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Issue No. 130 | 05 April 2002 |
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Lights Out on The Hill
Interview: Change Agent Industrial: Balancing the Books Unions: Breaking Out Politics: Pissing on the Light on the Hill History: Of Death and Taxes International: Now That's a Strike! Satire: Mugabe Voted Miss Zimbabwe: Denies Election Rigged Poetry: Flick Go The Branches Review: Red, Red Clydeside
The Soapbox Sport Week in Review Postcard
 Puplick's SermonChikka's LegacySocialists in the UKOrganising GloballyGrape DisappointmentUnion Resignations : Crisis or Opportunity?
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Review Red, Red Clydeside
The album deals with the emotions and trials of a radical time in the history of Scottish workers. We caught up with Alistair to discuss the album, folk music, and working class politics at the National Folk Festival in Canberra over Easter, an event sponsored by the CFMEU A.C.T. *********** Alistair, your new album is called 'Red Clydeside'. Could you give us a bit of background on why you chose the stories of the Red Clyde of 1915 as the theme for your album? It's a history of Glasgow that many Glaswegians are even unaware of. And I think it's a very important history to be told. 'Red Clydeside' erupted virtually with the declaration of war in 1914 and it was centred amongst the munitions workers and the shipbuilders. It began as a revolt against the level of wages and conditions and escalated, because of the influence of a number of socialists, into a revolt against the war in itself. There are a lot of very important lessons to learn from 'Red Clydeside'; lessons of how it was built and lessons of why it failed. I think they're all important and that's what I tried to explore through this album. On listening to the album, one of the big themes that came out was the power of an active and unified workers movement. The work of Match Girls and rent striker Mrs. Barbour were all a reflection of workers coming together. How do you think this level of unity came about in Glasgow? Well, Red Clydeside didn't appear out of a vacuum. There was a massive depression in 1908 that politicised workers all over Britain. By 1910 through until the declaration of war there was a period known as the 'Great Unrest' and the rulers of Britain were absolutely terrified by it. It was in the words of the leader of the 'Red Clydeside', John MacLean, he said that the workers of Britain were "entering the rapids of revolution", Red Clydeside was really a continuation of the 'Great Unrest'. Elsewhere because of the patriotism and the jingoism that was being promoted, the working class elsewhere succumbed to all that propaganda whereas in Glasgow it actually intensified the struggle. The reasons for that are too complex to go into here, but I think the most significant factors were the large numbers of Irish and highland refugees who were no friends of British imperialism for obvious reasons. But I think the most significant thing was the presence of so many militant socialists and trade unionists. That was really a happy coincidence that they happened to be there at the time. If it hadn't been for people like John MacLean and Mrs. Barbour who lead the rent strike of 1915 then the anger would not have been as focused but by being there they were able to direct the anger and actually turn an industrial strike into a political strike. The linking of the industrial and the political is an important element of 'Red Clydeside', and your album isn't just historical reflection, it also serves a political purpose. How would you describe that political purpose in rejuvenating that 'Red Clydeside' spirit? Well I think 'Red Clydeside' is a very inspiring story but we can't just leave it at that. I think it's good to reflect on the struggles of the past but the point is to learn from the past in order to make it happen in the future and in the present and to learn the lessons. For me that's what folk music is all about. It's the unrecorded histories, and folk songs are full of unrecorded histories and often that's the only way we can learn because workers don't write the history books. Folk music is actually the oral history of the working class. Just to tap in on that, Folk music has often given form and expression to working communities needs and desires. How do you see yourself fitting into the modern folk scene and what place do politics have in the contemporary scene? Huge question Nick We ask all the big ones in 'Workers Online' All strength to you. I think that in the present we are in a period very similar probably to just before the 'Great Unrest'. Where there's a lot of widespread anger, for instance, against globalisation and privatisation but the anger and the bitterness is not yet quite focused. I think it's the task of socialists to do what John MacLean did and give it a focus. Everytime there is a closure of a factory we have to be there agitating and saying that we can actually win if we fight back. In the instances where socialists have played that role, for instance in England, with the closure of the Rover car plant outside Birmingham, it was the Socialist Alliance I think which was able to connect with the militant shop stewards. If it had been left to the official trade union movement the aim was to have a large march and then go home. But it was actually the socialists and shop stewards who argued that there had to be a march to Westminster London. The response was that the Blair government was forced to find the money to keep the car plant going. I think that's hugely significant. That was huge victory and we can't speak about it often enough. Alistair, you finish 'Red Clydeside' with a reference to the anti-capitalist or anti-globalisation movement. And you must see this as a contemporary expression of some ever present values, how do you see the movement as fitting into the political sphere of the Left? I think the traditional Left, the old Left, has been far to slow to respond to this because it hasn't recognised it. These young people are not necessarily adopting the forms we are familiar with and they refer to themselves as 'swarms' and they use a new terminology but in actual fact, what they're doing is very similar to what has been done in the past. It's just finding a new vocabulary for it. I think that socialists need to interact with these people and not try to take the movement over but follow and learn from it. Not direct it but be in there with our input and our experience. We also have to do it with a degree of humility as well and see that these people, these young kids, after years of us saying the struggle's over and the working class are not going to fight back, suddenly they caused Seattle to erupt. I couldn't believe it when I turned on the television and saw these young people coming together with the organised trade unionists, especially the teamsters and the steelworkers, that was what made Seattle flare. And that is really what we must try and build, we must build links with the 'swarms'. Just to change tact a little bit Alistair, I wanted to ask you about your involvement in workers struggles here. Some of your fantastic songs have raised occupational health and safety issues like the asbestos question in the Wittenoon mines in Western Australia. This obviously is linked into criticising an agenda perpetrated by employers in the field, but maybe you'd like to give us a run down of some of the influences and inspiration of some of these disputes. There's been a few struggles in Australia I'm very proud to have been involved in. There was a strike on Cockatoo Island back in the early 90s and we organised quite a few concerts and so forth and were able to build links with the workers. Rather than having any direct influence on the outcome of the strike it had an impact on the political struggle. What it did was politicise our audience which at the time were predominately young people unfamiliar with trade unionism and often hostile to it from an anarchist perspective. Bringing them into contact with organised labour was an educational process for us all. I think it was good for the people involved in the strike as well. It feels a bit grandiose to imagine as a political songwriter I'm actually able to shape history. I think it's the forces of organised labour which shape history. As a songwriter I stand on the sidelines and try to comment on it and celebrate it. Alistair, final question, you've got a couple gigs coming up here. One in Melbourne and one in Bathurst, what should people expect from your upcoming gigs? I'm doing a few gigs but those two are going to be devoted to the 'Red Clydeside', which I performed at the National Folk Festival in Canberra. In these shows, unlike in Canberra, there will be time to breath between sentences so it won't be as panicked or rushed! But hopefully people will find it an inspiring story. Fantastic. Alistair Hulett, thankyou very much for your time - Dare to struggle, dare to win? Absolutely! Copies of Alistair Hulett's CD 'Red Clydeside' are available at his shows across Australia. Or by mail-order at www.folkicons.co.uk mailto:[email protected] Tour Dates: Thurs, 4th Braidwood Folk Club Fri. 5th Sydney: The Harp Irish Pub Sat. 6th Stanley, Soldiers Memorial Hall Sun. 7th Tyers Hall, Nr Traralgon, Vic Thurs. 11th Sth Coast Folk Club, Noarlunga, SA Fri. 12th Governor Hindmarsh, Adelaide Fri. 19th - Sun. 21st Fairbridge Folk Festival, WA Tues. 23rd Katomba, NSW, Clarendon Hotel Fri. 26th Merry Muse Folk Club, Canberra Sat. 27th St Albans Folk Festival, NSW Sun. 28th Sydney: The Harp Irish Pub Further information from Jane or John, 03 9387 3376
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