MAY DAY

It's May Day so why not 'The Internationale'?

This acoustic folk rendition is by Alistair Hulett with Jimmy Gregory on backup vocals.

Sadly Alistair Hulett died of cancer in January last year in Glasgow, where he was born. He was 58 years old.

He has a New Zealand connection as he and his family moved to New Zealand - and to Christchurch - in 1968 and, although still only in his teens, he quickly becaame a 'hit' on the local folk circuit.

According to this Guardian obituary:

He initially regarded Christchurch as a cultural backwater, and was furious at being forced to wear a uniform at Christchurch Boys' High School, though he soon became something of a sensation at the Christchurch folk club because of his extensive knowledge of British folk music.

He told one friend that Christchurch was 'filled with proper English ladies wearing white gloves.'

He spent some years in Australia and formed the Sydney-based band Roaring Jack, who were seen as Australia's answer to the Pogues, with a line-up of electric guitar, drums and accordion. Roaring Jack were a determinedly socialist band and, in their music, highlighted issues of concern to Australian workers.

Said Hulett: 'We took the very hard-edged political tone that was characteristic of punk at that time.'

He was a revolutionary socialist and his politics were forged during the two years he spent in India. According to his sister he was greatly affected by the huge divide he saw between India's poor and its wealthy elite.

For Hulett the choice was clear - either the overthrow of capitalism or a world reduced to barbarism.

In 1997 he returned to Glasgow and continued to perform and record his music. He also regularly toured North America, Australia and New Zealand.

You can download this song at beemp3.com