Prometeo liberado
24th June 2012, 01:05
As some of you may know there was a movement in the U.K. in late 80's to rally the youth for the Labour vote. Though the whole "Rock-the-Vote" thing was done to death in the States as part of an effort to get youth to register I would argue that the Red Wedge movement went a wee bit further, ideologically at least. Although it would fail in it's mission to unseat the Tories what did it manage to accomplish? It seems to me that by embracing, or at least touching, on working class politics and working on many fronts such as comedy acts, short plays, reading circles and music that this was also an attempt at a working class Renaissance or consciousness. Creating our own traditions and education. Relying on ourselves for our literature, news, analysis and art. In particular some of the lyrics of the music by the artist involved call not for a get-out-the-vote, but of open revolution:
You don't have to take this crap
You don't have to sit back and relax
You can actually try changing it
I know we've always been taught to rely
Upon those in authority -
But you never know until you try
How things just might be -
If we came together so strongly
Are you gonna try to make this work
Or spend your days down in the dirt
You see things can change -
YES an' walls can come tumbling down!
Governments crack and systems fall
'cause Unity is powerful -
Lights go out - walls come tumbling down!
The competition is a colour TV
We're on still pause with the video machine
That keep you slave to the H.P.
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/s/style+council/walls+come+tumbling+down_20132778.html ]
Until the Unity is threatend by
Those who have and who have not -
Those who are with and those who are without
And dangle jobs like a donkey's carrot -
Until you don't know where you are
Are you gonna realize
The class war's real and not mythologized
And like Jericho - You see walls can come tumbling down!
Are you gonna be threatend by
The public enemies No. 10 -
Those who play the power game
They take the profits - you take the blame -
When they tell you there's no rise in pay
Are you gonna try an' make this work
Or spend your days down in the dirt -
You see things CAN change -
YES an' walls can come tumbling down!
Thoughts?
Red WedgeLast updated 2 months ago (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page&action=history)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Wedge#mw-head), search (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Wedge#p-search)
Red Wedge was a collective of musicians who attempted to engage young people with politics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics) in general, and the policies of the Labour Party (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labour_Party_(UK)) in particular, during the period leading up to the 1987 general election (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_general_election,_1987), in the hope of ousting the Conservative (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservative_Party_(UK)) government of Margaret Thatcher (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Thatcher).
Fronted by Billy Bragg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Bragg) (whose 1985 Jobs for Youth tour had been a prototype of sorts for Red Wedge), Paul Weller (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Weller_(singer)) and The Communards (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communards_(band)) lead singer Jimmy Somerville (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Somerville), they put on concert tours and appeared in the media, adding their support to the Labour Party campaign.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/5f/Artwork_by_El_Lissitzky_1919.jpg/300px-Artwork_by_El_Lissitzky_1919.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Artwork_by_El_Lissitzky_1919.jpg)http://bits.wikimedia.org/static-1.20wmf4/skins/common/images/magnify-clip.png (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Artwork_by_El_Lissitzky_1919.jpg)
"Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beat_the_Whites_with_the_Red_Wedge)", a 1919 lithograph by Lissitzky
The group was launched on 21 November 1985, with Bragg, Weller, Strawberry Switchblade (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strawberry_Switchblade) and Kirsty MacColl (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirsty_MacColl) invited to a reception at the Palace of Westminster (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_Westminster) hosted by Labour MP (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Member_of_Parliament#United_Kingdom) Robin Cook (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Cook). The collective took its name from a 1919 poster by Russian (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russia) constructivist artist El Lissitzky (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Lissitzky), Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge. Despite this echo of the Russian Civil War (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Civil_War), Red Wedge was not a communist organisation; neither was it officially part of the Labour Party, but it did initially have office space at Labour's headquarters. The group's logo, also inspired by the Lissitzky poster, was designed by Neville Brody (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neville_Brody).
Red Wedge organised a number of major tours. The first, in January and February 1986, featured Bragg, Weller's band The Style Council (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Style_Council), The Communards, Junior Giscombe (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junior_Giscombe), Lorna Gee (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lorna_Gee&action=edit&redlink=1) and Jerry Dammers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Dammers), and picked up guest appearances from Madness (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madness_(band)), Heaven 17 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaven_17), Bananarama (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bananarama), Prefab Sprout (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prefab_Sprout), Elvis Costello (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elvis_Costello), Gary Kemp (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Kemp), Tom Robinson (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Robinson), Sade (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sade), The Beat, Lloyd Cole (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lloyd_Cole), The Blow Monkeys (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blow_Monkeys) and The Smiths (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Smiths) along the way.
When the general election was called in 1987, Red Wedge also organised a comedy tour featuring Lenny Henry (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenny_Henry), Ben Elton (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Elton), Robbie Coltrane (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robbie_Coltrane), Craig Charles (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Charles), Phill Jupitus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phill_Jupitus) and Harry Enfield (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Enfield), and another tour by the main musical participants along with The The (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_The), Captain Sensible (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Sensible) and the Blow Monkeys (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blow_Monkeys). The group also published an election pamphlet, Move On Up, with a foreword by Labour leader Neil Kinnock (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Kinnock).
After the 1987 election produced a third consecutive Conservative victory, many of the musical collective drifted away. A few further gigs were arranged and the group's magazine Well Red continued, but funding eventually ran out and Red Wedge was formally disbanded in 1990.
You don't have to take this crap
You don't have to sit back and relax
You can actually try changing it
I know we've always been taught to rely
Upon those in authority -
But you never know until you try
How things just might be -
If we came together so strongly
Are you gonna try to make this work
Or spend your days down in the dirt
You see things can change -
YES an' walls can come tumbling down!
Governments crack and systems fall
'cause Unity is powerful -
Lights go out - walls come tumbling down!
The competition is a colour TV
We're on still pause with the video machine
That keep you slave to the H.P.
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/s/style+council/walls+come+tumbling+down_20132778.html ]
Until the Unity is threatend by
Those who have and who have not -
Those who are with and those who are without
And dangle jobs like a donkey's carrot -
Until you don't know where you are
Are you gonna realize
The class war's real and not mythologized
And like Jericho - You see walls can come tumbling down!
Are you gonna be threatend by
The public enemies No. 10 -
Those who play the power game
They take the profits - you take the blame -
When they tell you there's no rise in pay
Are you gonna try an' make this work
Or spend your days down in the dirt -
You see things CAN change -
YES an' walls can come tumbling down!
Thoughts?
Red WedgeLast updated 2 months ago (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page&action=history)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Wedge#mw-head), search (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Wedge#p-search)
Red Wedge was a collective of musicians who attempted to engage young people with politics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics) in general, and the policies of the Labour Party (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labour_Party_(UK)) in particular, during the period leading up to the 1987 general election (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_general_election,_1987), in the hope of ousting the Conservative (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservative_Party_(UK)) government of Margaret Thatcher (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Thatcher).
Fronted by Billy Bragg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Bragg) (whose 1985 Jobs for Youth tour had been a prototype of sorts for Red Wedge), Paul Weller (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Weller_(singer)) and The Communards (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communards_(band)) lead singer Jimmy Somerville (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Somerville), they put on concert tours and appeared in the media, adding their support to the Labour Party campaign.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/5f/Artwork_by_El_Lissitzky_1919.jpg/300px-Artwork_by_El_Lissitzky_1919.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Artwork_by_El_Lissitzky_1919.jpg)http://bits.wikimedia.org/static-1.20wmf4/skins/common/images/magnify-clip.png (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Artwork_by_El_Lissitzky_1919.jpg)
"Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beat_the_Whites_with_the_Red_Wedge)", a 1919 lithograph by Lissitzky
The group was launched on 21 November 1985, with Bragg, Weller, Strawberry Switchblade (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strawberry_Switchblade) and Kirsty MacColl (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirsty_MacColl) invited to a reception at the Palace of Westminster (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_Westminster) hosted by Labour MP (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Member_of_Parliament#United_Kingdom) Robin Cook (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Cook). The collective took its name from a 1919 poster by Russian (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russia) constructivist artist El Lissitzky (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Lissitzky), Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge. Despite this echo of the Russian Civil War (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Civil_War), Red Wedge was not a communist organisation; neither was it officially part of the Labour Party, but it did initially have office space at Labour's headquarters. The group's logo, also inspired by the Lissitzky poster, was designed by Neville Brody (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neville_Brody).
Red Wedge organised a number of major tours. The first, in January and February 1986, featured Bragg, Weller's band The Style Council (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Style_Council), The Communards, Junior Giscombe (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junior_Giscombe), Lorna Gee (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lorna_Gee&action=edit&redlink=1) and Jerry Dammers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Dammers), and picked up guest appearances from Madness (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madness_(band)), Heaven 17 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaven_17), Bananarama (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bananarama), Prefab Sprout (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prefab_Sprout), Elvis Costello (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elvis_Costello), Gary Kemp (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Kemp), Tom Robinson (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Robinson), Sade (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sade), The Beat, Lloyd Cole (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lloyd_Cole), The Blow Monkeys (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blow_Monkeys) and The Smiths (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Smiths) along the way.
When the general election was called in 1987, Red Wedge also organised a comedy tour featuring Lenny Henry (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenny_Henry), Ben Elton (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Elton), Robbie Coltrane (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robbie_Coltrane), Craig Charles (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Charles), Phill Jupitus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phill_Jupitus) and Harry Enfield (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Enfield), and another tour by the main musical participants along with The The (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_The), Captain Sensible (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Sensible) and the Blow Monkeys (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blow_Monkeys). The group also published an election pamphlet, Move On Up, with a foreword by Labour leader Neil Kinnock (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Kinnock).
After the 1987 election produced a third consecutive Conservative victory, many of the musical collective drifted away. A few further gigs were arranged and the group's magazine Well Red continued, but funding eventually ran out and Red Wedge was formally disbanded in 1990.