Best British "Protest" Songs

[Jah Womble]

Best British "Protest" Songs

Always liked Little Baby Swastika (I refuse, etc). Skunk Anansie followed it with also pretty good (and protest-y) Selling Jesus. Most of their releases after that sucked the big potato, however.

(Rant-mongering it may be, but the guerilla hoisting of RATM's Killing in the Name to number one ahead of whatever X Factor-dross it was feels like the only proper chart-worthy protest of the past 25-30 years. Being US, this obviously doesn't qualify here.)

[Calvert]

Best British "Protest" Songs

Any chance Jah could go into lengthy and vivid detail about TRB's performance at the above mentioned show? Memory permitting, of course.

I'm a massive fan, see, and never having had the pleasure of catching them live, I'm insanely jealous.

[Jah Womble]

Best British "Protest" Songs

I seem to recall your mentioning something akin to this last year:

http://www.wsc.co.uk/forum-index/29-music/1052261-first-support-band-you-ever-saw?limit=20&start=20

Well, let me see now...(*fire crackles in background...screen image goes wobbly*) The gig was at Canterbury University in October 1978, and attended by my good self and several school friends - most of us aged sixteen or so - and several hundred others. SLF opened, to muted acceptance from an audience largely bereft of punks. They played through all the early choons that were to become group standards: Suspect Device (with which I believe they opened - and at that point the only song of theirs I'd heard), Gotta Getaway (a 'new number', apparently), Alternative Ulster, Wasted Life, Johnny Was, etc. The biggest cheer of the set was reserved for their thanking of TRB for inviting them on the Power In The Darkness Tour. Obviously. I thought they were good, though and destined for bigger things.

TRB were in their element of course, the crowd swelling to double its size for their set. All the 'classics' were there: Glad to Be Gay (after which Tom R planted a kiss on drummer [later of SLF] Dolphin's mouth, just in case anyone was in any doubt as to its meaning), Won't Take No, Up Against the Wall, Too Good To Be True (how wasn't that a massive hit?), Martin, Grey Cortina, etc. (Power in the Darkness itself featured TR in grotesque mask ridiculing right-wing MPs of the day.) The encore was 2-4-6-8 Motorway - obviously - and an anthemic tune called You Turn Me On, upon which I wasn't that keen and one that I don't recall appearing on any TRB release thereafter.

Not sure from which part of my brain I gleaned all that, but there you go, Calvert...

[Calvert]

Best British "Protest" Songs

I seem to recall your mentioning something akin to this last year:

Aw, Jesus.
I don't even remember writing that. I'd be worried about my fading capacity to retain information but I'd probably forget.

Too Good To Be True is incredible, isn't it? Kustow's guitar playing on the entire album is simultaneously beautifully subtle and massive. Whatever happened to him?
I worked with Dolphin Taylor before when he was drumming for SLF. Nice chap.
Thanks for the reply.

[Jah Womble]

Best British "Protest" Songs

*Doffs* Mon plaisir - almost four decades on, it remains one of the best gigs I've attended. (As I believe I said on that other thread.)

[Bored Of Education]

Best British "Protest" Songs

Jah Womble wrote: SLF did cross my mind when I was listing those TRB songs. (I saw both together at my first-ever gig in Canterbury, October 1978.) Not sure why I chose to exclude them, tbh.

I'd include Suspect Device, as well.

Have you lot got me on "Ignore poster"?

[Jah Womble]

Best British "Protest" Songs

I don't think you're being actively ignored here, BoE - your mention of SLF was (kind of) noted by MsD earlier. You'll observe also that I employ the expression 'as well', which in this case refers to your having mentioned Suspect Device already. (He justified.)

[Bored Of Education]

Best British "Protest" Songs

Hmmm, It was you and ingoldale I was referring to and I will take into account your qualification.

[Jah Womble]

Best British "Protest" Songs

Let me have a look at the final report once you've had a few printed up?

[ingoldale]

Best British "Protest" Songs

Bordeaux Education wrote: Hmmm, It was you and ingoldale I was referring to and I will take into account your qualification.

I don't know why I missed that Bordeaux - I did read the thread to double-check no-one had already submitted it but I still didn't see it (I think the surprise in my own post shows this) but I didn't expect you to get so upset about it. There there.

[ralf hooter]

Best British "Protest" Songs

The Blue Orchids - Bad Education.

Indeed, the whole of "The Greatest Hit" still stands as a mad, mystical and narcotic state of the nation address no less relevant today.

[Bored Of Education]

Best British "Protest" Songs

ingoldale wrote:

Hmmm, It was you and ingoldale I was referring to and I will take into account your qualification.

I don't know why I missed that Bordeaux - I did read the thread to double-check no-one had already submitted it but I still didn't see it (I think the surprise in my own post shows this) but I didn't expect you to get so upset about it. There there.

I think I will live.

[Giggler]

Best British "Protest" Songs

Protest Songs by Prefab Sprout is rapidly becoming my favourite album by them. Odd that I love the song Dublin so much when I'm no great fan of the place.