M People founder Mike Pickering has said the band are "livid" that their song was used to welcome prime minister Liz Truss to the stage at the Conservative Party conference.
Ms Truss walked out in Birmingham to the group's Nineties hit "Moving On Up", which features vocalist Heather Small, ahead of delivering her keynote speech.
The dance anthem, which was released by the Manchester-based band in 1993, peaked at No 2 on the UK singles chart.
Pickering told the PA news agency: "They [the band] are livid. Heather's boy James is a Labour councillor. Hopefully, most people will know that they have pirated it off us. She won't be around to use it again for very long, I would imagine."
He added: "I am absolutely gutted by it because they are killing the live touring of bands and artists... I am Mancunian and getting from Manchester to London these days is harder than getting on to continental Europe."
This story is from the October 06, 2022 edition of The Independent.
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This story is from the October 06, 2022 edition of The Independent.
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