Red Wedge
William Shaw, Smash Hits, 12 February 1986
"It's no good just complaining in your beer about things you've got to come out and say it..." So says Spandau Ballet's Gary Kemp. He's just one of many pop musicians who've been roaming the country on the Red Wedge tour a tour that's not all champagne binges, wrecked hotel rooms and the usual pop nonsense... No, this is pop with a political conscience. And it's not boring!! William Shaw attends the rally...
A COUPLE OF weeks or so ago it seemed like half of the entire population of the British pop world suddenly dubbed themselves "Red Wedge", dashed off on a tour of the nation and turned up on all sorts of TV programmes talking about politics. There was Paul Weller and The Style Council, Spandau Ballet's Gary Kemp, The Communards, Madness, Billy Bragg, D.C. Lee, Junior Giscombe, The Smiths, The Kane Gang, Prefab Sprout, Jerry Dammers of The Special AKA, reggae singer Lorna G, all telling everyone that they were trying to use pop to bring politics to young people and turning up at concert halls with all these politicians.
Why? Well, everyone involved had their own reasons, but the clearest explanation came from funk singer Junior Giscombe: "Political awareness is a need now," said Junior. "With Red Wedge we're just trying to make people more aware. Regardless of who gets in at the next election Conservative or Labour Red Wedge is still going to be a good thing because it's necessary to keep young people aware of politics."
There were seven concerts in all on the tour each one a superb two-and-a-half hours worth of music without too much sermonizing from the stage. When the audience arrived, they found brown paper bags on their seats; these contained a selection of political pamphlets one on apartheid in South Africa, one about unemployment among young people, another about the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, another on women's rights.
And then in the foyer there were assorted Labour politicians milling about for the audience to meet "Go and have a word with them," shouted Paul Weller from the stage. "Give them a bit of stick as well!" But most people didn't recognise them apart from famous Labour person "Red" Ken Livingstone who was besieged by autograph hunters and hardly got the chance to get a word out.
As you might have twigged by now, the Red Wedge people aren't big fans of Margaret Thatcher. The organisation got going at the end of last year, partly prompted by Live Aid and partly by Paul Weller and Billy Bragg getting together during the miners' strike. Those involved state that they're all committed to the creation of a "fairer, saner society", and they all reckon that to get that you need to get rid of the present government. And though nearly all of them say they aren't totally committed to the Labour Party, they believe that Labour is the best option we've got the lesser of two evils.
Spandau Ballet's Gary Kemp explains why: "Red Wedge hasn't got any strict manifestos or policies and this-is-how-we-see-politics stuff. It's not about that. I think the Labour Party is all we have, and if you don't like it, change it. Live Aid showed the power of people. It's no good just complaining in your beer about things, you've got to come out and say it..."
The idea of getting people like Gary Kemp involved is to make people think twice about it all, because Spandau Ballet aren't usually thought of as a "political" act. Gary knows this and admits it with disarming frankness:
"It's not really the people in the venue that we want to get to. It's the people who didn't come. It's the people who are going to wake up tomorrow morning and see that Gary Kemp was here and they're going to wonder why. People who've seen the Style Council before will probably know Paul's politics already but there won't be many Spandau fans who've thought like that."
Paul Weller knows that too. He knows he's a big crowd puller, but, he says, "The best thing that could happen to Red Wedge in the future is if we could get John Taylor or George Michael involved. I can't see the Durans doing it but George should do it because I think he's smart enough to see that it's a good thing to do."
Before Red Wedge "hit the road" everyone was a wee bit worried that all these pop stars would be at each other's throats in no time at all, but they all ended up getting on like nobody's business, travelling from town to town in one big coach, all staying up far too late after the shows and having intense and deeply meaningful political chinwags: "I think," explained an extremely chuffed Paul Weller, "that's because all of us were doing it for a fundamental reason. That's why you don't get ego clash. That's why it all went so smoothly."
The shows themselves were absolutely flipping marvellous. Imagine two-and-a-half hours (sometimes more) made up of short "sets" ("Not long enough to get boring," as D.C. Lee put it), with everybody on stage having a whale of a time and all joining in to help each other's groups.
There were the regular acts Billy Bragg jangling his guitar and singing all about love and (of course) politics, The Style Council playing a very "laid back" selection of jazzy tunes, The Communards shocking everyone by being extremely good indeed, not to mention Lorna G.'s rather fine reggae.
Then there were all the guests who just turned up for one or two nights like Lloyd Cole & The Commotions, Madness, Prefab Sprout, The Kane Gang and, as mentioned, Gary Kemp who did a very sensitive folkie number called 'Between The Barricades' about conflict in Northern Ireland and also, he explained back-stage, "about my girlfriend's sister who's going out with a coloured boy."
But the biggest fun of the lot was when they got together to do versions of well known tunes, like Johnny Marr and Billy Bragg murdering The Rolling Stones' 'The Last Time' or the entire cast getting up to perform wondrous versions of very old soul songs.
The stars actually threw everything into it. Not only were there all sorts of political meetings and press conferences before the shows (where Billy Bragg talked the hind legs off everyone about... erm, politics), but even after the shows they chatted to members of the audience and answered questions about Red Wedge.
"Oh yeah!" grinned Junior enthusiastically. "The questions they all asked were great. I got well and truly cornered last night. But that's good because it shows that people aren't just saying 'Oh great! Paul Weller and Billy Bragg!' It's important that people have a go at us as well as the MPs, so they don't just end up thinking that socialism is just the new thing to be into. Bullshit! It's a serious thing."
The politicians have their say... "It's junk!"
Norman St John-Stevas Conservative MP and ex-Minister for the Arts
"Red Wedge? Is it a pop group? (Short explanation of exactly what Red Wedge is and who's in it follows). Actually I met Spandau Ballet once. They all seemed very reasonable people. Do I object to the idea of pop musicians recruiting for a political party? No, not at all. Why should I? Is it dragging politics down to the level of pop? No. If anything it's dragging pop music down to the level of politics."
Ken Livingstone
Leader of the Greater London Council which is about to be dissolved by the government
"This is a break through. We've never had pop music in politics which is part of the reason why the Labour Party has been dead from the neck up. What I hope is that if you bring youth into politics those politics will change. The question is, why should politics be boring? The answer is because most politicians are boring. That's what these people are here to change."
Neil Klnnock
Leader of the Opposition
"We're not interested in using performers just to add razzmatazz to politics. That is not what we want and Billy and the boys would not let us get away with it. The people involved in Red Wedge are serious about their politics and they want to make sure that Labour listens to young people and responds to what they say. We are delighted that so many people have given their time to get Red Wedge on the move."
Matthew Pariss
Conservative MP
"Politically Red Wedge is junk, musically it's boring and I think young people see through that kind of thing."
Mark MacGregor
Chairman of the Federation of Conservative Students
"We think it's all a bit of a sham. The Labour Party are trying to hide the fact with Red Wedge that their Youth section is controlled by the Militant Tendency, so they're hiding a lot of nasty persons who are far to the left, and covering up for the fact that they've only got tired old policies. The musicians who are doing it are getting good publicity out of it"
The punters answerback... "It's brilliant!"
Friday 31st January, Newcastle City Hall
"It's preaching to the converted in our case," Pauline Murray and Penny Rogers, students at the University of Newcastle. "It was good, exactly what we wanted to hear."
Leon, in the foyer after one concert, handing out Labour Party leaflets: "I came expecting what I got. It didn't really change my mind about anything because I agree with what was said. There might have been a few people who just came for Paul Weller who might have had their minds changed, though."
"We didn't really come here for the politics," Alan Ellis and Michael Gardener. "They passed us by. I mean, I don't like things like racialism," says Alan, "but the only thing it really changed my mind about was The Smiths. I didn't used to think that much of them."
Lucy Madge and Jodie "I'm in love with Paul Weller" Moore: "A lot more people need to be attracted to things like this," says Jodie. "A generation needs to be. It's much better that you get young people involved because all the people who are in power are all old white men. I think this converted some people. I was sat next to a mod and she wasn't clapping at the beginning, but by the end she was clapping her head off!"
© William Shaw, 1986