I’m backing Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party in the forthcoming General Election.

That won’t come as much of a surprise I know, but it needs saying publicly and I’ll be fighting for a Labour victory every last waking second between now and June 8th.

I believe the #LabourManifesto is the single most important political document in my lifetime; a blueprint for a better future for ALL of us; and I believe that is something worth fighting for.

So much is at stake here, but the difference between the two major parties could not be more marked- one is offering hope, and the other despair; and having spent the last seven years singing for dozens of causes all helping to ease the suffering of those at the sharp end of Tory policy, to finally have the opportunity to get rid of austerity once and for all at the ballot box, is a chance too good to miss.

PLEASE if you are not already registered to vote, do so. It takes two minutes and could help change the course of history.

Click on this link:

https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote

You have until midnight on May 22nd.

After that your voice will fall silent, and other people will decide your future for you.

Make sure they don’t.

I’ll be joining the #StandUp4Labour tour for two dates- Saltburn and Carlisle- so if you can get to either please do. I’ve also been singing at local party events helping to raise a fighting fund for leaflets and posters. There are some amazing and energetic people out there right now fighting for change, and I tip my hat to them all.

Like my latest album says, the future needs us now.

Please help fight for it.

Be there on June 8th and VOTE LABOUR!

Very pleased to confirm I will be appearing at this year’s Glastonbury Festival as part of the line-up on Billy Bragg’s Left Field stage.

I’ll be onstage with Billy, Oh Pep! and my old mate Louise Distras as part of the Radical Round-up on Sunday 25th June from 3pm, so anyone looking for a nice quiet come-down on the last day is in for a bit of a shock.

It would be great to see some of you there supporting us.

I have to say a big thank you to Billy, to the amazing people at Hope Not Hate, and to my comrade Tony Wright for his determination to get me on that bill. I promised myself back in 1988 that I would never go to Glastonbury unless I was playing, and after all these years I thought the chance had passed me by. Yet here we are. Incredible.

I have battled on at this for 30 years, and still there are new adventures to be had, and long may that be so.

We Shall Overcome celebrates its 2nd Birthday today.

Two years have seen us take the movement​ from an idea on a Facebook thread to an international anti-austerity campaign fighting for communities everywhere.

We have run upwards of 550 events now, in 135 different towns and cities across nine countries on three continents and the estimated £225,000 worth of food, cash, clothing, bedding and furniture raised has helped change lives up and down this country, it has got the homeless off the streets, it has rehoused young children living in slums and it has forged long-term bonds between musicians, poets, organisers and activists which have led to the movement changing, evolving and making the leap from protest/benefit gigs to feet on the ground 24/7 working in tandem with dozens of other campaigns to help the poorest and most vulnerable at the point of need.

Sadly though, if anything, we are needed now more than ever and it is in this spirit that I appeal to you all to rise again and start planting your red stars on our map.

We are running all year now, but the main focus of our work is the weekend of Friday 6th to Sunday 8th October. If you can bring your town to the party that would be fantastic.

Remember, We Shall Overcome is not about me or our committee or any individual in this group; We Shall Overcome is about us, ALL of us, and what can be achieved when we all pull together and add our single gigs into one massive festival. It is a celebration of community solidarity, and a demonstration of how incredible it is when a few thousand people all decide together they will be that someone somewhere who does something about it.

Please message me on joesolomusic@hotmail.co.uk or tag me in a post or comment on this thread if you are willing to come back for more or have confirmed dates we don’t yet know about. It’s vital we are able to paint some kind of picture as to what we have out there. We know only too well some of you will have changed circumstances and won’t be able to join us; we also know some of you who were there in 2015 couldn’t make last year but will return full on for #WSO2017. Old friends and new friends are all welcome here.

Come on folks. Roll up.

The world won’t change itself.

Bring it on.

I have released a download-only single to coincide with the General Election campaign.

‘Let’s Kick Out The Tories (For Once & For All)’ is available via Bandcamp on this link:

https://joesolomusic.bandcamp.com/album/lets-kick-out-the-tories-for-once-for-all-2

With a video here:

and here:

The single is set to ‘Name Your Price’ meaning you can type 0.00 and get it for nowt, or if you are feeling flush you can put in an extravagant total and feel proper generous.

Seriously though, all money raised from downloads will go straight to Pauline Town over in Ashton-under-Lyne to help fund her daily struggle to find food and shelter for those struggling under austerity cuts and forced to sleep on the streets.

You all know my politics so I’ll say no more, but June 8th is our last chance to stop them. We lose and Labour will be lost forever. We win and we might just save the NHS, the Welfare State and this country from itself.

In the grand scheme of things a song means nothing.

But sing it loud anyway.

You never know.

May Day Festival of Solidarity 2017 was just incredible. Not just the music and the poetry and the speeches, but the spirit you all brought to the party which went on all weekend and lifted all involved. Here’s the story in pictures brought to you by Ferocious Photography, Paul & Lindsay Rutland, Pete Yen, John Lomas, Bob Oram and anyone I’ve missed forgive me….it has been a whirlwind.

To our speakers: Sean Mcgowan for RMT; Joe Rollin for Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign; Nic Fitzpatrick for NUT; Pete Deakin for Barnsley Save Our NHS; Dave Gibson for Barnsley Trades Council; George Arthur for Freedom Riders; Fran Postlethwaite for Stand Up To Racism; and Pauline Town for WE SHALL OVERCOME …THANK YOU! You each brought your various struggles to life each giving us the REAL truth behind the headlies.

To Simon Ibbotson for top DJ skills; to our INCREDIBLE comperes who were the glue which held it all together- Jethro Platts, Matt Abbott, Sarah Courtney and John Baine; and to a gargantuan task performed with skills of the highest order on the sound desk- Marcus and Andy. THANK YOU!!!

And lastly to all you good people who came along and clapped and cheered and sang and hollered and smiled and laughed and showed us the kind of solidarity an event like this needs. The spirit in that room throughout the whole weekend was an example to all on what can be achieved when we ALL play our part in something and we all pull together for the common good. Exactly what our festival is all about. You were ace, and we couldn’t have done it without you.

There will be more photos and commentary over the coming days, and in the background Tony and myself will be working out plans for the future, but suffice to say May Day Festival of Solidarity will definitely return in 2018.

Perhaps the spirit of the festival is best summed up by this photograph. This is Scott, he is currently homeless and was brought along by Pauline Town to give him a day away from his plight. I love this shot, and I’m just so glad to be a part of a movement that can help put that smile on the face of a young man suffering more than most.

See you next year x

May Day Festival of Solidarity returns this weekend with a stellar bill of music, poetry and speeches to celebrate International Worker’s Day.

The event was started last year by Hurriers-frontman Tony Wright and myself, and has been etched in my memory as one of the most fantastic days of music and camaraderie I have ever known. This year we have doubled in size, though we hope to maintain the spirit of togetherness which defined 2016’s event and forge new bonds for the fights ahead.

The venue is The Old School House in Barnsley and doors open at 1.30pm with music soon after and wall-to-wall til late. We still have tickets available on the door for both days so please pop along and join us.

I mean, just look at that bill!

See you there x

Incredible day yesterday hauling down to London for ‘Clash Night 77’, the amazing celebration of 40 years since the release of THAT album.

Fantastic 11 hour Road Trip with Joe Francis and Damian Thomas, in which we discussed Gramsci, Marx, trade unionism, political activism, and the dangers of drinking too much pop on long journeys……though the latter always tempered by the knowledge that said pop can only be one brand and not the other, “Coca Cola is not coming in this car, they don’t recognise unions.” Big thanks to Joe for stepping in to take the wheel thus making my day a whole lot less tiring and a whole lot more fun. In gratitude I’ve donated half my fee for the gig to the Hull International Brigade Memorial Trust. We WILL get the statue to the Hull 8 up soon, and seeing Jack Atkinson‘s name on there will be one hell of a proud moment.

The gig itself was nothing short of superb. Performances from Poetry on the Picket Line, Lone Groover, Attila The Stockbroker (who fought back a lung infection and heavy medication to be there to remember ‘Commandante Joe’. Respect.); 48 Thrills, Comrade X, Sean McGowan, Nia Wyn, Captain Ska, Emily Harrison and Dream Nails kept the room electric all night and it was an honour and a pleasure to take that stage with that backdrop and put in my shift.

Fantastic company all night too. Loved spending time talking poetry and activism with Chip Hamer and Nadia Drews; getting the latest on the RMT Strike from Bob Oram and Sean Hoyle; explaining We Shall Overcome to Daniel Rachel, author of ‘Walls Come Tumbling Down‘ the story of music and political movements through Rock Against Racism to Red Wedge; talking to Paul and Lindsay Rutland who came armed with photos, a new badge, and a fantastic donation from ‘Wool Shall Overcome’ for Big Sis Pauline Town; and meeting first Sid Griffin (Internal monologue: “This man sang ‘Looking For Lewis and Clark’…..whatever you do, don’t say anything dumb”. External Monologue: something properly dumb); and Mark Thomas who told me he’d enjoyed my version of ‘Protex Blue‘.

So that was that. A MASSIVE thank you to Mark Perryman and Philosophy Football for inviting me; the RMT, FBU, Brigadista Ale and R2 Magazine for sponsoring the event; Joe and Damian for their hilarious, interesting and inspiring company; all involved running the event on the night who were fantastic; and everyone who came and said hello or shook my hand or gave me a hug and generally made my second trip to London in a year something I will remember til the day I die.

No input, no output.

Damn right.