A Tale Of Two Men With £1 Million

One takes £1 million in banknotes and burns them in an existential statement – an act of art. The other invests in trying to save the beleaguered English National Opera. “Why does Bill Drummond get cult status for burning a million and Martin Smith villain status for giving a million? The answer is simple. Drummond, as a rock hero, appeals to our instinct for anarchy. Martin Smith, and many of his friends, are bankers – or stockbrokers, financial consultants, and the like. They deal in money. To some sections of the arts world, the persona of ‘banker’ is villainous.”