August was a quiet month in terms of the gigs, but behind the scenes it was all about rehearsing the new album ahead of the studio.

I had made the decision to switch from releasing an album every year to one every two instead; I just felt after Lockdown Solidarity I had bombarded you all with music and merch to keep Pauline, and WSO community outreach alive, and that it was time to back off a little with the constant releases.

I also decided to record away from T’Shed for the first time in more than 20 years, so a session was booked at The Cellar, Milnsbridge, and with that looming over the horizon, August was all about being prepared for one-take recordings and zero time wasting.

While over in France, my comrade-in-crayons Kevin Pearson was working on a hand-made print for the album cover. Which is spectacular.

This time round, there will be vinyl, CD, tea towels, and the first few orders will come with a limited edition print of the sleeve art. There’s still work to do, but the songs are coming together nicely, and ‘Sledgehammer Songs’ will be released next Spring.

The other event dominating the work behind the scenes was Lithium Joe returning to the stage for our first gig since the pre-Covid reform shows at the end of 2019.

We spent a fantastic afternoon in rehearsals in Doncaster before storming over to Wroot to drive the rain away from GIAF5. It was gig we absolutely LOVED, and it means we are even more excited about those dates at the end of November for WSO.

Elsewhere, I played the Peterloo March & Rally in Manchester…..

Joined my friends and comrades from Unison at Scunthorpe Pride, handing out the last few copies of our book, which is now at the end of its first run of 10,000, a staggering achievement by the incredible folks at Grimsby, Goole and Scunthorpe branch…..

…..And spent many an hour wishing hard work would do itself so that I could be out on the road making mischief.

Alas, it doesn’t, but the groundwork put in this month will form the foundations of the next two years, and the hard yards simply have to be done if we as writers and musicians want to actually be any good.

It’s frustrating, it’s invisible, and it’s unsung, but we are rubbish without it.

September called…..

July was a month packed with mischief and mayhem starting with Durham Miner’s Gala on pole duties for the Hatfield Brigade. This is always up there with my favourite days of the year, and thankfully, the forecast lightning storms stayed away…..nothing like being caught in one of those while hanging on to a rod sticking ten feet up in the air!

A cracking day was had by all.

Even if I do have to cling on to that banner for dear life every year…..

Opening for the great Mark Thomas as part of the ‘GET OFF YOUR ARSE!’ Festival organised by Commoners Choir, was a fantastic night, and massive respect to Boff and the team for pulling off a genuinely brilliant weekend I was so proud to be a part of.

Sadly, the same day was marred by the fascists marching here in Scarborough, and I spoke at the counter-demonstration before hitting the road.

The following weekend was all about Pauline Town, and the big WSO event organised to mark her birthday; a fantastic night which raised in excess of £3600 to keep those daily food parcels flowing from The Station.

We finished the night with a big ensemble ‘No Pasaran’, featuring a choir of comrades, duelling fiddles, and a room on its feet.

And I ended the month at Black Country Folk Festival, sharing a stage with Matt Johnson, Jess Silk, and Attila The Stockbroker in another rip-roaring collaboration to close my set.

A fantastic day all round.

Capped off with a photo I think sums up perfectly just how much fun I am having on the road this year.

We fight on. Always.

Undoubtedly, June’s highlight was the trip Joe Gibbins and I made to Catalunya to remember Hull‘s ten International Brigade volunteers at Solidarity Park Festival in Malgrat-de-Mar. I have covered this pilgrimage in my ‘A Homage To Catalunya’ blog, which you can read here:

A Homage To Catalunya

….but suffice to say, it was life-changing, and a journey we plan to repeat, hopefully bringing the history of those heroes to life and remembering them to the land they fought, and died, to defend from fascism.

After that excitement, June was a roller coaster ride of emotions as I tried not to crash after such a high. Luckily, there wasn’t too much time to dwell, as I had to prepare for a lecture and set at Hebden Bridge Folk Roots Festival the weekend after. The lecture took in the role of Folk music in recalling Working Class history and using that in order to inform the present and change the course of the future, the very essence of what Solidarity Park is trying to achieve in Catalunya. Granted I may have quoted sources as varied as Marx & Engels, Antonio Gramsci, and Sir Isaac Newton, but in essence, the message was the same.

Next followed two fundraisers in Hull, at Union Mash-Up and the Adelphi, for the Unity Shop and Refugee Support, respectively. Both were midweek shows, but there was fantastic support nonetheless, a a good few quid raised for the causes.

They sandwiched my first march with the Hatfield Brigade this year, as we provided the obligatory mischief and mayhem at the annual Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign Mass Rally in Sheffield. It was so good to have a day out with my favourite gang of reprobates and the speeches, capped off by a vintage performance from the mighty John Dunn, were universally superb.

And I’m always proud to be handed left pole duties on the Hatfield Main banner…..when it eventually works……

I made a couple of detours to remember the sacrifice of ordinary people around the region too. First up, the Stockton-on-Tees International Brigade memorial, a stunning piece of work centered around Picasso’s ‘Guernica’…..

Followed by a trip to pay my respects at the Horden Colliery memorial, which stands as a telling reminder of the industrial genocide carried out by governments past.

And I FINALLY got to see Rancid. 28 years a fan, and never able to get to a gig prior to now. It was every mad punk rock thing I’d ever imagined, and I loved every second.

With a couple of weekends off the gigs, I started work on the next album. With some studio time booked for August, I set about recording demos of the proposed ten tracks and sending them out to potential collaborators to see what magic we can make. These are the first steps on a very long journey, but I’m so happy to have taken them and to be working my way towards a new record again. Watch this space…..

And don’t forget to watch and share the incredible animated lyric video for ‘These Are My People’, which was released on June 4th. You can find this and 30-plus years of my songs on all streaming platforms, and it would be fantastic if you can hook up with me on your service of choice.

Right. July brings Durham Miner’s Gala, Get Off Your Arse! Festival opening for Mark Thomas, Pauline‘s birthday gig at The Station, Black Country Folk Festival, and whatever other mischief can be squeezed out of the next four weeks.

See you out there!

On 1st June, Joe Gibbins and myself flew to Perpignan and crossed the Pyrenees to Barcelona, making a pilgrimage to remember Hull’s ten International Brigade volunteers at Solidarity Park Festival in the seaside town of Malgrat-de-Mar.

The journey was symbolic, as Perpignan was the post-Paris assembly point for volunteers leaving homes, lives, and livelihoods to fight fascism in Spain; though that is where the comparisons ended, as crossing the Pyrenees on foot to an uncertain fate, was significantly harder than crossing it on a bus with free WiFi, but you catch my drift. It felt important.

We first hit Barcelona, feeling those early days of May 1937 creeping up through the concrete into our every step. It is a truly stunning city, and as we made our way through those narrow old town streets, lined with cafés and bookshops, it was impossible not to imagine those heady early days of the revolution so vividly brought to life by Orwell, and how the streets themselves would have played into the passion and excitement of the people.

Leaving Barcelona, we headed for our base camp in Malgrat, where I would be singing and Joe speaking, of the dedication and sacrifice of those ten volunteers from our city, and their commitment to the anti-fascist cause in Spain; a country four of them, including Jack Atkinson, the hero of my song ‘No Pasaran’, gave their lives to defend.

The festival takes place annually on the anniversary of the sinking of a Republican troopship off the coast there by a fascist submarine. The stunning monument to the ‘Ciudad De Barcelona’ sits on the beach looking out across the Mediterranean waters, which became its grave on 30th May 1937. Many locals risked their own lives, pulling survivors from the sea. The ship sank just 400m from the beach, killing 46 Brigaders and 4 crew. The memorial is a fitting tribute to their sacrifice.

Joe and I did our thing….

We injected a bit of passion into proceedings….

We did video interviews….

We saw historical re-enactments…..

Shared a wonderful outdoor meal…..

Made some fantastic new friends….

And finished with a big outdoor concert and after-show of songs and solidarity which made us never want to leave our new second home.

It was life-changing stuff, and we returned already making plans for next year. Massive thanks to Rob and the team there for their energy and passion, dedication, and hospitality. The history of fascism in Spain is complex, but the unity and solidarity of the many voices fighting to prevent a new generation from falling into the same traps as those past is inspirational…..and yes, it inspired a song on the plane home.

Joe was the greatest travelling companion possible, and comparing notes on ADHD while trying to sit still, and taking in a fortnight’s worth of sightseeing in three days, will remain one of my favourite memories til the day I die.

And yes. Of course, we couldn’t resist it….

Special thanks must go to Kevin and Jo for making the trip across the border, for the loan of a tent, and the lift to Girona for our flight home. A pilgrimage is one thing, the message we were there to convey, and the heroes we made the trip to remember, they are another; but the love, support and solidarity remind you not only of the importance of sticking together, but of the need to be around true friends, sharing a cold one on a warm early summer night.

At some point, I want to sing ‘No Pasaran’ at Jarama, in No-Man’s Land, on the spot Jack fell. I want his ghost to know we remember him.

That’s for another year.

For now, we did all we could. We can never walk in their footsteps, but we can remind their courage and sacrifice to the world.

In the end, we took a little bit of Hull to Catalunya and brought a lot of Catalunya back home.

Much the same as they did before us.

May began as I hauled home, chasing red lights through the dark after pulling down the curtains on May Day Festival Of Solidarity; but there was little time to reflect before Steve White, Kev Titterton, and meself set off on our second annual ‘Three Shall Overcome’ hike from Scarborough to Robin Hood’s Bay along the Cleveland Way.

The hike gives us chance to compare notes on the political situation at the same time we help raise a few quid for Pauline Town through our post-lockdown attempt to get everyone moving again and sharing their journey in thoughts and photos, called ‘We Shall Overrun’. Just as last year, we filmed parts of the journey, and a video will follow over the summer. If you missed last year’s, it’s here:

Then the gigs kicked in.

There was ‘Ey Up Mi Duck Festival’ where I was the ‘surprise TBC’ for the wedding celebrations of my comrade-in-crayons Kevin Pearson and his long-suffering partner Jo…..

There was a bumper day on the 13th, which took in first ‘With Banners Held High’ in Wakefield on the afternoon…..

…..then the ‘Festival Of Dissent’, a We Shall Overcome event in London, on the night.

That week, I also recorded an interview/session for BBC Introducing Humberside…..

I played a fundraiser in Scarborough on the 19th…..

…..had a cracking night in Ulverston on the 20th for the ‘Five Days In May’ We Shall Overcome event remembering our friend and Comrade, Dave Wood…..

And finished the month at ‘Bearded Theory’ kicking up a racket in the ‘Something Else Tea Tent’ after running into the legend that is Billy Bragg.

In between times, there was a Lithium Joe rehearsal ahead of our gigs later this year, and the launch of an incredible new animated lyric video for my song ‘These Are My People’, put together by Lodge Productions. It’s a fine piece of work and really helps give a second chance to a unity song whose message is for now. You can watch here:

So a busy old month. But throughout, my head and heart were focusing on the upcoming trip to Catalonia.

That, however, is for next month’s blog.

The road awaits.

‘These Are My People’ now has a fantastic animated lyric video created by Lodge Productions.

Originally written as a unity anthem for 2022’s ‘Never Let Them Win’ album, the song has really come to life with live performances, and I felt it deserved a second shout at reaching out to hearts and minds in our bitterly divided country.

You can watch it here:

It is brought to life by the combination of Carol Hodge on piano, Rebekah Findlay on violin/viola, and a chorus featuring Jess Silk, Matt Hill, Daniel Lucas, Naomi Bedford & Paul Simmonds, Johnny Campbell and Mark Whyatt and Kirsty Rowan from Commoners Choir.

It’s also on my Facebook here:

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid023i5jitrKLQTUGwXxPachNfHa3jaYuvRJypPqyK7PyJpgn96uN7gqgvreHFTDnA3Tl&id=1281069501

Please give it a play, like, and share.

Thanks everyone x

April was dominated by the now familiar blend of perseverance and panic that comes with organising May Day Festival Of Solidarity, so the last few weeks have passed in a blur; but here’s the best of what I can remember…..

On April 7th, ‘Answer Machine’, the first new Lithium Joe song in 22 years, hit the streaming sites. Recorded at Fairview Studios last November by John Spence, the song is about the brick wall you meet when preprogrammed responses are the only conversations in town, and you’re battling what Antonio Gramsci called the ‘Cultural Hegemony’ of the Establishment and its media. All that with the Beatles backing vocals and our trademark sound intact.

I did an interview with BBC Introducing Humberside, which was broadcast ahead of our first radio airing on Saturday 22nd. I’m so proud that the Lithium Joe story has a new chapter after all those empty pages, and you can catch the video here:

The weekend before, I’d hit Leeds for We Shall Overcome and Harrogate to play the NEU National Conference…..to keep me out of trouble.

There was the second ‘Solidarity Social’ at the Railway Club in Scarborough, this time raising funds for Surfers Against Sewage….

…..and the trip up to Newcastle to play the Cluny 2 as part of Folkish Explosion….

I spent three consecutive days on the picket line with Junior Doctors….

But for the most part, it was all about our sixth May Day Festival Of Solidarity. I probably said it best on Facebook:

“Every year, Tony Peter Wright and meself walk into an empty Old School House in Barnsley around 12.30pm, and every year we see a bare room with cold white walls and dark wood arches and think- how the hell do we turn this into a festival?

And every year we get taught the same lesson.

We don’t.

YOU do.

You pack with place out and fill it with camaraderie, hugs and handshakes, and by the end of the night we finish with a lesson in the possibilities of shared human endeavour, of unity of purpose, of yes, solidarity.

You lot are the festival.

And yesterday you smashed it.

So many folks to thank, but the venue staff and Ruth and the sound team must get a special mention for a very long shift in a very packed schedule; and a shout-out to poor Simon Ibbotson, our ever-present house DJ who fell ill on the day and couldn’t be with us. He was there in spirit as we found a Trojan playlist and piped in Ska and Reggae between acts in his name.

Big shout-out too for Chip Hamer whose stellar shift as our compere held the whole day together, and who kept us in time throughout.

The speeches were TOP quality with Joyce Marshall telling it like it is for Hull Unity Shop, John Dunn pulling no punches for Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign, Heather Wood of Women’s Banner Group causing more than a few dusty eyes with poetry from the Miner’s Strike ahead of next year’s NATIONAL WOMEN AGAINST PIT CLOSURES 40TH ANNIVERSARY, Sarah Woolley doing our union the BFAWU proud and John Stewart updating us on the RMT dispute. Huge thank you to all for giving us their time and often very poignant words on behalf of workers everywhere.

And the music and poetry. Wow.

From the emotional return of Matt Hill following life-changing surgery, delivering a wonderful set to open us up; Chip and Nadia Drews of Poetry on the Picket Line bringing the Rebel stanzas; through Bard Company delivering us another reminder of the power of their ‘Northern Powerhouse’ album; Dakka Skanks smashing it and making a whole new army of fans; Carol Hodge being just sublime; Jess Silk doing what only Jess Silk can; and Commoners Choir to sing us home with their mischievous beauty and gentle malice; we had it all.

It was so moving to end the night onstage with Commoners and the crowd pulled to the very front so we were all one big f***-off Socialist choir daring the world to interrupt. A fantastic end to a truly belting day.

Every year we walk into that empty room wondering if this one will be the last, and every year we walk out thinking the same thing- why would you stop doing THAT?

Thanks everyone. You were BRILLIANT ✊️❤️👊

PS Thanks to all whose pics I have liberated for the cause ✊️

Now we head into May, and the mischief and mayhem continues with trips to Wakefield for ‘With Banners Held High’, London and Ulverston for We Shall Overcome, and Bearded Theory for the hell of it.

See you out there ✊️❤️👊

The first new music by Lithium Joe in 22 years is released this week.

‘Answer Machine’ was recorded last November at Fairview Studios by John Spence and will be released as a download on my Bandcamp this Friday, with all streaming services following on the Monday.

The video, compiled from footage shot at The New Adelphi Club in Hull of our sold-out homecoming gig in late 2019, was filmed by Michael Toas and edited by Andy Wilson. It’s on my Facebook or on YouTube here:

Lithium Joe will be live at the following places in 2023:

4th AUGUST- GIAF Festival
24th NOVEMBER- The Station, Ashton-Under-Lyne
25th NOVEMBER- Adelphi, Hull

See you out there x

The last month has fizzed past in a whirl of picket lines and performances; rallies and announcements, and has kept me on my toes every second…….just the way it should be.

The Road took in Bradford, Hull, Ashton-under-Lyne, Bolton, and Sheffield; and it started in a blizzard and ended in dazzling spring sunshine.

En route we raised £140 each for the Solidarity Mission causes- Pauline Town, Mesopotamia Cafe, Hull Unity Shop, and Refugee Support Europe; hopefully helping them over the last hurdle of a winter which has been a nightmare for fundraising.

The principal reason was the new Teeshirtme designed ‘One Life At A Time’ t-shirt, which proved popular on #BandcampFriday and rightly so- it’s a banger!

By far the most significant event of the month was the Trade Union Rally in Hull, organised to counter a Far Right gathering on March 18th.

By occupying the centre of the square and repelling them when they tried to take it, Hull‘s organised Working Class successfully drove the fascists out to the fringes where they were forced into speaking from a park bench drowned out by jeers. I was proud to have helped provide a soundtrack, and perhaps my FB posts describe this best.

Yesterday, the fascists came to Hull and Nazi-saluted their way through speech after speech of hate that doesn’t belong in our city, or anywhere else in the world.

They made those speeches to a small number of mostly imported supporters from the far side of the square, because we wouldn’t let them have the stage.

At times we were forced to repel them and it wasn’t pretty, but ours is not a city of hate, it is the city of Jack Atkinson, and they did not pass.

A massive thank you to Hull’s trade union movement and organised Working Class who turned out in force and stood heroically in the face of fascist intimidation. It filled me with pride to see young and old standing firm and holding their ground.

In the end it took an 8-year old girl, singing unaccompanied, her voice cutting through that cauldron of hate. For a few brief seconds even the Nazis fell silent.

It was a beautiful thing.

It was the sound of hope.

No Pasaran.

THE POWER OF SONGS

This is me singing ‘No Pasaran’ last Saturday, as Hull’s organised Working Class fought off the fascists and denied them access to spew their hate in the centre of Queen Victoria Square.

Songs are about connections.

The more egotistical performers think it’s the connection between them and their audience, but it isn’t; it’s the much more powerful connection between the listener and the character and narrative of the lyric.

That’s where the emotion is.

That’s where the tears are.

The singer is a conduit for that connection and not the connection itself.

So as I sang, and 50 people hollered along, fists raised to the sky, you could feel our courage rise, and the sight and sound of it took away the confidence of our enemy.

It wasn’t because singing ‘No Pasaran’ put 50 Joe Solo’s on that platform.

It’s because it put 50 Jack Atkinson’s there.

I didn’t do that.

HE did.

And THAT is the power of songs.

Elsewhere, I stood on pickets with the Junior Doctors and RMT as the strikes continued, and offered as much solidarity as I could in their fight for acceptable pay and conditions in a country guilty of increasingly devaluing its workforce at the altar of profit.

And some VERY exciting gig announcements came through, not least my trips to Barrowlands in Glasgow for #LoveGlasgowHateRacism in aid of Scottish Refugee Council. I join a bill featuring two incredible bands- The Wakes and She Drew The Gun– plus Musicians In Exile, a group formed by refugee artists hoping to make Scotland their home……

……and the incredible news that I’ll be flying to Barcelona to play ‘Solidarity Park 2023’, an anti-fascist festival remembering lives lost to the politics of the Far Right in the 1930s, and a timely reminder of why it is so important to deny their hate and blame vendettas today.

The first act of the new month is to launch the video and download for ‘Answer Machine’, the first new Lithium Joe song in 22 years.

The video goes live on Sunday 2nd, the download via Bandcamp on Friday 7th, and on all streaming services from Monday 10th. I can’t wait for you to hear it.

I’ll be playing Leeds, Harrogate, Scarborough, Newcastle and Barnsley in April, and if you haven’t already bagged em, PLEASE grab tickets for May Day Festival Of Solidarity on the 30th……just so Tony and I don’t have our usual panic over numbers in the week running up to the day.

Right, that’s about it. A massive thank you to Jason Shipley, Neil Terry, Dave Titterton, and everyone else whose photographs and posters have defined the month; and to you lot who turned out to make the gigs happen. There’s a LOT of darkness out there, but your light will eventually drive it out into the corners where it belongs.

Keep the faith.

See you out there ✊️

February brought with it some big decisions.

First up, to spend the bulk of the gigging year upright. After 19 years of the chair, the maraca, and the tambourine, I figured a change was in order. Some gigs suit that- it’s more intimate- but others need me on my toes and in-your-face.

Now you can have both.

Second, is the next album will be delayed until March 2024.

That’s a strategic decision as I want to include ‘The Last Miner’. This is the song scheduled as the next Joe Solo & The Hatfield Brigade single. It’s about the political and historical importance of Durham Miner’s Gala and NEEDS a brass band, but delays writing the arrangement for brass mean it will now be released to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Miner’s Strike instead.

This is something I’m happy to embrace under the circumstances. It gives me an extra few months of writing new songs too. I want it all killer, no filler, so that fits the agenda; but apologies to those anticipating the annual album around now. There’s still plenty to listen to on all streaming sites……links to which can be found here:

https://joesolo.hearnow.com

February saw me gig Sheffield, Newcastle, Stourbridge and Hartlepool for Punk 4 The Homeless, Durham Miner’s Association and We Shall Overcome; the highlight of which was Jess Silk‘s birthday party at Katie Fitzgeralds aka Rebel HQ, which finished with a three-way ‘No Pasaran’ sung by Jess, Matt Johnson and myself. A highlight of the year when I look back, no doubt.

The Durham Miner’s Association fundraiser in Newcastle led to my following RMTs Mick Lynch to the mic, not an easy job these days, Mick having almost single-handedly galvanised the trade union movement for its current struggles and steeled the resolve of activists everywhere. Another great night.

I stood on as many pickets as time would allow, and I will continue to support strike action throughout March, either here or at rallies. The stakes could not be higher. Defeat now would cripple the trade union movement and leave the Working Class at the mercy of a callous and vindictive government; victory would re-energise the Left at a time we are needed more than ever.

Next month should witness the arrival of two new Lithium Joe songs, ‘Answer Machine’ and ‘See You When I Get There’, recorded last November at Fairview Studios and just waiting on videos before we schedule them for release. Almost 22 years since our last recordings, this is like a dream come true and I can’t wait for you to hear them.

I’ll also be playing Bradford, Bolton and Sheffield if you’re in the area….

Lastly, February brought the sad news of the passing of Country Joe & The Fish legend Bruce Barthol, a man I had the good fortune to sing alongside on a couple of occasions. Bruce had a pedigree in the protest movement most can only dream of, from the Berkeley Riots through Vietnam to the present day, and it was through Bruce my songs reached Barry Melton whose childhood home in New York had played host to both the International Brigaders and many a late night session with Woody Guthrie. For Bruce to have put my songs in that proud lineage meant the world to me, and I was very sorry to hear we’d lost him.

We will fight on, my friend.

Right. March is upon us.

The world won’t change itself.