Tag: Music and Song

Labour history news

Peggy Seeger to perform ‘Songs for the Workers’

Legendary folk singer, musician and political activist Peggy Seeger is to perform at a special one-off concert to mark International Workers Day. The event will take place at Cecil Sharp House, London, on the evening of 7 May 2026, and tickets are on sale now. Buy tickets. Seeger will perform alongside prominent folk singers and musicians Jackie Oates and Nick Hart, Lancashire ballad singer and … Continue reading Peggy Seeger to perform ‘Songs for the Workers’

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Class Encounters: John Harland, ballad collector

In the fourth of our series on meetings with figures from labour history, Jennifer Reid encounters the collector of Lancashire dialect poets, John Harland John Harland 1806–1868 was a renowned journalist and ballad collector. Although originally from Kingston-upon-Hull, as chief reporter for the Manchester Guardian he was aware of all the Lancashire dialect poets and worked hard to immerse himself in people’s lives in Manchester. … Continue reading Class Encounters: John Harland, ballad collector

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In tune: Bandiera Rossa

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

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In tune: March of the Women

Janette Martin takes us back to the early years of the twentieth century and the fight for the franchise with a rousing suffragette anthem. https://youtube.com/watch?v=qTYv4wT8g4E%3Fsi%3Dq4PQmoWSxYHseD4X 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 … Continue reading In tune: March of the Women

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In tune: Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do)

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)

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In tune: Captain Swing

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

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In tune: Think Positive, Act Positive, Vote Labour

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

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In tune: The Manchester Rambler

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

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In tune: The Old Poacher’s Song

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

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