Social History
Sophie Lancaster: 3rd Anniversary T-shirt
Coronation Street star shows support on the three-year anniversary of murdered Sophie Lancaster. This year, 24th August will mark the three-year anniversary of the tragic and brutal attack that lead to 20 year old Sophie Lancaster’s death. To mark the anniversary Artist Rob Maltby, Sophie’s boyfriend, has designed a T-shirt to celebrate Sophie’s individuality and [...]
Song: Remember Sophie, Celebrate Uniqueness, Reject Conformity
It’s one week away from the anniversary of the murder of Sophie Lancaster 3 years ago in Bacup, Lancashire. You’ll probably remember the case. She was killed simply for looking different. Sophie liked to dress in goth gear. A gang targeted her and her boyfriend Rob for the way they dressed. Sophie died as a [...]
Peterloo Commemoration Gig 16 Aug
I’ll be performing with Vinnie T Spen in Manchester on Monday 16 August, running through some of the set list of our band Rich Man’s Ruin. (Gabi is on her hollybobs or else she’d be with us too). The gig is to commemorate the events at Peterloo where working people protesting peacefully were attacked by [...]
Justice For The Shrewsbury 24
Sadly I can’t be there, but today there is a rally in Shrewsbury to demand justice for the trades unionists and building workers attacked by the State in the 70s. Two were jailed, Dessie Warren and Ricky Tomlinson. The rally is an attempt to clear their names, and get a pardon. I wrote the song [...]
The Limerick Soviet Honoured
I am deeply proud to announce that my song The Limerick Soviet has been requested by the Limerick Council of Trades Unions to be entered into their official archives. I consider this a huge honour. The Limerick Council of Trades Unions is the very organisation that is the direct descendant of those who formed the [...]
New Song: If Harry Don’t Go
I was told this story of London dockworker and union activist Harry Constable by my friend Martin Ralph on Thursday night, just after the close of the Woody Guthrie Folk Club. Yet the original tale was documented by Bill Hunter, and the full story is linked here on Bill’s website. Harry was victimised by the [...]
Suggest A Song For Me To Write
People think I’m a singer. I don’t see myself that way. I’m a storyteller. I find stories that interest and inspire me, and I retell them in a portable way that others can pass on too, through song. People approach me with stories and say “You should write a song about this!” And sometimes I [...]
The Limerick Soviet – A Short Film
At the end of this post is a cracking short film on The Limerick Soviet, a tale I wrote about in my song of the same name. The wonderful thing about the film is that it shows the actual strike proclamations featured in my song, and shows the currency that the workers issued when they [...]
Fuck The BNP – Strange Fruit
So Nick Griffin sits there on Question Time, sat next to an American black woman no less, and describes the terrorists of the Ku Klux Klan as a non-violent organisation. Next day, after getting the “good old political rough and tumble” he said he was looking forward to and making himself look like the absolute [...]
Liverpool Irish Festival Starts Today
I’ve just been reminded that the Liverpool Irish Festival starts today! There’s tons of great musical and cultural events taking place from now til the 1st November. Check out the many offerings at the Irish Festival website and get along to one of the sessions or concerts. There really is a mouthwatering collection of stuff. [...]
