Sympathy for the Conservatives as Jagger promotes UK

Mick Jagger performs ''Everybody Needs Someone to Love'' at the 53rd annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, California February 13, 2011.

LONDON (Reuters) - From a 1967 drugs conviction to a 2003 knighthood bestowed by Queen Elizabeth, Mick Jagger's transformation from rock'n'roll rebel to darling of the British establishment is well-documented.

Yet few Rolling Stones fans could have imagined they would one day see the singer appearing alongside a prime minister from the Conservative Party - a bastion of traditionalists who would have been scandalized by the young Jagger.

Sir Mick, as he has been known since he was knighted, is scheduled to appear at an event organized by Prime Minister David Cameron to promote Britain during the gathering of the world's richest and most powerful people in Davos this week.

The prime minister's spokesman confirmed on Tuesday that Jagger would take part, but he declined to give details of what the star's exact role would be.

The popular Sun tabloid, which first reported news of Jagger's participation, helpfully suggested a list of song titles for any potential duet.

These included "Downing Street fighting man" and "You can't always get what you want (in a coalition)," in reference to Cameron's sometimes uneasy alliance with the Liberal Democrats.

The Davos event is a publicity coup for Cameron. It is likely to dismay former Prime Minister Tony Blair, a life-long Jagger fan who led the Labour Party to three electoral victories over the Conservatives.

The guitar-playing Blair, who dreamed of being a rock star before turning to politics, told Jagger at a dinner in the 1990s that "I just want to say how much you've always meant to me."

It was Blair who recommended the singer for his knighthood.

The upper-class Cameron and his fellow Conservatives, in contrast, were not previously known for any association with rock stars.

(Reporting by Estelle Shirbon, editing by Paul Casciato)