LONDON - Britain's pop stars, once happy to be seen drinking champagne with the young prime minister, now think Tony Blair's Labour government is not as hip as they had hoped.

Leading the "Cool Britannia" backlash is the New Musical Express, which today put Blair on its weekly cover along with the headline: "Ever had the feeling you've been cheated? Rock 'n' roll takes on the government."

Inside, the Labour government is condemned at length by a whole string of rock musicians over a dozen pages, something that will come as an embarrassment to an administration keen to align itself with Britain's booming music industry.

The "Cool Britannia" rebranding of Britain as a modern young country has been a central part of Blair's message, but it is now facing the chill realities of office. The once-enthusiastic pop music lobby feels "betrayed" by plans that would stop aspiring musicians from learning their craft while drawing the dole. "No dole, no rock 'n' roll," said NME.

It was all so different last May when 18 years of Conservative rule was ended by the 44-year-old Blair, a man who used to play guitar in a student rock band and whom the New Musical Express dubbed the "hippest prime minister in history."

Alan McGee, who runs Oasis' label, Creation Records, gave the Labour Party £50,000 (US$82,000) in the run-up to the election and was appointed to the government's Music Industry Task Force. Now, McGee is not happy with the way

things have turned out, particularly the government's welfare-to-work proposals.

"The government is aware of my opinions on welfare to work. And they are not happy. They're very subtle about it. But the bottom line is they would basically like me to shut up about it," McGee told the paper.

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