News : Five Songs About Margaret Thatcher

News : Five Songs About Margaret Thatcher

Pop's relationship with Margaret Thatcher was, at best, fraught (later on today, we'll have Dorian Lynskey offering his analysis of music's fascination with her), but it resulted in an outpouring of music about her, about her policies, about what she did to Britain. No other British political leader attracted such musical opprobrium – you'll hunt fruitlessly for well-known songs from the punk-era that attacked Jim Callaghan by name; even Tony Blair didn't provoke mass-selling songs about war crimes.

Here's a selection of the songs – from angry anarcho-punk, through smooth soul, to chart-busting ska – that soundtracked the Thatcher years: the songs that were sung on protest marches, played in squats, and which sometimes popped up on Top of the Pops.

Crass – How Does It Feel to Be the Mother of a Thousand Dead?

The Epping-based anarchist collective were among the most strident musical opponents of Thatcher. How Does It Feel … was one of two singles that addressed the Falklands war (along with Sheep Farming in the Falklands), and provoked Conservative MP Timothy Eggar to ask in parliament whether the band could be prosecuted under the Obscene Publications Act. The key verse? "Your arrogance has gutted these bodies of life/ Your deceit fooled them that it was worth the sacrifice/ Your lies persuaded people to accept the wasted blood/ Your filthy pride cleansed you of the doubt you should have had/ You smile in the face of the death cause you are so proud and vain/ Your inhumanity stops you from realising the pain/ That you inflicted, you determined, you created, you ordered/ It was your decision to have those young boys slaughtered."

The Beat – Stand Down Margaret

Although Stand Down Margaret only appeared on single in a dub version – as a double-A side with Best Friend in 1980 – it remains possibly the single best known anti-Thatcher song, and one that was performed on TV comedy shows (as seen in the clip), as well as being a political rallying call. That the Beat were already issuing such an unequivocal demand only a year into her premiership shows the divisive power the nation's prime minister was already wielding.

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

The Blow Monkeys, you might recall, were minor mid-80s chartniks, purveying soul-flavoured pop in nice clothes. Their third album might be best remembered for the No 5 hit It Doesn't Have to Be This Way, but look at the record's title and you'll realise they were concerned with more than shoulder pads and early mobile phones – it was called She Was Only a Grocer's Daughter. The politics was given plain voice on this duet with Curtis Mayfield, released as a single and promptly banned by the BBC because it was put out to coincide with the general election campaign.

The Notsensibles – I'm in Love with Margaret Thatcher

There were pop musicians who embraced the Conservative government of the 1980s. Gary Numan was a natural conservative, and Errol Brown of Hot Chocolate went so far as to appear at a Conservative party rally. But you'll search in vain for the heartfelt musical tributes to the Iron Lady. Even those groups one might associate with the yuppy boom – the likes of Spandau Ballet and Duran Duran – steered well clear, the former not least because their songwriter, Gary Kemp, was a committed socialist. And so in the name of balance we are forced to turn to a novelty punk song by a band from Burnley. It should be noted the song was released in April 1979, before the titular heroine was elected, though it became an indie hit a year later.

Billy Bragg – Between the Wars

To complete the list, maybe we should have picked one of the many songs that imagined the day Thatcher died. But you know what? Too soon. Instead, we'll finish with a song that – though not directly about her – offered a eulogy to the virtues that she singularly failed to embody. Incredibly, Billy Bragg appeared on Top of the Pops to issue this plea for a kinder nation: "Sweet moderation, heart of this nation/ Desert us not, we are between the wars."


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Sources : Five Songs About Margaret Thatcher Photo | Crass - How Does It Feel Video | The English Beat - Stand Down Margaret Video | Blow Monkeys & Curtis Mayfield Video | not sensibles, I'm in Love With Margaret Thatcher Video | Billy Bragg - Between The Wars (totp) Video | Five Songs About Margaret Thatcher Article