Like Big Man Ned Kelly Australian, Irish, English, Scottish & American folk songs.  Celebrating the lives and exploits of popular & legendary heroes has long been a preoccupation in culture & song everywhere. While cleric-anointed, state sanctioned national idols abound (and nobody is more celebrated than Saint George in England) it's the common folk heroes who oft best caught the imagination of the masses - those who stood up in the face of oppression while looking after their own. Often seen as champions & poor people's defenders, these icons belong to the commoners and everyday folks have long been sympathetic to them as is also evident in the popularity of outlaw movies & literature. Ever since domineering minority ' elites ' seized control of grain surpluses (ie. 8-10K years ago) and set us off on this journey that we call ' civilization ' entrenched military/security apparatus has been paramount in order to protect those elites' sur...

    Songs of Dissent Tales of Oppression   Charting a timeline of popular revolt & rebellion through music & song. The legacy of these ancient songs and commentaries on the events they portray have long been championed by folk singers & musicians while politically-minded punk bands in turn looked to the them for inspiration, passing on the tradition & messages to wider audiences & subsequent generations Songs from as long back as the Great Revolt 1381 & Digger's Rebellion 1649, then the war years, Miners Strike 1984, Poll Tax 1990 & the CJB 1990s and songs that record numerous other events & atrocities. Not forgetting the current HOUSING CRISES & the unspeakable erosion of civil rights as exemplified by the current JUST STOP OIL strugges. Free the M25 Five! The legends & music of olden revolts crossed the Atlantic with the colonists where the protest tradition flourished, assimilating different styles and creating new ...