Project Type: Music / CDs and Cassettes

All the songs on this CD have been selected from three productions that Banner Theatre toured between 2014-2018. The shows told the stories of different campaigns being waged against the attacks on publically funded education both in the UK and the US. 

1. GERM

Interview clip: Jon Hegerty, NUT Organiser

2. Downhills School Song

Interview clip: Louise Woodhead, Parent and Downhills Primary School Governor

3. Eyes On The Prize 

4. Which Side? 

Interview clip: Becky Everett, UNISON Derby Teaching Assistant

5. Derby TAs

Interview clips: Jayne Daniels and Kate Walker, UNISON Derby Teaching Assistants

6. Rise, Rise, Rise

7. Mr Grey

Interview clip: Tara Stamp, Teacher and Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) Member

8. SOJO

Interview clip: Katy Hogan, Teacher and CTU Member

9. Student Rap 

Interview clip: Karen Canales, SOJO Student

10. We Are The Teachers

Interview clips: Al Ramirez and Gervaise Clay, Teachers and CTU Members;

Jitu Brown, Community Organiser

11. Land Of Milk And Honey 

Interview clip: Brandon Johnson, CTU Organiser

Produced and engineered by Vince Pryce. 

Mastered by Matt Cook.

All songs written by Dave Rogers, with additional lyrics by Vince Pryce on Land of Milk and Honey. All tunes and arrangements created collaboratively.

Banner Theatre Musicians: Rosie Cartlidge, Ember Girling, Anthony Gouldburne, Vince Pryce, Dave Rogers, John Sanderson, Damon Wilding, Fred Wisdom.

Image & jacket design by Dave Walsh.

The company thanks the NEU for its financial support.

All the songs on this CD have been selected from a number of Banner Theatre productions past and present that focused on the effects of austerity, and the gradual and deliberate dismantling of the welfare state, and the NHS in particular. 

Tracks

1. Lewisham Porky Pies 

Interview clip: Anita Downes, Palliative Care Nurse, Lewisham Hospital

2. I Believe In You 

Interview clip: Su Lowe, Health Visitor

3. Broken City 

4. Gold, Greed, Avarice 

Interview clip: Allyson Pollock, Professor of Public Health Research and Policy, Newcastle University

5. I Read The News Today 

Interview clip: Christos, Disabled People Against Cuts

6. Scapegoat

7. Rise, Like Lions 

8. Which Side 

Interview clip: Becky Everett, Teaching Assistant

9. We’re Not Going back 

Interview clip: Elizabeth Ogden, Health Campaigner

10. Milk And Honey 

Produced and engineered by Vince Pryce. 

Mastered by Matt Cook.

All songs written by Dave Rogers, with additional lyrics by Vince Pryce on Land of Milk and Honey. The tunes and arrangements were created collaboratively.

Banner Theatre Musicians: Rosie Cartlidge, Philippa Girling, Anthony Gouldburne, Vince Pryce, Dave Rogers, John Sanderson, Damon Wilding, Fred Wisdom.

Image & jacket design by Dave Walsh.

This CD was born out of a year-long project with firefighters in the West Midlands, Essex and Manchester in 2000-01. This created Black and White in the Red, a touring theatre production based on many hours of interviews with over 50 black and white firefighters, conducted by Dave Rogers and Fred Wisdom. Rogers and Wisdom engaged in many a hot debate around fire station mess tables about issues ranging from fire service culture and recruitment practices, to the MacPherson report on the Stephen Lawrence enquiry, sexism and homophobia, with a primary focus on black experiences in a predominantly white fire service. What emerged was some of the most powerful recorded material that Banner has collected in all its years of creating live theatre and song from direct personal experience.

This CD of nine songs from the show, intercut with the recorded voices of black and white firefighters, powerfully mixes together ska, folk and jazz musical genres.

1. Firefighters
2. Too Much Pressure
3. Son Of A Gun
4. The Blacks Are To Blame
5. I Only Want To Be Me
6. Curtis McLardie
7. Fight Back
8. Down In Alabama
9. Union Banner

Credits

Writing and Research

Black and White in the Red was written as a collaboration between Dave Rogers and Fred Wisdom of Banner Theatre. Dave created the script and song lyrics and Fred composed the music.

Musicians

Thanks to the musicians who helped to make this CD, especially Andy Hamilton, the legendary sax player who first worked with Banner on our 1986 album, Rebellion Rap/Songs of Struggle (1986), and who this time added other members of his band the Blue Notes to the mix.

Banner Musicians:      Dave Rogers (Lead vocals, backing guitar); Fred Wisdom (Guitars, backing vocals); Phil Minal (Drums, percussion)

Guest Musicians:        Andy Hamilton and the Blue Notes (Andy Hamilton:Alto Sax; Andy Peat: Trumpet; Brian Alder: Double bass); Pam Bishop (Concertina); Tim Hubball (Electric bass); Mat Taylor (Sax, penny whistle, clarinet); Scott Matthews (Slide guitar, harmonica); John Johnson (Trombone); Lisa Burrell, Kay Williams, Alex Williams (Backing vocals); and for the first Banner tour of Black and White in the Red, Sarah Richards (Drums and percussion)

Recording and Production

Many thanks to Basil Gabbidon of Steel Pulse fame for producing this CD and bringing his many and varied musical knowledges to feed and nurture this musical collaboration. Also thanks to Ian Stratford of Zip Studios, Wolverhampton, who engineered this CD with great sensitivity and patience.

We would also like to thank Sami Scott who edited most of the sound recordings, Phil Minal who edited the rest and provided the use of his recording studio for the early recording sessions.

Photography

Timothy Allen

Front cover: Kevin Hayes

Pgs. 2, 3, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16: Courtesy of FBU

Sleeve Design by Kevin Hayes

Thanks

Special thanks to all the firefighters, managers, union officials and control staff interviewed for this project and all the many other people in the fire service who helped with publicity, promotion, room hire and unloading the van! Many of their voices are featured on this CD, including: Paul Ahmed, P. Ashby, D. Blaney, Mat Brady, L. Bunman, Carl Calder, Jack Deal, Barry Dixon, Dick Duane, Brian Frazer, Carol Fry, Martin Gallagher, Pete Gallagher, Andy Gilchrist, Dave Glennis, Steve Godward, Samantha Gordon, Paul Greaves, Keith Handscomb, Jagjit Hayer, M. Kennedy, M. Kirby, Mike Lawson, Steve Martell, Curtis McLardie, Helen McLardie, Micky Nicholas, Carl St. Paul, Leroy Philpott, Bob Pounder, T. Richardson, P. Rogers, Gari Savanu, Warren Simpson, Jagtar Singh, Carl Smith, Ronnie Stanley, J. Stuart, J. Thomson, Tennison Turney, Graham Tranquada and A. Watson.

Thanks to the many Banner friends and supporters who made this project possible, and in particular Joyce Canaan, Jacqueline Contré, Maggie Ford, Sophie Partington, Anne Marie Sweeney.

The songs in Elixir of Life are based on the recorded experiences of people on the edge of David Cameron’s “classless” society. David and Goliath is a celebration of the continuation of struggle across different terrains: Palestinian Davids take on Israeli Goliaths; Black people in Soweto defy the South African state; Republican hunger strikers lay down their lives for Irish freedom.

This is a cassette.

Credits

Writing and Research

All songs by Dave Rogers, apart from Blood on the Coal, written by Maria Tolly for a Banner play.

The tape recordings were made by Dave Rogers and Frances Rifkin.

Musicians

Banner Musicians:      Dave Rogers (Vocals, acoustic guitar); Dave Dale (Vocals, acoustic, electric and bass guitars)

Guest Musicians:        Pam Bishop (Concertina); Ron Collins (Drums and percussion); Chris Jones (Electric guitar, bass, keyboard and midi percussion); Katherine Rogers (Alto saxophone and clarinet).

Recording and Production

Originally recorded in 1992 and produced by Chris Jones (Production and programming), Dave Rogers and Dave Dale, at the former Jubilee Arts (now The Public), Sandwell.

Re-mastering 2005: Aidan Jolly, Well Red Productions and Charlie Davis

Photography

Kevin Hayes, Nigel Dickenson, John Sturrock/Network, Republican News.

Sleeve Design by Kevin Hayes

Thanks

Banner would like to thank all the Jubilee workers who helped us make this tape: Gary Stewart, Tony Stanley and Keith Poison, and in particular Chris Jones, who not only took the major role in musical direction and sound engineering, but played on some of the tracks as well.

Banner would also like to thank the following people whose voices we use on the tape: Pet Coleman, Peggy Gilbert, Harold Hancock, Brian Keith, lan Morrison, Ray Patton, Brenda Proctor, Bob Whiskens, and last, and definitely least, George Bush Senior for his incisive and thought-provoking contribution.

Finally, we would like to thank Dave Butler, Joyce Canaan, Jacqueline Contré, John Pymm and Maureen Russell for their support.

This album was conceived to celebrate the launch of Banner Theatre’s First of May Band and to mark the company’s 30th Anniversary celebrations in 2005.

 

The CD, which features songs from both Migrant Voices (2001/2003) and Wild Geese (2005), encapsulates the bitter experiences of migrants the world over, leaving their native lands and loved ones in search of work, refuge and survival. The songs are based on extensive interviews with migrants and refugees and their families, and is a tribute to their courage and resourcefulness in the face of hardship and oppression.

 

1. What’s It All About?
2. Wild Geese
3. Too Much Pressure
4. Payam’s Song
5. Halabja
6. The Great Divide
7. Marsinah
8. I’m A Cook, I’m A Cleaner
9. Mother, Mother
10. Open Borders
11. War

 

Credits

 

Writing and Research

Dave Rogers was primarily responsible for composing all lyrics.

Tunes for Wild Geese, Payam’s Song and Marsinah by Dave Rogers.

Music and arrangements for all other songs created collaboratively by Fred Wisdom, Jilah Bakhshayesh, Dave Rogers and Charlie Davis.

Interview recordings by Dave Rogers and Pervaiz Khan.

 

Musicians

Banner Musicians:      Dave Rogers (Vocals); Fred Wisdom (Guitars, vocals and music direction; Jilah Bakhshayesh (Vocals and violin); Charlie Davis (Vocals)

Guest Musicians:        Ian Reid (Yamaha Bass); Jonathan Crust (Trumpet); Chris Bowden (Alto sax; Ashley Sheehan (Drums)

 

Recording and Production: Charlie Davis. Mastering by Purdy Bhogal

 

Photography: Bruce Coleman (Cover picture of snow geese); Kevin Hayes (First of May Band members)

 

Sleeve Design by Kevin Hayes

 

Thanks

Special thanks to all the many people whose stories were the basis for the songs we wrote, especially Payam Bakhshayesh, Houzan Mahmoud, Jim Arnison and Faisal, Aso, Mohammad and Ayman and the many others who, for their own security, felt unable to leave their names.

Rise Up is a new collection of songs taken from Banner Theatre’s productions: Fighting the Cuts (2010 to 2012) and In A Right State (2013 to 2015).

The songs deliver a punchy soundscape of reggae, rap, folk and blues to lay bare the real story behind the economic crisis, and support the campaign to defend our welfare state.

1. Yes Men (Written by Dave Rogers)
2. Too Big To Fail (Written by Dave Rogers)
3. Bankers’ Blues (Written by Dave Rogers)
4. Entrepreneur (Written by Dave Rogers)
5. War (Written by Dave Rogers and Vince Pryce)
6. Lesley’s Song (Written by Laura Owen-Wright)
7. No Hope Avenue (Written by Dave Rogers)
8. Tax Dodger (Written by Dave Rogers)
9. Rise up (Written by Fred Wisdom)

Credits

Writing and Research

All music by Banner Theatre: Dave Rogers, Fred Wisdom, Vince Pryce and Laura Owen-Wright. Concertina on Yes Men by Pam Bishop.

Additional programming and arrangements by Carl Walters.

Recording and Production

Produced, engineered and mastered by Dean Whiskens and Carl Walters.

Sleeve Design by Noise.

Thanks

Banner Theatre would like to thank Dave Butler, Richard Williams, Matthew Tonks, Stuart Brown, Don Bouzek, Joyce Canaan, Estelle Fisher, Kevin Hayes, Jacqueline Contré, and Banner’s Management Committee.