The Manchester punk scene – joy and pain
In 1976-77 punk hit Britain like a tidal wave, sweeping away all the tired music that stood in its way. It wasn’t just a London thing. Across the country local scenes developed. Many would argue that Manchester was the most important. In his occasional blog looking at punk, Hassan Mahamdallie looks at the Manchester scene.
The Holocaust and the Roma: historians deliver a final insult
I have just returned from a series of lectures on Holocaust archaeology. They were engaging and serious, but the discussion was ruined by a callous argument about the Roma victims of the Holocaust.
Tracks of the month: Serge Gainsbourg – an unlikely revolutionary
You know there is a drought of good music when swathes of the music press tell you Marks to Prove It, by the Maccabees, is the album of the summer. So in the never-ending search for new and exciting music, I have spent the last month buying reissues and crate digging.
Italy: fascists at heart of protests that have forced out refugees
Fascists are at the heart of protests against refugees in Italy that have already forced the evacuation of around 100 migrants from a town in the north of the country.
Hungary’s wall of shame
We are witnessing the sickening spectacle of a wall being erected in Hungary to stop refugees who are fleeing persecution from entering the country.
Tracks of the month, June 2015: The ghosts of Ferguson haunt US music
The protest song is back and its return can be dated precisely to 9 August 2014. On that day a police officer shot and murdered an 18 year old black man, Michael Brown. Since then, we have seen a number of artists produce songs of rage, lament and protest.