HW: Bob Calvert: Freq and Live at the QEH

[Chris Bates]

Paul wrote:

> Well, I can understand that, just like I think UK listeners probably get
> "more" from Pink Floyd's _The Final Cut_ than US listeners do.  The
> Miners' Strike was a Big Deal[tm] in the 80s in the UK.  I like some of
> the interludes on _Freq_, which I find amusing---like the one where Bob is
> arguing with the scabs ("what, do you expect him to go around on a
> bicyle?"), but some of the others I find pretty boring (like the poorly
> recorded snippet of some NUM guy addressing a rally).  I think it's an
> interesting document of the times though, and, with the magic of CD, at
> least those who aren't interested in it can program around it.

I think that this shows the true limitations of rock as a serious
art form. Real art, it seems to me, is capable of holding a mirror
up to society, or to each individual, and allows us to learn
more about ourselves and our world. When rock musicians try to
reflect the world their message is misunderstood or is painted in
such black and white terms that it soon becomes trite and jaded.

The miners strike of 1984-85 was the final death throws of labour
in its fight against capital in the UK. Capital won because the
labour and trade union movement as a whole was ground down by repressive
legislation and the fear of unemployment. I haven't got the album
and haven't heard it for years but I'd guess that the *NUM guy*
is Arthur Scargill, the bete noir of the capitalist press, who
was undeniably RIGHT :-(

If you want goo, political rock that stands up as art, IMO, give
a listen to *The Plague* by DEMON. A brilliant statement on the
collapse of society caused by unemployment

Up the workers :-)


Chris