Not all songs in labour history turn out to be very inspiring, as this definite dud from the 1983 general election shows all too well, says Mark Crail

Think Positive, Act Positive, Vote Labour
Performer unknown (writer unknown, 1983)

The song you are about to hear was written for the 1983 general election campaign. Fortunately, someone at Labour Party headquarters had the common sense to block its release, but soon after polling day bootleg copies began to circulate samizdat style, passed from hand to hand on cassette tapes, as evidence that, bad though the campaign had been, it could have been worse. To the best of my knowledge, Think Positive, Act Positive, Vote Labour has never been made available to a wider audience. Until now.

Presumably following a political brief, the composer eschewed half a century of popular culture when seeking inspiration, and looked to a less edgy musical past. The result is a tune and performance that would not have been out of place on the bandstand of a small country town at the time of the Boer War. The lyrics, meanwhile, are long winded – look at the title; patronising – ‘old folks, young folks, need a helping hand’; and plain embarrassing – ‘If you believe, believe in democracy, then you’re going to put Michael Foot in the lead where he belongs’.

I have had this tape in a drawer for the past forty years. Although I haven’t heard it for nearly four decades, I could still recall the song, almost in full, while searching for a tape recorder on which to play it – so perfectly does it epitomise that traumatic general election campaign. We are, of course, all guilty: my personal contribution as an enthusiastic party activist that summer was to organise a public meeting for our candidate that was attended by not a single member of the public. Of course, the speaker still clambered on stage and delivered their address. But whoever vetoed the release of this particular musical monstrosity deserves the party’s gratitude.

Mark Crail is web editor for the Society for the Study of Labour History