Author: Chris WrigleyThis is the abstract of an article published in Labour History Review (2023), 88, (3), 273-278. Read more. Richard John Geary was born in Leicester on 17 December 1945. He was a historian of international reputation. He spent much time in Germany, Australia, and Brazil. ‘Dick Geary legend – once met, never forgotten’, as Ian Kershaw put it at the start of his oration at Dick’s … Continue reading Obituary: Dick Geary (1945–2021)
The books listed below are reviewed in Labour History Review (2023), 88, (3), 279-293. Read more. Hester Barron reviews Agnes Arnold-Forster and Alison Moulds (eds), Feelings and Work in Modern History: Emotional Labour and Emotions about Labour, London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2022, pp. xii + 265, h/b, £85, ISBN 978 13501 97183 Micaela Panes reviews Daryl Leeworthy, Causes in Common: Welsh Women and the Struggle for Social Democracy, Cardiff: University of Wales … Continue reading Book reviews in Labour History Review Volume 88 (2023), Issue 3
This stirring anthem of the Italian Left was also once popular with Labour Party activists, as Mark Crail recalls. Bandiera Rossa(Music, traditional; lyrics, Carlo Tuzzi, 1908) Bandiera Rossa may share its title with The Red Flag, but there the similarities end. There is no room here for dungeons dark or gallows grim, let alone any martyred dead. The Italian labour movement’s anthem is, rather, an … Continue reading In tune: Bandiera Rossa
Janette Martin takes us back to the early years of the twentieth century and the fight for the franchise with a rousing suffragette anthem. March of the WomenEiddwen Harrhy (Ethel Smyth and Cicely Hamilton, 1910) March of the Women is a rousing number that became the official anthem of the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU). Perfect for marching and for large meetings, it was … Continue reading In tune: March of the Women
The new issue of Scottish Labour History for 2023 is out now, with more than 250 pages of notices and reports, articles, shorter ‘profiles in Scottish labour history’ and an extensive book reviews section. Published by the Scottish Labour History Society, volume 58 opens with an introduction by Gregor Gall and Jim Phillips, who note the one hundredth anniversary on 23 November of the death … Continue reading Scottish Labour History, 2023
In a period when heteronormative masculinity was in crisis, Wham! redefined young masculinity as having fun, having camaraderie, and removing identity from work. And as Vic Clarke argues, what they said in the 1980s still resonates today. Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)Wham! (George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley, 1983) In 1982, Margaret Thatcher’s government entered the military into the Falklands War, Terrence Higgins became one … Continue reading In tune: Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)
This modern take on the Swing Riots of the 1830s raised eyebrows when Graham Moore performed it in Whitby Conservative Club, recalls Keith Laybourn. Captain SwingGraham Moore (Graham Moore, 1995) In folk clubs circles, Graham Moore’s name is synonymous with songs of protest. Some may know him as a leading folk singer of fifty years standing, some as a co-founder of the Tolpuddle Martyrs annual … Continue reading In tune: Captain Swing
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 LabourPerformer 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 … Continue reading In tune: Think Positive, Act Positive, Vote Labour
Our series on labour history and song continues with a Ewan MacColl classic on access to the land that still resonates today, as Hazel Perry remarks The Manchester RamblerEwan MacColl (Ewan McColl, 1932) I can’t remember the first time I heard The Manchester Rambler however, I did hear it many times when attending the ninetieth anniversary celebrations of the Kinder Scout Mass Trespass in Hayfield … Continue reading In tune: The Manchester Rambler
Jim Connell is best known as the writer of The Red Flag, but his poem The Old Poacher’s Song, set to music and performed by Francis Devine, harks back to the rural Irish radicalism of his youth, says Mike Mecham. The Old Poacher’s Song Francis Devine (Jim Connell, 1900) Irish socialist Jim Connell (1852-1929) is best known as the writer of The Red Flag, an … Continue reading In tune: The Old Poacher’s Song
Society for the Study of Labour History 