History - Memorable Moments

Toy Dolls, the Trades Club, Consett 1983

Here are some memorable moments, landmark gigs, and the many good people who have helped out along the way.

When we first dreamed up the idea, we were all unemployed and were grateful to bands like the Short Blues Line, Eastside Torpedo, the R&B Spitfires, the Toy Dolls and Brian Johnson who played benefits to help keep the project going.

Steve Hall, Eastside Torpedos 1982

During the 1984 miner’s strike, we organised the Heroes album and tour to raise money for the miners’ families. Billy Bragg, The WorkieTickets and Prelude were among the bands contributing to the album. The tour started in East Durham mining villages, played a number of City Hall dates across the country and ended up with a sell out concert at the Royal Albert Hall.

Through the mid eighties, we programmed the Beamish Labour Festival which also linked pop and politics. The main stage had bands and speakers, while local campaigns had stalls to increase their profile and raise money. This event attracted 14,000 people a year.

Tommy Armstrong (1848 - 1920)

In 1986, we recorded the Tommy Armstrong album “Polisses and Candymen” with Bob Fox, Benny Graham and Chuck Fleming. Armstrong (1848 - 1920), who came from Stanley, was an uneducated man who sang in pubs for his beer money but was responsible for some of the greatest mining songs ever written. He fused the pop music of his day - music hall and the monologue - with comic songs and radical lyrics. Around the same time, we recorded Jock Purdon’s album “Pitworks, Politics and Poetry”. Although born near Glasgow in 1925, Jock spent most of his life in County Durham where he worked in the pits. The characters, conditions and politics of working-class life in the coalfields provided his inspiration. This tradition of radical songwriting also links with Alan Hull, Ian McCallum, Jack The Lad, Whiskey Priests and Jez Lowe, all of whom have covered Armstrong and Purdon songs.

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