Liverpool's pride

THE Liverpool Festival of Working Class Music is taking place over this weekend, presenting an almost unrivalled collection of the finest socially aware musicians around.

They are all united in the belief that working class culture must be seen to be prominent during Liverpool's year as European Capital of Culture.

There are too many top musicians to list them all here, but start with Dick Gaugahan, Leon Rosselson, Robb Johnson, Roy Bailey, The Men They Couldn't Hang and Tracey Curtis and you should get the idea.

The event has been organised by Liverpool musician Alun Parry, who will also be performing over the weekend. Parry explains what prompted this hugely ambitious idea.

"I felt that, in the Capital of Culture year, we needed to specifically celebrate Liverpool's proud history of struggle and solidarity and we needed to carry on promoting our alternative media that is musical storytelling," he says.

"The best way I could think of was to bring the very best musical storytellers to the city for a weekend of radical song."

One of the many welcome aspects of the festival has been the enthusiastic support of trade unions, with sponsorship received from the FBU, CWU, Unite, UNISON Liverpool and the North West TUC.

"The support from the unions been crucial. The event couldn't have happened otherwise," says Parry. "I've organised this alone and there's no way I could have taken on that sort of risk as an individual. After all, I'm just a musician myself.

"And, for an event which celebrates working-class struggle, there was never any chance of corporate sponsorship of the kind that some other festivals get."

The near-legendary The Men They Couldn't Hang, described in the festival programme as "stamp yer feet folk rockers," will be headlining on Saturday night.

Front man Swill Odgers is enthusiastic about playing the festival.

"The Men They Couldn't Hang are particularly looking forward to this opportunity to play Liverpool again. The Working Class Music Festival has a fantastic line-up and it's a pleasure to share the stage with such songsmiths," Odgers beams.

"But, more than this, it's the opportunity to play at a festival that is dedicated to the workers of this great city and hopefully raise spirits in these increasingly difficult times."

The event takes place at The New Picket. It opened last year to replace the original Picket, which had to close after a proud 20-year tenure. This was in part due to Liverpool's Capital of Culture status, which, perversely, The Picket had supported enthusiastically.

Looking to the future, I ask Parry what plans he has in mind for this event. "My hope is that the event is well supported to the point that ticket money from this year will guarantee that the festival can take place next year - and then, for next year's ticket money to finance it for the year after. That's my goal. I want Liverpool to be the centre of radical and subversive song and I want the struggle of working people to be celebrated this way every year with our very own festival," he replied.

"The tradition of musical storytelling from the viewpoint of working people is deeply important and the only way to safeguard it is to keep doing it and keep ensuring that we support it. If this festival is supported in 2008, then there will be another such festival in 2009, but it's up to people to come along and back it in sufficient numbers."

So, the way ahead is clear. As with all live music events coming from a progressive background, this festival needs to be supported to ensure that it can continue next year and that working people can again celebrate our struggles and victories in song to a mass audience.

The Liverpool Festival of Working Class Music takes place on Saturday and Sunday at the New Picket, Jordon Street, Liverpool. Visit www.workingclassmusic.org.uk for the full line-up. Saturday night's show starts at 8pm and tickets, priced £12, can be bought on the door. Sunday night's show starts at 7pm and costs £10.