Mick Jones was bought up in a small flat in a tower block by his grandmother. Topper Headon was from a working class family in Kent.
I know Paul Simonen's father was a civil servant but that's a job title that covers so much difference in pay scale there's no real way of knowing how well off they were.
I almost got a job in the civil service and that was only working in the post office.

With the possible exception of Mick Jones, those are not situations I'd describe as poverty.

They'd hardly get you in to an exclusive school, which is what this was about.
Or at least I thought it was.

This tangent of conversation came about from me disagreeing with Thinkofthechildren's claim that "most artists usually come from a poor background". A few posts later he took it to talking about exclusive schools for some reason but that's not the really the core of what was being discussed.

To jump in on this statement, I would think the poorer you are the less likely you might end up going into music as a career. I would think that most end up working at any type of job just to survive or support your family and things such as professional musician aren't really seen as an option since your priorities might have to change. Hence, I am less surprised when I see a band that was formed while the members went to college or come from a middle class backround...if things do not go well, they always have something to fall back on. Just my view, not a fact.

Other bands that started in college/school:
Hootie and the Blowfish, University of SC
The predecessors of Queen, Smile, started at Imperial College London.
Lady Antebellum and REM, U of GA
Radiohead, Abingdon School, Oxfordshire
Coldplay, University College London

A post college band: The Doors, UCLA grads

As for Right Wing artists, I think many probably change views as their lifestyle changes. See Peter Garett, lead singer for Midnight Oil.

Are you saying the Ramones are poseurs????

Also, since when did punk HAVE to be political?

Do you even listen to punk?

Absolutely. Line from Red Dwarf:
Lister: I AM educated! I went to art school.
Rimmer: YOU went to ART SCHOOL? How did YOU get into art school?
Lister: The same way everyone does, Rimmer. The same old boring way. Failed me exams and applied. They snapped me up!

Ted Nugent is super right wing, isn't he? He may even be a Tea Partier.

I don't think it is fair to say all musicians that are consverative are bad people because I think like this: Are there are idiotic consverative artists, of course but that is because I am a Liberal. DUH. But look at people like Kid Rock, Carrie Underwood, Garth Brooks, and others. Kid Rock maybe lack goodness but he is not crazy. He is actually has openly said that he is a republican but everyone loves him regardless.

I mean you also have very idiotic liberal artists too. Some of them are really sick (won't list names, I don't have time right now, my english is ****ed up right now). But there are tons of idiotic liberal artists.

But one really bad consverative is Ted Nugent. His music is alright and I can tolerate but his politics are so wrong. This man cares about guns than anything else. That is pretty sad.

Yeah, he is involved with that. Which is ironic, seeing as how the Tea Party is all about family and removing the gov't from your private business. I bet pervy Ted would like that. Seeing as how he was ****ing teenage girls the same age as his daughter. I believe he walked out on his first batch of children. He cheats on his wife (Mr. Family Values), and had an illegitimate child a few years back.

AND this is all fine and dandy, but don't try to make yourself into the poster boy for the right-wingers and the tea people. Don't be a ****ing hypocrite. Yay guns!