Our Subversive Voice? The history and politics of English protest music
Lead Research Organisation:
University of East Anglia
Department Name: Politics Philosophy Lang & Comms Studies
Abstract
Music is widely acknowledged as a form of political communication. However, despite an increasing scholarly interest in the political uses of music, our understanding of how exactly it communicates political ideas, values and sentiments remains obscure. Studies of political music - and the protest song in particular - have tended to assume that, where there is a cause and a singer with a conscience, songs will inevitably appear. This is, we argue, mistaken, and protest songs are better understood as part of a specific political and musical moment, mediated by multiple processes and contingencies. This more complicated story is essential to understanding why and when musicians intervene in politics and the form taken by these interventions.
This project will deepen our understanding of the political uses of music by focusing on the phenomenon of the protest song. It will do this in three ways. Firstly, it will provide a wider historical perspective on the protest song, using this to refine what is meant by a protest song and to highlight the many forms it may take. Protest songs are not confined to folk music, but are to be found in almost all genres of music - from broadside ballads to music hall satires, from rock to grime. Secondly, the project will identify, understand and explain the conditions (political, technological, cultural, and economic, as well as aesthetic) in which such songs are produced. Finally, this project will enhance understanding of how such songs work as a distinct form of political communication, bringing new theories and methods to bear to highlight the role of voice, melody and rhythm. As Simon Frith (1996) has argued, lyrics 'are a form of rhetoric or oratory', and protest songs may affect how people speak, as much as how they vote or organise.
Focusing on the single case-study of England the project answers the following three sets of inter-related research questions:
1. What does the protest song look like when viewed in a longer-term historical perspective? Subsidiary questions here include: Does our concept or definition of the protest song change once we look at its range across time? What are the trends and patterns in the development of the protest song from the 17th century to the present day? How comparable are early broadsides with modern forms of musical protest? Do contemporary protest songs belong to a 'national' tradition or to a different sort of musical tradition? How have technologies (from recording to the internet) changed the nature and reach of the protest song? Does the protest song have its own history as an art form?
2. What conditions are necessary for the creation, circulation and appreciation of protest songs? Subsidiary questions here include: How do songs interact with the wider rhetorical and political culture of which they are a part? How significant are individual performers with a 'conscience'? How do protest songs interact (and clash) with infrastructural conditions such as the availability of public spaces/venues/platforms, political organisations, state regulators and music industry intermediaries and networks?
3. How do protest songs communicate ideas and how can they best be analysed? Subsidiary questions here include: How do melody and rhythm combine to convey meaning and significance, and to move or mobilise listeners? Are protest songs best thought of as a mode of political communication alongside, say, speeches, pamphlets and blogs or do they speak in radically different ways? What kinds of political ideas can and do protest songs communicate - and what might this tell us about the nature of political ideas? What kinds of rhetoric - what means of performance and persuasion - do protest songs employ?
As part of this research the project will create significant impact through the organization of performances, filmed interviews with performers, a playlist, a songwriting workshop, a mobile exhibition, and a practitioners' symposium.
This project will deepen our understanding of the political uses of music by focusing on the phenomenon of the protest song. It will do this in three ways. Firstly, it will provide a wider historical perspective on the protest song, using this to refine what is meant by a protest song and to highlight the many forms it may take. Protest songs are not confined to folk music, but are to be found in almost all genres of music - from broadside ballads to music hall satires, from rock to grime. Secondly, the project will identify, understand and explain the conditions (political, technological, cultural, and economic, as well as aesthetic) in which such songs are produced. Finally, this project will enhance understanding of how such songs work as a distinct form of political communication, bringing new theories and methods to bear to highlight the role of voice, melody and rhythm. As Simon Frith (1996) has argued, lyrics 'are a form of rhetoric or oratory', and protest songs may affect how people speak, as much as how they vote or organise.
Focusing on the single case-study of England the project answers the following three sets of inter-related research questions:
1. What does the protest song look like when viewed in a longer-term historical perspective? Subsidiary questions here include: Does our concept or definition of the protest song change once we look at its range across time? What are the trends and patterns in the development of the protest song from the 17th century to the present day? How comparable are early broadsides with modern forms of musical protest? Do contemporary protest songs belong to a 'national' tradition or to a different sort of musical tradition? How have technologies (from recording to the internet) changed the nature and reach of the protest song? Does the protest song have its own history as an art form?
2. What conditions are necessary for the creation, circulation and appreciation of protest songs? Subsidiary questions here include: How do songs interact with the wider rhetorical and political culture of which they are a part? How significant are individual performers with a 'conscience'? How do protest songs interact (and clash) with infrastructural conditions such as the availability of public spaces/venues/platforms, political organisations, state regulators and music industry intermediaries and networks?
3. How do protest songs communicate ideas and how can they best be analysed? Subsidiary questions here include: How do melody and rhythm combine to convey meaning and significance, and to move or mobilise listeners? Are protest songs best thought of as a mode of political communication alongside, say, speeches, pamphlets and blogs or do they speak in radically different ways? What kinds of political ideas can and do protest songs communicate - and what might this tell us about the nature of political ideas? What kinds of rhetoric - what means of performance and persuasion - do protest songs employ?
As part of this research the project will create significant impact through the organization of performances, filmed interviews with performers, a playlist, a songwriting workshop, a mobile exhibition, and a practitioners' symposium.
Planned Impact
Who might benefit from this research?
Outside of the academic beneficiaries, the other main beneficiaries will be: a) the general public; b) performers; c) political activists and music industry personnel (including journalists)
How might they benefit from this research?
a) The primary benefits to the general public will be in greater awareness of the tradition of the protest song in England, and the multiple issues and causes it has addressed and forms that it has taken. This benefit will be achieved by a number of means. The project will fund an exhibition that provides a narrative history of the protest song, illustrated by specific detailed examples. These examples will form the basis of the DVD and accompanying booklet, as well as the playlist. They will also form part of the two concerts in which these songs will be performed.
b) The historical research, together with the interviews with songwriters and others, will provide a resource for contemporary performers. It will offer potential additions to their repertoire and insights into their craft. This will be achieved by providing online access to the history and to the interviews. This same resource will form the background to the songwriting workshop, in which professional performers and songwriters with work with local musicians to help them develop the songwriting skills, particularly in relation to political songs
c) The research will reveal in detail how political organisations and the music industry have contributed to the creating, performing, and disseminating the protest songs. It will also contribute to our understanding of the effect that such songs have. These insights will be aired in the planned symposium and will be an opportunity to engage with debates about the value of, and constraints upon, political music more generally. It will explore with performers, political activists and others how best to articulate, produce and disseminate political ideas in musical form.
Outside of the academic beneficiaries, the other main beneficiaries will be: a) the general public; b) performers; c) political activists and music industry personnel (including journalists)
How might they benefit from this research?
a) The primary benefits to the general public will be in greater awareness of the tradition of the protest song in England, and the multiple issues and causes it has addressed and forms that it has taken. This benefit will be achieved by a number of means. The project will fund an exhibition that provides a narrative history of the protest song, illustrated by specific detailed examples. These examples will form the basis of the DVD and accompanying booklet, as well as the playlist. They will also form part of the two concerts in which these songs will be performed.
b) The historical research, together with the interviews with songwriters and others, will provide a resource for contemporary performers. It will offer potential additions to their repertoire and insights into their craft. This will be achieved by providing online access to the history and to the interviews. This same resource will form the background to the songwriting workshop, in which professional performers and songwriters with work with local musicians to help them develop the songwriting skills, particularly in relation to political songs
c) The research will reveal in detail how political organisations and the music industry have contributed to the creating, performing, and disseminating the protest songs. It will also contribute to our understanding of the effect that such songs have. These insights will be aired in the planned symposium and will be an opportunity to engage with debates about the value of, and constraints upon, political music more generally. It will explore with performers, political activists and others how best to articulate, produce and disseminate political ideas in musical form.
Publications
Cox Jensen O
(2023)
(Special Section) The Hymn as Protest Song in England and its Empire, 1819-1919
in Yale Journal of Music & Religion
Title | Our Subversive Voice Zine |
Description | We produced a pamphlet for our exhibition (and for public talks). It was designed to emulate the zines that flourished during punk (1976-78). Using the same cut-up techniques, the zine included the list of the 250 protest songs highlighted by the project, the lyrics of two banned songs, and a case study on religion and protest songs, |
Type Of Art | Artefact (including digital) |
Year Produced | 2022 |
Impact | The zine, like the exhibition it accompanied, was designed to inform readers of the long history of the protest song. |
Title | Our Subversive Voice exhibition |
Description | We created an exhibition based on our initial findings. This included a display of 250 protest songs (from 1603-2020). The display consisted of 250 'beermats' on which were, on one side, the title/date/author of the song; on the other, a short description of the subject and context of the song. The beermats were colour-coded to represent different time periods, and the boards on which they were displayed documented major events in the relevant timeline. The display was designed to be interactive, and to provoke suggestions for other songs, which could be written on blank beermats. We also created 'placards' that highlighted particular themes or case studies from the research. Finally, we created a form of bunting on which we documented songs that had been censored and songs that used borrowed tunes. The exhibition was largely the work of our colleague Helen Stokes. |
Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
Year Produced | 2022 |
Impact | The exhibition has so far been displayed at the Norwich Arts Centre (January 13th 2022) and Mile Cross Library (February 11th-18th 2022). |
Title | Our Subversive Voice interviews |
Description | We have created illustrated interviews with a range of contributors - songwriters, performers, collectors and academics. These are being released at regular intervals over the course of the project. Five are currently available. Each have been edited to highlight their key themes or ideas, and have been supplemented by recordings of relevant songs. |
Type Of Art | Artefact (including digital) |
Year Produced | 2022 |
Impact | These have received considerable attention, particularly the interview with Billy Bragg |
URL | https://oursubversivevoice.com/interviews/ |
Description | The Our Subversive Voice project, which runs until the end of September 2002, is concerned with the long history of protest song in England: 1600-2020. Following consultation consulting with 55 experts in various periods and traditions, we have produced a list of 250 songs that highlight some of the major themes and development of the protest song. Our website lists a further 500 songs. Geographically, the bulk of our songs across the period stem from London, the centre of the music and publishing industries in all their iterations, with strong showings from the urban centres of the midlands and the North. While we have isolated rural songs from across the country, the south-west and East scarcely feature - though each can claim an outstanding protest song in 'Trelawny' and 'The Powte's Complainte', respectively. In terms of composition, the default mode of songwriting until the 1950s has been that of contrafactum - selecting a well-known pre-existing tune, and giving it new words - though some songs specify no tune, and the nineteenth century sees the first significant wave of original musical composition, along with the more high-brow practice of creating a song by setting pre-existing verse to music. All of this broadly accords with what we know of song culture as a whole - though there are perhaps more instances of direct parody, where the choice of tune serves an explicit political purpose, than is the case in other areas of songwriting. As far as we know, the history of the English protest song up to the twentieth century (with a handful of important nineteenth-century exceptions) is overwhelmingly that of white, straight, male writers - almost all of whom, it should be added, will have identified as Christian. And before the nineteenth century, the majority of these were educated men of means. Set against this rather underwhelming generalisation, we must remember just how many of our songs, well into the nineteenth century, are anonymous: it is certain that a good number will have been written by women, and the law of averages suggests some will have been produced by queer writers and writers of colour. It is easy to think of reasons why such writers were either reluctant to, or prevented from, putting their names to songs of protest. As to the themes of the songs, the two most prominent are 1) the 'high' political process, including constitutional and franchise issues and the power of both Church and state; and 2) civil rights and the social contract. It is the shifting prominence of these two themes that defines change over the long history of the protest song. |
Exploitation Route | There are a number of ways in which our research might be developed. The first would involve a re-examination of our data to reveal other narratives and interpretations. A second might be to develop a comparative study of the protest song, using our approach both to the collection of data and to the model we use to explaining and understanding the protest song. Finally, there is scope for more detailed research into specific songs and themes. |
Sectors | Creative Economy Culture Heritage Museums and Collections |
URL | https://oursubversivevoice.com/ |
Description | Our widest reach has been achieved through the website Our Subversive Voice (reported elsewhere in Research Fish) which has attracted more than 35,000 unique visitors. Since January 2022, we have hosted three performances of protest songs. These events have taken place at the Norwich Arts Centre, the Latitude Festival and Cecil Sharp House. The first featured an interview with, and a performance by, Steve Ignorant of Crass. At Latitude the community theatre group the Common Lot gave two performances of a small selection of protest songs for our research. At Cecil Sharp House, the Carnival Band performed songs from across the full history of the project. Each of these events were also accompanied by an exhibition. The exhibition was also displayed at two Norwich libraries and at the University of East Anglia library. In the summer, following extensive collaboration with the Our Subversive Voice research team, the Common Lot performed the show 'Songs of Hope and Protest' at five Norwich open air venues. This show involved some 30 performers, plus musicians, and included examples of the long history of the protest song, together with songs written by local writers. Our Subversive Voice also produced two booklets to accompany the shows and the exhibitions. Subsequently, members of the team have contributed to a number of different public events, including performances, podcasts and talks. |
First Year Of Impact | 2022 |
Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Education,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
Impact Types | Cultural Societal |
Title | Our Subversive Voice: Database of English Protest Song |
Description | Accessible via a website this dataset consists of a record of 750 English protest songs from 1600 to the present day. For each entry the following information is provided: Title, date (where known), composer and/or lyricist (where known), the lyrics and the music. The data base is searchable by identifying features: use, theme, subject of address, target of protest, and by a variety of tags referring to, for instance, generic category (ska, anthem, theatre song etc.), geographical location and other features (such as singer-songwriter etc.). It also hosts a range of original interpretive material (by the project team and by a large number of external scholars) as well as interviews with leading figures of English protest song. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2022 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | At the time of this entry the database has attracted 23,800 unique visitors (12,970 from the UK). |
URL | https://oursubversivevoice.com |
Description | Collaboration with Latitude Festival |
Organisation | Latitude Engineering |
Country | United States |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | The Our Subversive Voice team created an exhibition and gave three talks of aspects of the project. We distributed a booklet that explained and illustrated the project. We organised performances by the Common Lot and two songwriting workshops. Members of the team also contributed to a talk and performance in the Listening Tent at the Festival. Three films were made of our visit to the Festival. |
Collaborator Contribution | The Latitude team provided a space for the exhibition and access to the site and the event. |
Impact | Three films and a booklet |
Start Year | 2021 |
Description | Collaboration with the Carnival Band and English Folk Dance and Song Society |
Organisation | English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS) |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
PI Contribution | We worked with the EDFSS to stage a concert and host an exhibition to illustrate the history of the English protest song and the processes that led to its creation |
Collaborator Contribution | The EDFSS provided the space for the concert and for the exhibition, and helped with the organisation of the concert |
Impact | A recording of the concert and images from the exhibition can be seen in the link above |
Start Year | 2021 |
Description | A Discussion of Songs of Hope and Protest |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | The project PI John Street and the Co-I Alan Finlayson addressed an audience of 26 at Mile Cross Library and a further 25 online, presenting findings of the project, discussing the protest song and answering questions. The event also promoted partnership with The Common Lot Theatre Company. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | A lecture and workshop for York Festival of Ideas |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Dr Oskar Cox Jensen worked with the singer and historian Vivien Ellis to deliver a lecture and workshop on the history of the English protest song. These events were part of the Streetlife strand of the Your Festival of Ideas. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://www.streetlifeyork.uk/ |
Description | A live launch of the project's findings, exhibition, discussion and performance |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | The project held an event at The Norwich Arts Centre. This included an exhibition and one-to-one discussion attendees, a live Q&A between project Co-I Matthew Worley and the musician Steve Ignorant (with Q&A) and a performance. It promoted the work of the project and involved the audience in looking at and responding to our archive, suggesting additions and discussion of what protest songs are and how they matter. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Address to European Speechwriter Network |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | An address to members of the European Speechwriter Network on what speechwriters can learn from the rhetoric of protest songs. This included having the group sing new words to an old tune (The Battle Cry of Freedom also known as the tune for Power in a Union) - and so the creation of an 'anthem' for speechwriters everywhere. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://anchor.fm/european-speechwriters/episodes/Alan-Finlayson---Protest-Songs-and-Speeches-e1hdel... |
Description | Article for The Conversation |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | The article 'Why it's no surprise that pro-Trump rioters sang Bob Marley songs outside the Capitol', by Oskar Cox Jensen was published on The Conversation, on 15 January 2021. It explains how and why right-wing groups may appropriate seemingly politically antithetical songs into their protests and presents examples. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://theconversation.com/why-its-no-surprise-that-pro-trump-rioters-sang-bob-marley-songs-outside... |
Description | BBC News item on the Our Subversive Voice Project |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Dr Angela McShane were interviewed for a short news item on the Our Subversive Voice project and the phenomenon of the protest song |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/entertainment-arts-62086924 |
Description | BBC R3 Free Thinking: Eliza Flower and non-conformist thinking |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | The first live concert in 175 years of songs and music written by Eliza Flower (1803-1846) took place in October 2023. A friend of JS Mill, Harriet Martineau and Robert Browning, Flower set to music some of Walter Scott's romantic songs, composed music for her sister Sarah Flower Adams, who penned hymns including Nearer, My God, to Thee. Singer Frances M Lynch, accompanied on piano by Laurence Panter, joins New Generation Thinker and historian Oskar Jensen and Dr Clare Stainthorp, who is researching the Freethought Movement: Atheism, Agnosticism, and Secularism, 1866-1907. The discussion was hosted by Matthew Sweet. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001rj9p |
Description | Blog on the Our Subversive Voice project |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Dr Oskar Cox Jensen wrote a blog for the Romantic National Song Network about the Our Subversive Voice project and its relevance to the Network's interests. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://rnsn.glasgow.ac.uk/about-the-project/ |
Description | Concert of English Protest Songs |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | We worked with The Carnival Band to create a programme of songs from our list, and to adapt them to the needs of contemporary audiences. This culminated in a show at Cecil Sharp House in London, the home of the English Folk Dance and Song Society. The show attracted 250 people. Another iteration of our exhibition was installed and booklets distributed as well as a special fold out song sheet with historical information about the songs. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Dash Arts podcast on the protest song |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Professor John Street took part in a discussion of the role and importance of the protest song. The podcast was the first in a series on political song. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://www.dasharts.org.uk/podcast-protest-songs |
Description | Electric Voice Theatre in Conway Hall. Flowers of the Seasons: Politics, Power & Poverty |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Electric Voice Theatre and Oskar Jensen delivered an informal evening of songs, poetry and story-telling at Conway Hall's historic Library, celebrating the music of Eliza Flower (1803-1846) in the context of her contemporaries, Franz Schubert and Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel. This was a unique opportunity to hear her work performed for at least 100 years. The performance was accompanied by a display of rarely seen archival materials from Conway Hall. Electric Voice Theatre and Oskar Jensen introduced Flower's life - her politics and her music - with songs for the seasons, dramatic hymns and powerful protest songs. It provided an opportunity to discover her interpretations of the works contemporary writers like Sir Walter Scott and her frequent collaborators, radical feminist Harriet Martineau, and her sister, the poet Sarah Flower Adams who is best known for penning the hymn Nearer My God To Thee. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
URL | https://www.conwayhall.org.uk/whats-on/event/flowers-of-the-seasons/ |
Description | Exhibition at UEA Library |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
Results and Impact | We staged an exhibition in the UEA library that illustrated the history of the English protest song |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Flowers of Spring: a podcast about Eliza Flower |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Flowers of Spring from Electric Voice Theatre's series Women of Science & Music: 30 Celebrations. It represents a snippet of a much longer conversation about Eliza Flower's music between our artistic director, Frances M Lynch and music historian, Oskar Jensen. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
URL | https://soundcloud.com/electricvoicetheatre |
Description | Interview for regional news package |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | A 10 minute item on BBC East Politics and BBC Norfolk News reported on the project and on the wider culture of song in East Anglia. It featured an interview with project PI John Street and. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00143n2 |
Description | Interview on Radio Norfolk |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Interviewed on Radio Norfolk discussion programme about the relationship between rhetorical eloquence and political protest, including political song. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Interview with Outside Left Magazine |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Project RA Oskar Cox Jensen was interviewed by Outside Left magazine and a story published introducing the project, discussing the ways in which music affects politics and some examples. This led to a reciprocal dialogue, with the interviewer going on to contribute a constructive output to our website. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://outsideleft.com/main.php?updateID=2187 |
Description | Interview with Times Radio |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Interview of project PI John Street, about music and politics, broadcast on Times Radio, 16 May 2021 |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Is It Better to Be an Optimist or a Pessimist? |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Writer, historian and BBC New Generation Thinker Oskar Jenson explored the art of English protest song and how we can consider the roles optimism and pessimism play in this form of political communication. Should we be pessimistic about the fact that some issues raised in political songs of the past are still present in society today? Or should we be optimistic and empowered by the power of the people to organise in this way? Jenson discusses what politics might be without protest song - and how we might be able to measure their success. He explored the two rhetorical traditions of communicating political messages in song. One tradition is that of denunciation and the calling out of political wrongs, which might include abolitionist songs of the 1780s and 90s, anti-war songs like 'Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye' or Anohni's 2016 eco-protest song '4 Degrees'. Another rhetorical tradition of protest song is the offering of alternative solutions. Songs that might come under this remit are Diggers' songs of the English Civil War, socialist anthems by the likes of William Morris, Edward Carpenter and Edith Nesbit, or 20th-century classics such as Sam Cooke's 'A Change Is Gonna Come'. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
URL | https://www.bristolideas.co.uk/watch/oskar-jenson-protest-song/ |
Description | Magazine article on the Our Subversive Voice project |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Dr Oskar Cox Jensen was interviewed by Outside Left magazine about the Our Subversive Voice project. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://outsideleft.com/main.php?updateID=2187 |
Description | Media Contribution |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Discussion of the project with PI John Street, Co-I Angela McShane and RA Oskar Cox Jensen. Broadcast on BBC Radio Norfolk as part of the programme "Common Lot Tuesday Takeover" on 18th January 2022. The Common Lot are a Norwich based theatre group and the programme was one event which led to a deeper partnership with them. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Media Contribution |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Interview with project PI John Street on Greatest Hits Radio, promoting the project and the web-based resource, on 12 January 2022 |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://planetradio.co.uk/greatest-hits/norfolk/news/protest-song-exhibit-norwich/ |
Description | Media Contribution |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Interview and report on the project and on developing collaboration with the theatre company The Common Lot, featuring project PI John Street, printed in the Eastern Evening News and Eastern Day Press, 8th Feb. 2022. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://www.eveningnews24.co.uk/news/songs-of-hope-and-protest-8665604 |
Description | Our Subversive Voice Website |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | The website OurSubversiveVoice.com is both a research database and a public-facing resource promoting public understanding of the history, theory and analysis of the interaction between politics and music. The website makes available information about 750 protest songs from English history, offering introductory context, lyrics and searchable tags. In addition it hosts short public facing reports on the research findings, essays and commentary from people beyond the project team and a growing series of interviews with practitioners and researchers. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | http://oursubversivevoice.com |
Description | Participation in Broadside Day 2021 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
Results and Impact | A presentation by Dr Oskar Cox Jensen (SRA) and Dr Angela McShane (CoI) on Our Subversive Voice, explaining the project and its aims, and soliciting suggestions for our list of 750 English protest songs. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://www.efdss.org/images/present/Docs/Library/BroadsideDay2021.pdf |
Description | Participation in Broadside Day 2022 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
Results and Impact | The occasion was used to introduce the website and to highlight some of the key themes of the research. The participants from the project were Dr Oskar Cox Jensen, Professor Alan Finlayson and Dr Angela McShane. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://www.efdss.org/images/present/library/BroadsideDay2022programme.pdf |
Description | Participation in Podcast |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Project PI John Street was interviewed and the interview included as part of a podcast produced by the Dash Arts Theatre Company. The topic was protest song and in particular the history and uses of The Internationale. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Performances and Talks at Latitude Festival 2022 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | The project team were involved in a number of activities at Latitude Festival. These included: Three talks (about (1) where protest songs come from; (2) songs of anti-slavery; (3) songs about Englishness), a special Q&A event at Latitude's 'Listening Post' tent and four performances from The Common Lot (further impacting them and their theatre practices, helping them cement these works in their regular repertories). |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://oursubversivevoice.com/voice/osv-at-latitude-festival/ |
Description | Podcast: Music and politics: the protest song |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Tami Gadir talked to John Street about his AHRC project "Our subversive voice: the history and politics of the English protest song". After discussing this 400-year history, John also addressed to what extent culture has political utility, and whether the cultural turn was a reasonable or reactionary response to the as-yet-unfulfilled promise of revolution. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
URL | https://soundofsolidarity.podbean.com/e/music-and-politics-the-protest-song/ |
Description | Radio discussion of protest song and classical music |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Dr Oskar Cox Jensen took part of a discussion for In Tune (BBC Radio 3) of classical music and the protest song, drawing on examples from Our Subversive Voice (Ethel Smyth, Benjamin Britten, Michael Tippett) |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0015m4v |
Description | Radio discussion of the phenomenon of the protest song |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Professor Alan Finlayson and Dr Oskar Cox Jensen discussed the history of the English protest song with the group Stick in the Wheel on Noods Radio. OSV also supplied a playlist for the show, which was titled 'A Protest Music Special'. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://noodsradio.com/shows/from-here-w-stick-in-the-wheel-protest-song-special-12th-april-22 |
Description | Radio discussion of the protest song |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Dr Oskar Cox Jensen took part in a discussion of protest song and song as political violence on Talk Back on BBC Radio Ulster |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Songs of Hope and Protest |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Six free performances were given of the show 'Songs of Hope and Protest', which lasted c70 minutes, in various public parks and outdoor spaces in Norwich in June 2022. Two further, shorter performances were given at the Latitude Festival in July 2022. In the autumn, two further short performances were given in Norwich city centre. More than 3000 people attended these shows. Audience members also received copies of a booklet that we produced to provide further background on the project and on the show. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://oursubversivevoice.com/voice/creating-songs-of-hope-and-protest-a-diary/ |
Description | The Protest song Before Protest |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Oskar Jensen discusses the protest song as part of a festival in Newcastle on early music. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=tiftRuCI7j0 |
Description | Voice of the People: Embodiment, Collectivity and Power |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | This event, held at the Whitechapel Gallery, explored how collective songs and chants work as expressions of group solidarity and political protest. Alan Finlayson discussed the history and politics of the protest song, Ananya Kabir considered the synergy of voices, bodies, and movement found in processions, Noreen Masud explored collectivity in voicing puppetry and Rory Pilgrim reflected on voice and activism in relation to their practice. The discussion is chaired by Matthew Taunton. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
URL | https://www.whitechapelgallery.org/events/the-voice-of-the-people/ |