The Writing On The Wall.

My story begins about five days ago. A friend on Facebook posted a video of Dick Gaughan singing The World Turned Upside Down. I love this song which tells the story of The Diggers who in 1649 occupied common land on St George’s Hill in Surrey because they believed the land was a treasury for all to share. Listening to the song again made me curious about the person who wrote it in 1975. His name is Leon Rosselson. I looked up Leon on Wikipedia and listened to his songs on Youtube. There could be no doubt that Leon’s heart was in the right place. I read that he had worked and recorded with Roy Bailey so that led me to reading about Roy. He has been described as ‘the very soul of folk’s working-class ideals’ I was really impressed and decided to buy an album. When I looked on eBay to see what was available I stumbled across a live CD which Roy had recorded at the Cambridge Folk Festival in 2003 with none other than the great Tony Benn. It is called The Writing On The Wall. Not only that, but it is also signed by Tony & Roy. “This is the one for me”, I thought to myself and clicked Buy. 

Just in case you live in a faraway country and don’t know who Tony Benn is, I’ll just give you a quick few details about him. He was born in 1925 as Anthony Wedgewood Benn, a member of the aristocracy and educated at Westminster School. He became a member of the Labour Party and elected to Parliament. However, when his father died he became Viscount Stansgate which barred him from sitting in the House Of Commons because he was a lord. He fought for years to renounce his title until finally an act of parliament allowed him to become Tony Benn and become an MP. He was one of the great figures of British politics and probably the only minister to become more left wing when in office. He was a great friend of Glastonbury Festival as well and opened the Leftfield Stage in 2002. His speeches at Glastonbury were hugely popular.

As it is another rainy day, I have been in the kitchen listening to the CD. I see the previous owner has included a ticket for Tony & Roy’s concert at Beverley Folk Festival in 2008 which is where they must have got the CD signed. It is a very enjoyable listen indeed. Tony tells stories from British history such as the Peasants Revolt and The Civil War and the international struggle for democracy, human rights, freedom and peace. Roy sings songs relating to the struggle, such as the story of Abeizer Coppe  who was a prominent ranter who were a 17^th century dissenting group. Also, Roy sings The Ballad Of Vic Williams who was a conscientious objector who refused to fight in the Iraq war. There is a lot of humour in their performance as well. Tony was a very witty, intelligent, and articulate man and Roy sings with humour songs such as Corvette Stingray about a woman who sells her husbands car for next to nothing when he is unfaithful.

Tony speaking at Glastonbury.

Sadly, Tony died in 2014 aged 88 and Roy passed away aged 83 in 2018. Their legacy lives on though. When you look at the world today it can be depressing. A world where billionaire oligarchs are supported by corrupt politicians and tax avoiding press barons. There is always hope though. I was pleased to see the Labour Party sweep to power in New Zealand this week which shows that socialism can be popular. Even in this world of climate change, Covid 19, war and poverty there is hope. As Tony Benn once said, “Hope is the fuel of progress and fear is the prison in which you put yourself”. That is why I am encouraged and glad I listened to this CD today.

75 Van Songs by Stuart Bailie

A new book arrived at my house yesterday called 75 Van Songs by Stuart Bailie. A nice hardback book of 178 pages with an attractive dust jacket and lavishly illustrated with great black and white photos. It celebrates the work of Van Morrison to mark this milestone year in his life. The writer Stuart Bailie has had a long career as a music journalist and is a former assistant editor at NME and author of several books. He is based in Belfast and his choice of songs is very Belfast and Northern Ireland oriented which is not surprising, but other places which have also inspired Van such as London, USA, Denmark and the west of England do get a look in as well. As it was a dark and rainy day yesterday I stayed at home and read the book in one sitting. I was pleased to learn something new straight away in Stuart’s introduction. On the original recording of Madame George that later appeared on the TB Sheets album you can hear an Irish voice (presumably Van) who says, ‘Get yer fur boots on, what about big Aggie’. I had forgotten about this for decades until recently when Bronagh Gallagher repeated it on her version of And The Healing Has Begun in a video for Hot Press magazine’s recent celebration of Van. Apparently, Aggie is a generic Belfast character made famous by a comedian called James Young. I am grateful that mystery has been solved for me.

Down the Cyprus Avenue.

This is not a countdown of Stuart’s favourite 75 Van songs. It is his choice of 75 songs which relate to him in a personal way and show how Van’s work is influenced by his surroundings. They are arranged alphabetically, from Across The Bridge Where Angels Dwell to You Know What They’re Writing About. I don’t always agree with Stuart’s interpretation of the songs and lyrics, but that is ok because the listener is entitled to find whatever meaning they want in the music and even Van himself has said that he sometimes doesn’t know where the songs came from either. However, it is interesting to read other people’s point of view, and you can learn something new. For instance, I always thought that the term fair play was an Irish expression, but apparently it can be found in Shakespeare’s plays. I  thought that Connswater was just an enjoyable instrumental track and Van merely gave it that title because he had to call it something, so named it after a local river. Stuart though sees deeper meanings and connects it to the Orange Order and the summer marching season. He might have a point, but that had never occurred to me because I like to think Van transcends all that sectarian stuff.

I especially enjoyed reading Stuart’s view of Cyprus Avenue with the references to William Blake and comparing Cyprus Avenue to Peckham Rye where Blake saw angels in trees. Angels frequently appear in Van songs as well. I also liked Stuart’s explanation of the immobile steel rims because I have often pondered the meaning of that. When I finished reading I was surprised when I realised that Stuart only chose one song from after 2005 which is Dark Night Of The Soul. I think Van has produced some great songs since then, but it is Stuart's book, not mine. The best benefit of reading this book yesterday for me was that it got me listening to Van again. While reading the book I listened to Inarticulate Speech Of The Heart, St Dominic’s Preview and Beautiful Vision. I had not played any Van for a few weeks because I have been a bit annoyed recently with Van’s views on the lockdown and his demands for capacity audiences at concerts again. As most of his fans are in a high-risk age group that would be a recipe for disaster in my opinion. The lockdown songs he has produced are a low point in his career and best forgotten. Stuart’s book is a reminder of the fabulous body of work that Van has produced during his long career, and that is what is important. Thank you, Stuart Bailie for a most enjoyable read.