All you kids that just sit and whine
You should have been there back in '79
You say we're giving you a real hard time
You boys are really breaking my heart
Spurs beat Arsenal, what a game
The blood was running in the drains
Intercity took the trains
And really took the place apart
That was the year Nan Harris died
And Charlie Jones committed suicide
The world we knew busted open wide
In the winter of '79
These two songs from Power in the Darkness the debut album from the Tom Robinson Band in 1978 could arguably have been written yesterday.
With the rise in the number of soup kitchens and food banks and with the increase in the popularity of the odious UKIP leading to xenophobic and knee jerk reaction politics from the Mail, Express and the other political parties it looks like we may once again be entering a dark place.
However as Tom puts it in the sleevenotes "if music can ease even a tiny fraction of the prejudice and intolerance in this world, then it is worth trying"
Sadly we do not appear to be getting the songs or artists highlighting this as we did back then.
As Serious Drinking were want to say "The Revolution starts at closing time" although regrettably a pint of beer now costs considerably more than 10 bob.
Tom Robinson Band - The Winter of '79
Tom Robinson Band - Power in the Darkness
....you are not old enough to have paid 10 bob for a pint. And let's have no Weegie hard man talk!
ReplyDeleteThree pints for a pound when I started drinking George!
DeleteI love Power In The Darkness and also the Rising Free ep.
ReplyDelete"Sadly we do not appear to be getting the songs or artists highlighting this as we did back then." I often muse on that same thought. My own old fogey theory is that most are too mesmerized by their devices to really notice or care what's going on around them unless they're directly feeling the impact on their own lives. Sad, because corporations and politicos are having a right old laugh at our expense.
ReplyDelete... so good to remember me to this great record ...
ReplyDelete