PASS ME THE BUCKET
When you look back at the punk explosion of the 1970s and some of the healthy, gutsy agit-prop pop and the Tory-infested, wide-shouldered 80s, your mind wanders even further back to the 1960s when my fading generation found their political direction. We knew from our Marx and Trotsky that the notion of monarchy in a modern, progressive world was a brainless bit of costly, antiquated frippery society could well do without. And thus the pop stars of a certain bent bared their chests against the fawning, subservient society and its royal arse-lickers of Fleet Street.
But rock stars became millionaires, (or, in Bono’s case, billionaires) and as their fortunes rose, their republican sentiments fell by the wayside. Bono aims to ‘make poverty history’ by associating with the duplicitous, cash-hungry Blairs. Today, we hear that arch uber-punk Adam Ant ‘really likes’ the Queen “I think she secretly loves rock’n’roll – she’s cool…” and even John ‘Country Life Butter’ Lydon now backtracks about his God Save The Queen lyrics. Who knows, John, back track far enough and the way things are going, you could get an MBE or OBE. Sell enough butter and you might get into the House of Lords. Prescott did it just by eating enough.
And here’s what Billy Bragg, he of the Red Wedged-Clenched Fist Socialist posture had to say, when he’d had the galling effrontery to re write the fine words of Fredric Schiller for a performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony: (naturally, he met the Queen after the performance at the Festival Hall and shook hands).The simple truth is that although I am a Left-winger, I have never described myself as a republican. I've always felt that campaigning against the monarchy distracts us from addressing the issue of where the power really lies in this country.
Back in the Eighties when I fronted the Labour-supporting movement Red Wedge, I had a spat with the band The Housemartins over this very issue. They refused to join Red Wedge because we would not come out in favour of abolition of the monarchy.
I hit back with an article in Well Red, our house magazine, in which I argued that it would make a much greater contribution to altering the balance of power in this country if we abolished the House of Lords and replaced it with a democratically elected upper chamber - a view I still hold. ( THIS IS ALSO THE MAN WHO HAD THE TEMERITY TO RE-WRITE THE INTERNATIONALE!)
The tendrils and tentacles of the Establishment slither between the cheques and the banknotes and clutch these people by their necks, choking the rebellion from them and bringing them to their lickspittle knees. What a shower; the Jubilee Crowd, another branch of moneyed, British Royalty – unctuous Tory Gary Barlow, the usual glory gang – Annie Lennox, Elton John, even McCartney, almost absolved for at least being a Beatle (would John Lennon have been there? Probably) a decent comedian, Lee Mack, compering. Pass me the bucket. This Roman Saturnalia, this foul and cynical display of 21st century Bread and Circuses, this ignoble breed, this septic isle. I’m so glad I don’t have many years ahead, yet sad that I’ll die in a country where dreams are crushed and our icons so readily crumble. Shame on the lot of you.
