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.