Busy weekend.

Friday 17th I’ll be opening for me old mucker and punk rock legend TV Smith at The Adelphi in Hull. I’ve played with TV a number of times going back 20 years and they are always a cracking night so if you’re in the area you could do worse than getting yourself down there.

It’s special too as Danny Renn, the promoter, has requested I play ‘Stolen Summer’ a song I wrote in the upstairs front bedroom of 149 De Grey Street, about 100yds down from The Adelphi, no less than 24 years ago. It seems as fitting a place as any to finally retire it for good. Any old fans of Lithium Joe who want to see it played live one last time, you know where to find me.

Then Saturday 18th I’ll be heading for the Orgreave Rally to show my support for the push for justice for the miners assaulted by an organised police charge in front of the coking plant there on exactly 32 years ago to the day. There are a number of keynote speakers lined up and it should be a great evening of solidarity and defiance as we raise our voices to demand a full inquiry into police tactics that day.

Then the summer REALLY starts to get busy.

‘Through The Wire’, the song I helped write with Gary Miller, Sara Dennis, Brian Barnes and the young people of the Hartlepool Holocaust Memorial Group was released as a download-only single last week. We recorded it over several sessions earlier this year at The Studio in Hartlepool with Mark Folland at the controls, and we’re all pretty made up with the result.

The song can be downloaded from all the usual online sites including:

Amazon at:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Through-feat-Miller-Dennis-Barnes/dp/B01GB8LNNM/ref=sr_1_1?s=dmusic&ie=UTF8&qid=1465327635&sr=1-1-mp3-albums-bar-strip-0&keywords=hartlepool+holocaust

I-Tunes at:
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/id1117543465?app=itunes

and Google Play at:
https://play.google.com/store/music/album?id=B752inp562slk4ad3b2ounvpada

Or you can stream via YouTube at:

It was an honour and a pleasure to be a part of such an amazing few months, and long may HMG Hartlepool continue to educate and inspire.

Fittingly, all proceeds from the single will be donated to Refugee Action, so PLEASE spend a few pence making a difference.

It has been an incredibly inspiring year so far, finally seeing some justice for the families and friends of those 96 football fans who were killed as a direct result of police action at Hillsborough. It was a long wait- 27 years- and while it cannot repair broken hearts and broken lives, it can bring closure to some, and shows, no matter what the odds stacked against you by police, press and government alike- if you fight on, you WILL prevail.

I have long been a supporter of the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign and it is time now to raise our voices as one in support of those determined to have the truth about police action that day exposed, and the Thatcher government’s role in it revealed.

If you are not familiar with the campaign, then more information is available here:

http://otjc.org.uk/

but suffice to say, it concerns the events of 18th June 1984 outside Orgreave Coking Plant when a mass picket by striking miners was charged by police on horseback. The stories of police action that day and in the immediate aftermath are blood-curdling; and the lies, deceit and deliberate cover-up in the weeks, months and years to come was the template for Wapping and Hillsborough.

Please support the OTJC.

Our time is now.

My song ‘Summer Fields & Riot Shields’ was written about that day.

Fantastic night at King’s Arms in Salford helping launch ‘Brigadista’, a commemorative ale by Blackhill Brewery in association with the International Brigades Memorial Trust and Hope Not Hate to mark the 80th anniversary of the Spanish Civil War.

It was a night of passion and paella as speeches were made, songs were sung, and the Brigaders remembered as the selfless heroes and heroines they were. In total around 35,000 men and women from 53 countries travelled to Spain to fight Franco’s fascists, of which 2300 were from Britain, Ireland and the Commonwealth….500 of whom were buried in the Spanish dust. Their cause was not that of Capitalism, the call of King and Country to maintain their status quo, but the cause of internationalism, socialism, freedom and equality. As the poet C. Day Lewis put it in his 1938 poem ‘The Volunteer’:

“It was not fraud or foolishness,
Glory, revenge, or pay:
We came because our open eyes
Could see no other way.”

I went on stage after Dolores Long, daughter of Sam Wild commander of the British Battalion from early 1938 who was wounded five times in Spain and fought on. Dolores was inspiration itself and I was struck by how her presence gave the songs I sang from ‘No Pasaran!’ a human presence which connected them to their source. It was an emotional experience singing them right there, right then. Unforgettable.

I will be singing those songs several times this year at various commemoration events, and I will be proud to add my voice to the choir demanding these incredible men and women be given their rightful place in the annals of history, where they can inspire whole new generations to call out as one:

“NO PASARAN! NOT EVER.”

I’m told the beer ain’t bad neither…..

We Shall Overcome 2016 officially launched today on what is our movement’s first birthday- May 8th. A year ago to the day Ste Goodall suggested that coordinated night of musical protest and the rest is history. Today we begin a whole new battle in earnest.

The problems faced by the most vulnerable in our communities are, if anything, worse than last year. I hear daily stories of DWP victimization, sanctions imposed on people with chronic health issues or learning difficulties and the closing of agencies once there to help. So while the anger resulting from that Tory election win, or the feel-good factor of Mr Corbyn’s campaign to be Labour leader may have dissipated, the need for WSO out there on our streets is even greater.

We have been slowly putting things in place over the last four months and we have expanded our team at WSO Central to bring more skills, nous and organisational experience into the fray; and many of our amazing event organisers have already planted red stars on our map. We have 82 confirmed events as I type this, with many more in planning, but what we really need is YOU. It doesn’t matter in what capacity- you could be a promoter looking to put on a gig; an artist looking to perform at one; or simply a punter looking for an event near you; it doesn’t matter. What DOES matter is that you join in and help make #WSOW16 a success.

To do this, simply join the working group on Facebook here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/507658162729362/

and introduce yourself. We’ll help to hook you up in your area, and you will be very welcome.

The Event map is here:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1go83smuFe59PVIpWX5sMfng6tVA

And as you can see, we have gigs confirmed in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, France and the USA so far.

Please help us make WSO bigger, bolder and better than last year and let’s help as many people as we can while sending a message to government that enough is enough.

May Day Festival of Solidarity, the event organised by Tony Wright and meself (above) has to be one of the best days of my life. Packed venue, great spirit from the crowd, incredible speeches….and the music! Well, that was UNBELIEVABLE!

Grace Petrie made me weep with joy.

Quiet Loner stormed the Acoustic Stage with a lesson in songwriting.

Headsticks showed just why they are getting the plaudits right now.

Steve White & The Protest Family made us dance and laugh and sing.

Serious Sam Barrett gave us serious guitar envy!

The Hurriers stormed a hometown show!

The Wakes played one of the best sets I’ve ever seen. Ever.

Attila the Stockbroker closed us down with a stormer.

I got to sing ‘Ironmasters’ with Attila and Phil Odgers!

And sit in a corner spellbound….apparently.

And Lizzie Nunnery & Vidar Norheim were superb, Alun Parry raised the roof, Black Lamps stormed their comeback…..and The Originator, Ste Goodall, is BACK. So good to see him fighting fit and strong. I am still buzzing NOW!

Next up is We Shall Overcome, but you can bet your bottom dollar that Tony and myself are already plotting 2017……watch this space.

MASSIVE THANKS TO IAN PARKER FOR THE INCREDIBLE PHOTOGRAPHS.

Apart from Grace….I think that one was by Val Colvin.

Absolutely fantastic night down at the 100 Club in London, celebrating 50 years of the Morning Star on a bill with Thee Faction, Grace Petrie, The Hurriers, Attila the Stockbroker and Comrade X. Feel proud and privileged to have been involved in such a momentous occasion and the atmosphere in the room was electric.

Massive thanks to all at the paper, but especially to Bob Oram who organised the event and who has been giving column inches to political artists up and down the country when the mainstream media have all shut their ears and decided to pretend we don’t exist. Top work, Comrade and all very much appreciated.

Great to meet so many friends old and new and to share such a fantastic night in such great company. Got to shake hands and hug people who ran We Shall Overcome events but who until now have been just names on Facebook. Always good to meet up and compare notes. And it is a damn fine feeling to travel so far from home and yet find yourself in a room full of friends.

It has been two decades since I last played our nation’s capital.

I promise it won’t be so long next time.

Proud to get a nod in a cracking article written by Mark Perryman on the Philosophy Football website in response to repeated whining in the mainstream media about the lack of musical reaction to the times we are living in.

Mark cites a number of incredible records currently out there disproving this fallacy including The Hurriers’ From Acorns Mighty Oaks and Thee Faction’s  Reading, Writing, Revolution two of my favourite albums from 2015.

Mark starts:

“The trouble for musos of a certain age is that the rebel rock of yesteryear, from Guthrie to the Clash, existed in a popular culture almost entirely different to the one any musical rebellion of today has to navigate its way round. So how to make the connections to the past whilst remaining meaningful , not to mention musical, in 2016? “

While going on to spell out who, how and why the music scene in the UK has responded the way it has.

A great article  you can read here:

https://www.philosophyfootball.com/where-have-all-the-flowers-gone.html

And rest assured. WE ARE ON IT.

Next stop for me is 100 Club in London on Monday April 25th where I’ll be joining Grace Petrie, The Hurriers, Thee Faction, Attila the Stockbroker and Comrade X to help celebrate 50 years of The Morning Star.

It has been 21 years since I last played in our nation’s capital. Largely because the music industry is there and most people just flock there to try and make a name for themselves, something I’ve never wanted a part of so I’ve just left them to it, but I am only too happy to support the paper that supported We Shall Overcome when all other daily media outlets chose to ignore us. Solidarity begets solidarity. The way it should be.

If you’re on Oxford Street that night, you could do a lot worse than stop by. This will be an absolute cracker.

Huge credit must go to the brilliant Bob Oram for putting this night together. You’re a star, Bob. Thank you.