Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Margaret Thatcher - Maggie, Maggie, Maggie

Margaret Thatcher may seem an odd topic for a music blog, but she she provided creative fodder for a wide range of the popular arts - episodic television (Dr. Who), illustrated stories, novels (Margaret Torture in Rushdie's Satanic Verses), comedy, and music.  Thatcher was a strong and vocal presence in British culture and politics as Minister of Education (1970-1974), head of the opposition  Conservative Party (1975 -1979) and Prime Minister (1979 -1990.)   Government support for the arts was squarely within Dame Thatcher's target.  BBC, radio and TV, fought back by providing outlets for a wide range of musical and theatrical protest.   Maggie, Maggie, Maggie - thank you for reinvigorating punk and stirring the creative juices of the following artists.

Linton Kwesi Johnson - It Dread Inna Innlan



The Beat - Stand Down Margaret




Robert Wyatt - Ship Building




The Specials - Ghost Town



Pink Floyd - Final Cut



Blow Monkeys and Curtis Mayfield - (Celebrate) The Day After You


Crass - How Coes it Feel to Be The Mother of a Thousand Dead



Heaven 17 - (We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang


The Mekons


Billy Bragg - Between the Wars


The The - The Heartland



The Jam - A Town Called Malice




Morrissey - Margaret on the Guillotine



 Style Council - Tear Down the Walls!




Elvis Costello - Tramp the Dirt Down

2 comments:

Edoc said...

"she provided creative fodder for a wide range of the popular arts... thank you for reinvigorating punk and stirring the creative juices..."

?!?! War, high unemployment, support for dictators and apartheid? No, no thanks for that. The arts would have found plenty of inspiration throughout the years without the deliberate human suffering imposed by ideology.

That's what you get for wading into politics, though.

Edoc said...

'Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead' closer to number one spot as it reaches midweek top ten following Margaret Thatcher's death

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/ding-dong-the-witch-is-dead-closer-to-number-one-spot-as-it-reaches-midweek-top-ten-following-margaret-thatchers-death-8566042.html