Had a cracking day singing in Grimsby and Scunthorpe hospitals for children too poorly to make it home for Christmas; and a massive thank you to Joe Francis and Unison for making it happen.

Songs were sung, shakers shaken, party blower solos de rigueur and general mayhem ensued. It is heartbreaking to see youngsters so poorly and their anxious parents so distraught, but with the amazing NHS staff in close attendance, and a little magic in the air, you should never underestimate the power the humble party blower has to raise a chuckle.

Great day. Load of copies of ‘SWELL’, the kid’s book I wrote with Kevin Pearson, found new homes and I hope raised a few smiles long into the afternoon.

Great to have the support of Unison and Melanie Onn and Nic Dakin the two local Labour MPs who supported the event by shaking pots of dried peas as loud as anyone out there.

There are plans afoot for next Christmas, new books, union choirs and general mischief.

Can’t wait.

December still has some mayhem, madness and mischief to offer if you fancy a last holler before we wave goodbye to 2017.

You can find me here:

9th OTLEY– Labour Rooms
12th HULL– St Johns
15th DARLINGTON– Quakerhouse (WSO Xmas Party)
17th YORK– Fulford Arms (Love Music, Hate Racism gig)
22nd STAINFORTH– Central (Hatfield Brigade Xmas Knees-up)
29th HULL– Adelphi

And then it’s hitting the ground running with the new album ‘Not On Our Watch’ released on 1st January 2018 and a load more shows to follow.

Songs from the new album will form the core of the live set over the coming months so why not brush up on the words and pre-order your copy today! If you pre-order the CD then the download is made available to you now ahead of the official release, so fill your boots. You can get it here:

https://joesolomusic.bandcamp.com/album/not-on-our-watch

Other than that it’s business as usual starting tomorrow night in Otley.

Can’t wait.

See you out there x

 

‘They Could Not Break This Town’, the new single by myself and The Hatfield Brigade was released yesterday on download and limited edition CD, with all money raised going to the DN7 Hardship Fund supporting those struggling to make ends meet in the former pit villages of South Yorkshire.

The Brigade reconvened last month to begin a frantic few weeks of mayhem and mischief, and we’re loving every second as per. The music video to ‘They Could Not Break This Town’, once again shot by Michael Lee Toas of MLT Productions, is on YouTube here:

and Facebook here:

and you can download the song from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B077Y1VG54/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1512514578&sr=8-5&keywords=joe+solo+and+the+hatfield+brigade

Or download/purchase CD from Bandcamp:

https://joesolomusic.bandcamp.com/album/they-could-not-break-this-town

We have around 50 copies of the CD left so be quick!

We also now have a dedicated Facebook page if you fancy nipping over and giving us a ‘Like’:

https://www.facebook.com/HatfieldBrigade/

Please help us by spending a pound of your hard-earned on our song.

And don’t miss the Christmas Party at Central in Stainforth on Friday 22nd December!

LET THE MISCHIEF COMMENCE.

 

‘NOT ON OUR WATCH’, my brand new album, was mastered at Strange Reality Studios on Monday 27th November and is now available to pre-order on CD.

We have a release date of Monday 1st January and CD copies will ship as soon as I have them in my possession after that.

If you pre-order now you can bag the music already as the download will be available to you immediately after you buy the CD.

All on this link:

https://joesolomusic.bandcamp.com/album/not-on-our-watch

I have once again been joined by the incredible Rebekah Findlay whose magical violin graces six of the 13 songs. I’m also joined by The Hatfield Brigade on ‘They Could Not Break This Town’, our forthcoming single, which also graces the album.

Subjects covered include post-Brexit institutional racism, Grenfell, Trump’s travel ban, the murder of Heather Heyer, Tory delusions, and, on very possibly my favourite song I’ve ever penned, the heroic tale of Clem Beckett and Christopher Caudwell at Jarama; and lots more besides.

Very proud of it.

Please help me get it out there.

Thanks folks x

Well, the title says it all really, but ‘They Could Not Break This Town’, the new single from Joe Solo & The Hatfield Brigade is available to pre-order from Bandcamp on the link below:

https://joesolomusic.bandcamp.com/album/they-could-not-break-this-town

The CD is strictly limited edition, but if we get enough pre-orders the amount may vary. At the moment we can afford 200 copies with 125 going on sale, but if we are helped along by pre-orders we will use the extra help to fund 300 and ultimately raise more for the DN7 Hardship Fund to help Doncaster’s homeless through this winter.

The CD is set to £3 or ‘Name Your Price’, so if you can afford to help us by donating a little more it will be very much appreciated. The CD is printed and comes in a plastic wallet with an insert of the above design by Kevin Pearson of Vagrant Art; and the disc also contains the added bonus of a B-Side in the form of last year’s ‘Merry Christmas From Hatfield Main’. Definitely worth £3 of anyone’s money. The first 50 copies also come with a Joe Solo & The Hatfield Brigade sticker.

The music video by Michael Lee Toas of MLT Productions should be with us in 10 days time and from there we’ll be bombarding you with begs for shares and retweets. Please bear with us. Without the industry and its press departments we have to do it the old fashioned way and rely on People Power to get the word out there. We know you won’t let us down x

‘They Could Not Break This Town’ is released on December 4th on download and aforementioned CD.

PLEASE SUPPORT US!

Hopefully the above photograph sums up the spirit of a fantastic day at Central Club in Stainforth recording The Hatfield Brigade. Utter mayhem from start to finish, but so much fun I wish we didn’t have to keep waiting a year to have another crack at.

This year’s single ‘They Could Not Break This Town’ has been mixed and sent off to Strange Reality Studios for mastering. From there it will be hoyed out to the various  online distributors and available to download from 4th December.

There will also be a 2-track limited edition CD featuring ‘They Could Not Break This Town’ and last year’s ‘Merry Christmas From Hatfield Main’, but due to costs this will be limited to 200 copies so be quick. Sleeve design is by the brilliant Kevin Pearson of Vagrant Art.

All links will be shared as soon as we have them.

Michael Lee Toas once again travelled from Durham to shoot the music video which we hope to have for you the week before release, so please look out for that and share it EVERYWHERE!

Just as last year, all money raised by our songs will go to the DN7 Hardship Fund to help people struggling in the South Yorkshire pit villages in #FoodBankBritain.

So a MASSIVE thank you to the Hatfield Brigade: Peter Stefanovic, Leslie Moore, Mick Lanaghan, Matt Hill, Jan Pearson, Holly.J.Monroe, Amanda King, Linda De-burgh, Frank Golightly, Norman Moore, James Berriman, Brenda Nixon, Sheena Moore, Linda Curran, Elaine Robe, Margaret Bennett, Lisa Bennett, Georgina Bennett, Karen Blandford, Tracy Armstrong, Shaun Meade, Michael John Mulligan, Lyn Mulligan, Maureen Griffiths, Glynis Smith, Caroline Richmond, Kevin Pearson, Ann Johnson, Karl Lanaghan, Ellea Lanaghan, Kerry Hughes and Pete Martin for standing up when it mattered.

Please support us folks, let’s make this count.

Can’t wait for Sunday when The Hatfield Brigade reconvene to record our next single together ‘They Could Not Break This Town’.

Last year’s ‘Merry Christmas From Hatfield Main’ was a total blast which got us on telly, had us briefly outselling ‘A Fairytale Of New York’, and ended with us singing onstage with Jeremy Corbyn…..en route we flash-mobbed a shopping centre, upset the Daily Mail and turned a former mining town into the centre of the universe for a few short weeks.

It was manic.

This time out we’ll be recording at Central Club, Stainforth on Sunday November 12th meeting at 3pm and recording from 4pm. The song will be released on download and limited edition 2-track CD ( featuring both songs) on December 4th. The recording will be filmed by Michael Lee Toas for the music video and as part of a documentary on We Shall Overcome he’s making for a 2018 release. All are welcome to join us and sing, but please bring along either a bag of non-perishable groceries for DN7 Community Food Bank or some socks, gloves, hats, or scarves for #SocksAppeal.

ALL PROFIT FROM BOTH SONGS WILL GO TO THE DN7 HARDSHIP FUND TO HELP PUT FOOD ON TABLES THIS CHRISTMAS.

Busy weekend coming up. I’m opening for King Blues-frontman Itch and Louise Distras at Cafe INDIE in Scunthorpe tomorrow and playing a benefit for the local Labour Party at the Vic Club in Goole on Saturday.

After that  is the main focus of the rest of 2017 and it will be a whole lot of fun too x

 

A cracking weekend on the road started at the King’s Arms in Salford on Friday where I played with the fantastic Paddy Nash celebrating solidarity, Brigadista Ale and the ‘Beer Not Hate’ campaign. Great to see so many friendly faces up in Manchester for the weekend to see Paddy and myself followed by my We Shall Overcome oppo Matt Hill aka Quiet Loner on the Saturday.

From there it was Middlesbrough Little Theatre Club where I teamed up with Rebekah Findlay to open for the brilliant Naomi Bedford and Paul Simmonds on Saturday. A complete contrast to the rabble-rousing of the previous evening, we let the music do the talking on a fabulous night. Naomi and Paul have a new album out, ‘Songs My Ruiner Gave To Me’, and I recommend you pick up a copy. I’ll be hammering it on the radio show over the coming weeks.

Speaking of the radio show, the second half of my interview with Raymond Gorman, founder member of the legendary That Petrol Emotion and The Everlasting Yeah, is tomorrow night from 10pm on Coast & County Radio. Last week we managed to gas so much we have to do it all over again! Raymond was terrific company and I’m really looking forward to that.

The next two weeks will be spent finishing off the next album out in t’shed ready for mastering on November 27th. I have re-records, re-mixes and overdubs to do as well as recording Rebekah’s fiddle and vocals next Friday. No Joe Solo album would be complete without Ms Findlay’s magic dust, and I expect the songs to go up ten notches once she has played on them. Exciting stuff.

After that it’s back to the road and the mischief and mayhem. I’ll be opening for King Blues mainman Itch and Louise Distras at Cafe Indie in Scunthorpe on Friday November 10th; followed by a benefit for the local Labour Party at Victoria Club in Goole on Saturday 11th. Then Sunday 12th it’s down to Central Club in Stainforth to record The Hatfield Brigade on our new single ‘They  Could Not Break This Town’, which will run alongside our Christmas song as we hit silly season.

Recording is from 4pm and we’ll be assembling around 3-3.30pm. All are welcome. Michael Lee Toas will be shooting the music video there so wear your glad rags!

Once that is out there the rest of the year could go anywhere and nothing would surprise me with that lot! One thing is certain though, I will be playing Liverpool, Hull, Otley, Darlington and possibly Warrington too before 2018 is done and as always it will be great to see you out there.

Watch this space x

Well that was one HELL of a ride.

And it isn’t over yet.

The main thrust of our #WSO2017 weekend may be over, but there are plenty more We Shall Overcome events to come, running right up to December 22nd, so please get out there and support them. It matters more than ever.

 

After a hectic few weeks rallying events, musicians and punters We Shall Overcome #WSO2017 is finally upon us. In actual fact, I’m part way through already having sung in the Ukrainian Club in Huddersfield, The People’s Bookshop in Durham, and a back alley outside The Golden Smog in Stockton-on-Tees last weekend.

This year we have consolidated so the gig numbers are down a little, but we were spread too thin last year and decided fewer events but better ones was the order of the day. We have still clocked up 180 gigs and that will bust the 200 mark by Christmas, bringing the total number of events organised by WSO volunteers up and down the UK and beyond to more than 700.

We also have the exciting prospect of a documentary film charting We Shall Overcome 2017 which is currently being shot by Michael Lee Toas of MLT Productions. Michael is attending a number of gigs filming bands and conducting interviews with audiences and organisers with a view to telling the story of the amazing people who make this magic happen. The film is set for a Spring 2018 launch and we’re hoping to screen it at special events around the country which will be WSO events themselves.

Incredible stuff.

There are gigs all over and they need you now, so check the listings at:

Gig Listings 2017

and see if there’s one nearby you can support. If you can’t make it to a show you can still do your bit by sharing anything We Shall Overcome-related on your social media or by donating to our JustGiving page which is raising money for Shelter at:

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/wso2017

If you want to catch me out there this weekend my itinerary is as follows:

THURSDAY
PORTSLADE– Railway Inn

FRIDAY
SCARBOROUGH– L’Amour

SATURDAY
LEEDS– The Grove (pm)
STAINFORTH– Pit Club (night)

SUNDAY
WARSOP– Black Market Venue

and it would be great to see you.

I will have a bag full of badges, stickers and wristbands with a recommended donation of £1 for each. All money raised from this will, as ever, be poured in the collection bucket at the end of the night. I’ll also be collecting warm clothing for #SocksAppeal so if you can spare them bring along socks, gloves, hats and scarves. These will be shared between street homeless here in the UK and refugee camps in France.

We Shall Overcome is only as big as you make it. The lesson of this amazing movement is that no gesture, no matter how insignificant it seems, is ever wasted, because thousands of seemingly insignificant gestures all added together make something very significant indeed.

Join in.

We can do this x