Music Competition is named after her as - "The Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition".

Gabriele D'Annunzio ~ Notorius Italian nationalist poet and considered one of the founders of the Fascist movement. Besides poetry he also wrote operas and collaborated with Claude Debussey. He served a term as member of the Chamber Of Deputies from 1987-1900 but he did not run for reelection and fled Ital to escape creditors. After WW1 in September of 1919 he led led a small Blackshirt militia who staged a coup and seized the Croation city of Fiume over which he declared himself "Il Duce" and established a constitution declaring "Music" to be the founding principle of the new city state and petitioned to be annexed by Italy. When the embarrassed and annoyed Italian government instead demanded he and his militia vacate the city he declared war on Italy forcing the Italian navy to evict him by December of 1920. Returning to Italy he involved hinself in right wing politics as sometime ally and rival to Benito Mussolini who was able to sideline him due partly to his scandalous and erratic behaviour which included serious injuries from a fall out of a window either while drunk or involved in a brawl, it's clear which. After Mussolini siezed power he publically supported the regime including it's wars in Africa but later urged avoiding an alliance with Hitler and a general war. He died just before WW2 in 1938

GABRIELE D'ANNUNZIO;


Anton Drexler ~ Founder and original leader of the Nazi Party until forced out by Hitler, Drexler was a locksmith who also moonlighted as a zither player in local beerhalls which was apparently a thing back then.

Willem Engel ~ One of the leaders of Vrij en Sociaal Nederland, a small far-right party for conspiarcy theorists, anti-vaxxers and Putin fanboys, he was formerally the owner of a dance studio that taught Latin dancing, he ran for parliament in 2021 but the party failed to win any seats

Brian Eno ~ The legendary multi-instrmentalist originally with Roxy Music in the 1970's then solo as well as producer with the Talking Heads and U2 is currently on the Board of Directors for the Democracy In Europe Movement, a cross border progressive EU political party which seeks to reform the EU, other members include Jean Michel Jarre

ROXY MUSIC ~ "IN EVERY HOME A HEARTACHE";


Joseph Goebbels ~ Unlike most of the Nazi leaders who were thugs and cretins, the Minister of Propaganda was actually (like Hitler) a frustrated artist with a novel to his credit as well as being a trained amateur pianist. After 1939 when all works by Polish composers were banned, the works of the great piano composer Fredric Chopin were specifically excluded from the ban as Goebbels was a fan, although Hitler was not.

Princess Stephanie Grimaldi De Monaco ~ The younger daughter of Prince Ranier and Princess Grace had her own career in the 1980's as a model and pop singer even scoring a few hits in Europe which thankfully never translated to North America which had one of it's occasional bursts of good taste.

PRINCESS STEPHANIE ~ "IRRESISTIBLE";


Jean Michel Jarre ~ French pioneer of electronic music is currently on the Board of Directors for the Democracy In Europe Movement, a cross border progressive EU political party which seeks to reform the EU, other members include Brian Eno

JEAN MICHEL JARRE ~ "FOURTH RENDEVOUZ";


Vakhtang Kikabidze - 84 - Georgian singer & actor, long a critic of Russia and the USSR he was a notable figure in Georgian independence and ran for and won a seat in the Georgian Parliament where he travelled t Ukraine to show support for their war with Russia but soon died after becoming ill.

Vytaulas Landsbergis ~ The first president of an independent Lithuania from 1990 to 1992 was also a well respected concert pianist who taught at the Lithuanian Conservatory and recorded several albums of classical music.

VYTAULA LANDSBERGIS;


Vladimir Lenin ~ Before he became a full time revolutionary Lenin came from a well educated middle class background as a lawyer and part-time time musician who could read music and play classical guitar and balalaika. Oddly one of his favorite composers was the bombastic Wagner, also the favorite of arch enemy Hitler. He also had the typical Russian love of poetry. However after his older brother was executed for plotting against the Tsar Lenin dedicated himself to revolution with such single minded focus that he gave up all other interests, including music. Later after he became Soviet President he began to take an interest in music again, at one point even inviting Leon Thermin to teach him how to play his new invention, the theremin. According to Thermin, Lenin was a good player.

Thanos Mikroutsikos ~ Respected Greek composer and pianist from the 1960's onward, besides works celebrating Greek culture he also adapted works of Berthold Brecht. He was also heavily involved with politics opposing the 1960's right-wing junta as a member of the Greek Communist Party. When democracy was restored he served the socialist govt as minster of culture in the 1990's. He died in 2019.

THANOS MIKROUTSIKOS ~ "CYRENIA";


Alessandra Mussolini ~ The granddaughter of Italian dictator Benito and niece of Sophia Loren, started out as a model and actress who made a number of mostly B movies in Europe. One of those films in which she played a minor role was however nominated for a foreign language Oscar and won a Golden Globe in 1977. As a model she did photo shoots for Playboy. She also found time to record an album of Euro-Pop called "Amore" in 1982 which was however only released in Japan. She later quit showbiz to join the other family business, running for election to the Italian parliament as a neo-fascist in 1992 where she has sat ever since. She also ran for mayor of Naples but lost. As for her grandfather Benito; he played the violin and his son (and her father) Romano was a successful jazz, lounge and film soundtrack pianist.

ALESSANDRA MUSSOLINI ~ "LOVE IS LOVE";


Hilbrand Nawijn; A typical fat, white, far-right politician who had an untypical career path in that after his electoral career petered out he tried his luck as a contestant on a Dutch talent show and even though everyone agreed he was devoid of talent or looks he managed to get a recording deal and recorded a couple of hit singles.

HILBRAND NAWIJIN ~ "HEY JUMPEN";


Jan Paderewski ~ The first prime minster of an independent Poland in 1919 was also a concert pianist and composer and probably the most famous musician of his era, known for the crowds of swooning fans who attended his world tours. He used his fame to promote Polish independence in the 1900's and briefly served as Prime Minister but disliked the job and soon returned to music. During WW2 after Poland was invaded he again resumed his role as a promoter of Polish independence and fundraiser until he died in 1941 at the age of 81.

JAN PADEREWSKI ~ "HUNGARIAN RHAPSODY";





Vardo Rumessen; Respected Estonian classical pianist and musicologist who was a leader of the independence movement from the USSR he became a member of the Riigikogu (1992–1995, 1999–2003) dying in 2015.

Ruslana; A hugely successful singer and sex-symbol in the Ukraine, she has also been heavily involved in supporting figures like Viktor Yushchenko and Yulia Tymoshenko along with a high profile role in the Orange Revolution, activities which have gotten her banned in Russia. She has suggested she may run for the presidency.

RUSLANA ~ "IT'S MAGICAL";


Miroslav Skoro ~ Croatian folk-pop singer known for his patriotic songs during the Yugoslavian Wars of the 1990's ran for the Presidency in 2019 as a far-right nationalist in a campaign where he praised the Nazi collaborationist regime of WW2. He got a large number of votes but lost narrowly in the first round and failed to make it to the run-off round.

MIROSLAV SKORO ~ "U MOM DVORISTU";


Maria Stern ~ An Austrian former singer/songwriter and current leader of the JEZIT List a breakaway group from the Green Party who got several MPs elected in 2017 but were wiped out in 2020.

MARIA STERN ~ "STRACHE SONG";


Arturo Toscanini ~ The famously temperamental Italian conductor was an early supporter of Benito Mussolini and ran as a Fascist candidate in 1919 and lost. However he soon publicly broke with Mussolini and refused to display his portrait and refused to play the Fascist anthem as required even when government ministers were in the audience. This resulted in his being assaulted by Blackshirts and had his passport revoked until international outcry forced Mussolini to back down enabling him to travel to America and perform. Toscanini fled Italy in 1939 and did not return until the end of the war to a rapturous welcome, however he largely remained in the U.S.A. until he died in 1957.

ARTURO TOSCANINI ~ BEETHOVEN'S 9TH SYMPHONY;



Slavi Trifonov ~ Current President of Bulgaria as of 2021 was previously a popular musician in various genres from Folk to Folk Rock & Punk and Hip Hop as well as a television host.

SLAVI TRIFONOV & KU KU BAND";


Guiseppe Verdi ~ The great Italian composer was also a famous supporter of the Italian Unification led by Garibaldi and Cavour and served as a member of provincial counsils and a member of parliament from 1859 to 1865 however he quickly grew to dislike politics and after Cavour died he stepped down to resume his musical career. In 1874 he was appointed to the senate anyway in which he refused to serve.

Mike Wade ~ The singer of an Isle Of Man band Ballaghs, ran for a seat on the local municipal board in 2021 and easily won. However he resigned in 2023 announcing he was buying a pizza place and couldn't spare the time.

Valodomir Zelensky ~ The President of Ukraine had famously been a major TV star as a comedian but he also did musical and dance numbers includng winning the Ukraine version of "Dancing With The Stars".

VALODIMIR ZELENSKY ON "DANCING WITH THE STARS";