It has been a bumper start to 2019 when it comes to releases, but I have received a few messages from people struggling to keep up, so here’s the lowdown on what has been released and why.

On January 1st I released two brand new CDs. The first, ‘Headscarves & Hurricanes’ is an album of songs telling the story of Hull’s fishing industry and the Hessle Road community which supported it, set against the backdrop of the 1968 Triple Trawler Tragedy and the subsequent campaign by the Headscarf Revolutionaries which went on to become the most successful UK civil campaign of the 20th century.

Inspired by reading Brian W. Lavery‘s book on the subject, this album contains eleven songs including collaborations with Rebekah Findlay and Commoners Choir and you can get that on download or CD here:

https://joesolomusic.bandcamp.com/album/headscarves-hurricanes

Alongside that I released an 8-track extended EP called ‘The Past Won’t Last Forever’ containing collaborations with the Hatfield Brigade and Rebekah once more. That one is only a fiver and you can bag it here:

https://joesolomusic.bandcamp.com/album/the-past-wont-last-forever-ep

As if that wasn’t enough, 6th March saw the release of the crowdfunded special edition re-issue of ‘Never Be Defeated’, my album telling the stories of the Hatfield Brigade back in 1984-85 and released to mark the 35th anniversary of the Miner’s Strike. Now a 2-CD set, this package contains the original album on disc one plus my other mining songs and the Hatfield Brigade recordings, plus a very special closer from former miner Mick Lanaghan.

I crowdfunded this to keep it 100% independent of me financially, meaning every single penny raised from sales of both CD and download go to the community whose stories it tells. Half to the DN7 Hardship Fund for people struggling to make ends meet in the former pit villages of South Yorkshire, and half to the Save The Hatfield Main Headgear Campaign, looking to build a vital community resource from the old pit head and inspire generations to come.

The music is one thing, but the beautiful 16-page booklet designed by Kevin Pearson makes the whole package pretty stunning, and you can bag yours safe in the knowledge that your money will be put to immediate use here:

https://joesolothehatfieldbrigade.bandcamp.com/album/never-be-defeated-special-edition

And lastly, we will be unveiling the long-awaited monument to Hull’s 10 International Brigade volunteers on Saturday March 16th at midday outside Guildhall; and to mark the occasion a very special ‘Hull Memorial Edition’ of ‘No Pasaran’ has been commissioned.

Essentially this is for family members of those 10 heroes of the city, but a strictly limited number have been put on sale for people who want one as a souvenir. It’s the original album in a cardboard overlay, but it looks stunning thanks to Kevin and is well worth adding to the collection here:

https://joesolomusic.bandcamp.com/album/no-pasaran-hull-memorial-edition

So that’s the music.

I’ve also released four ‘Album Sleeve T-Shirts’ featuring the sleeves of ‘No Pasaran’, ‘Not On Our Watch’, ‘The Future Needs Us Now, and ‘Never Be Defeated’. These are £12 each plus postage and you can bag them here:

https://joesolomusic.bandcamp.com/merch

Complicated, maybe, but there’s loads of music new and old and I’ll be on the road all year ramming it down your throat.

Would appreciate your support with it all.

Thanks
Joe

Last night it finally happened. After 19 years Lithium Joe were back in a rehearsal room and kicking up a racket once more. Never thought it would happen, never thought it COULD happen, but I loved every second and can’t wait to do it all again.

Haven’t made music with Dave, Ian and Aidy since 2001 but such is the way with bands who spent so many years stuck in the same van driving up and down the country, the jokes are the same as ever and it took about 10 seconds to start where we left off.

Five songs came together last night and the rest will surely follow.

We are initially playing only one show, a We Shall Overcome all-dayer at The Station in Ashton-Under-Lyne on Saturday November 30th to put my 50th birthday to good use and hopefully pack the place to raise a stack for Pauline Town‘s ongoing work supporting the homeless of Greater Manchester. We are also booked into the studio to record that week so news of a brand new single will follow as soon as we have details.

Top fun. Loved it.

Good to be back.

A massive thank you to everyone who came along and packed out Greenwich Theatre on Sunday. It was a night I’ll never forget, and to sell-out my first ever London headline show means so much to me that I can hardly put it into words. Maybe the mile-wide smile on my face says it all for me.

So good to have the whole night to play with and be able to stretch my legs and gab and ‘do’ poems on top of the usual singing and ranting; and the credit must go to Peter and the team who managed to persuade me this could be done despite my initial reservations.

I honestly DID try to talk them out of it.

London is well off my beaten track and I wasn’t at all convinced there would be the interest in some ramshackle northern bloke with a maraca in his shoe, but apparently there is.

It was great to travel down with Paul and Lindsay Rutland who were ace company and kept me laughing (and awake!); still in awe of the RMT Drinking Team represented with much enthusiasm by Sean Mcgowan and John Stewart; fantastic to meet up with Tom Millman, who I haven’t seen in 25 years; amazing to finally meet Raymond Gorman of That Petrol Emotion and The Everlasting Yeah! and shake the hand of a legend; so good to catch up with Chip and Nadia of Poetry On The Picket Line who do so much to highlight causes in the capital at all hours of the day and night; and overall, just damn fine to meet so many fantastic people and to shake so many hands.

After a couple of hours on stage and eleven at the wheel I was fit for very little yesterday, but I’m fully recovered and ready for Crewe on Friday.

The fight goes on.

And if anyone fancies Round Two, I’m back down in London at Walthamstow Folk Club on Sunday March 17th.

Be good to see you x

Pics: Paul Rutland and Ian Jones

The crowdfunded double-CD souvenir special edition of ‘Never Be Defeated’ has landed and looks MAGNIFICENT.

It is being released on March 6th 2019 to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the Miner’s Strike, with ALL proceeds going to help the community whose stories the songs tell.

I crowdfunded this release so that I was completely financially independent of it, meaning I could donate every penny raised without bankrupting myself. Half will go to the DN7 Hardship Fund set up by the Hatfield Brigade to help those in the local community struggling to make ends meet, to repay, as Les Moore calls it, a debt of honour from 84/85 when people rallied to their side the THEIR hour of need. The other half will be donated to the Save The Hatfield Main Headgear Campaign which is aiming to turn the last surviving headgear of the famous Doncaster coalfield into a lasting monument to a dead industry, and to turn it into a vital community resource to inspire a whole new generation.

The first 100 orders of the ‘Never Be Defeated: Special Edition’ will receive a ‘Solidarity Is A Way Of Life’ sticker, with our amazing crowdfunders also receiving a Hatfield Main 84/85 souvenir pin badge and an invitation to join the choir when we record our next song together later this year.

Matching t-shirts will follow soon.

You can pre-order the double-CD for £10 on this link:

https://joesolothehatfieldbrigade.bandcamp.com/album/never-be-defeated-special-edition

All advance orders will ship to arrive on March 6th.

Brand new Album Sleeve t-shirts available now on my Bandcamp, but be quick!

We have ‘No Pasaran’, ‘Not On Our Watch’ and ‘The Future Needs Us Now’ shirts in sizes M, L, XL and XXL. All are black with large album sleeve logo.

They cost £12 plus a bit of postage, and they ship within 2 working days.

Trouble is keeping them in stock. ‘No Pasaran’ sold out within two hours on Thursday night and a second order has been placed. The others are still available, but selling fast.

Cracking response. Made-up with it. Big thank you to those ordering and sharing selfies. Much appreciated.

If you want one for yourself here are the links:

https://joesolomusic.bandcamp.com/merch/no-pasaran-album-sleeve-t-shirt

https://joesolomusic.bandcamp.com/merch/not-on-our-watch-album-sleeve-t-shirt

https://joesolomusic.bandcamp.com/merch/the-future-needs-us-now-album-sleeve-t-shirt

‘No Pasaran’ will show out of stock for a day or two, but keep checking, as the stock will arrive soon.

And here’s the amazing Pauline Town modelling at the ‘Headscarves & Hurricanes’ album launch yesterday.

DELIGHTED to say my gig at Greenwich Theatre in London on Sunday February 17th has now SOLD OUT!!

Incredible stuff.

I cannot thank everyone who has bought tickets enough for this. To travel all that way to a full house will be an absolutely amazing thing, and to sell out my first ever headline show in London has left me lost for words.

THANK YOU!!!

On Sunday February 17th I’ll be playing my first ever headline show in London.

The venue is Greenwich Theatre.

It will be songs, stories, poems and, of course, ranting over two 45 minute sets so plenty of time to stretch my legs and play some of the stuff that rarely gets a live outing.

I’m REALLY looking forward to this and would massively appreciate your support.

If you can come along, please do. If you can share this blog, please do. If you can tell your family and friends, please do.

We’ve definitely sold enough tickets for a front row.

Would dearly love it if it wasn’t also the back row.

Tickets are £13 on this link:

https://www.greenwichtheatre.org.uk/events/joe-solo

Thanks everyone!!

So we stand once more on the imaginary precipice of another year, and as we kiss goodbye to the old one I’d like to wish each and every one of you all the best for the 12 months ahead. They may well come to define a generation.

We face challenging times for sure, but we must not let that turn us against ourselves.

We do that and we lose either way.

There are those who brought us to this point in history; and it is not simply those who voted a certain way in the EU Referendum but those who made our society so unfair, so unequal, so skewed in the favour of those at the top and for so long, that change became an absolute necessity. These are the people we should be directing our anger at; and yet if we continue down the path of 48% blaming 52% and vice versa, these same people are the only ones who will gain from it. We must unite and embrace whatever tomorrow brings TOGETHER. Only together can we build a future for ALL.

We need big hearts, yes, but big hearts alone are not enough.

Big hearts just mop up the mess after austerity, after casino capitalism, after those who put profit before all in our society. Those big hearts are essential, but we also need to fight back, to stand up for ourselves, to demand change and to support others in their various struggles to the same end. Only with both raised fists and helping hands can we move forward and beyond the current crisis. No change is coming. No good one anyway. Not unless we fight for it.

So 2019 may well be the most crucial year in our lifetimes. What happens, how it happens, and who pulls the strings will come to define us.

Let’s not be found wanting.

Tonight we celebrate.

Tomorrow we write the future on a tempting empty page.

Sharpen your pencils, folks.

And don’t be lost for words.

Joe