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Description
The music and politics of Rock Against Racism, 2Tone and Red Wedge
In August 1976, Eric Clapton made an inflammatory speech in support of Enoch Powell and ‘black’ repatriation, sparking an anti-racism campaign that would soon radicalize an entire generation. The following sixteen years saw politics and pop music come together as never before, to challenge racism, gender inequality, and social and class divisions. For the first time in UK history, musicians became instigators of social change, and their political persuasion as important as the songs they sang.
Through the voices of campaigners, musicians, artists and politicians, Daniel Rachel charts this extraordinary and pivotal period, following the rise and fall of three key movements, Rock Against Racism, 2 Tone and Red Wedge, revealing how they both shaped, and were shaped by, the music of a generation.
Consisting of new and exclusive in-depth conversations with over one hundred contributors – including Pauline Black, Billy Bragg, Jerry Dammers, Phill Jupitus, Neil Kinnock, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Tom Robinson, Clare Short, Tracey Thorn and many more – Walls Come Tumbling Down is a fascinating, polyphonic and authoritative account, fully illustrated with many rare or previously unpublished images from some of the greatest music photographers.
Paperback - 560 pages - approx. 20x4x13cm - author: DANIEL RACHEL
