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Old Fruitmarket

A hand-drawn benefit gig poster, listing Donovan, Gallagher & Lyle and the JSD Band as playing in aid of the Upper Clyde Shipbuilders’ celebrated work-in of 1971-2, highlights folk musicians’ vital supporting role in the campaign – which also famously elicited a £1000 donation from John Lennon and Yoko Ono. While shop steward Jimmy Reid may be best remembered for his “no hooliganism, no vandalism, no bevvying” admonition, another excerpt from his announcement of the work-in resounds still louder: “We refuse to accept that faceless men, or any group of men in Whitehall or anywhere else, can take decisions that devastate our livelihoods with impunity. They’re not on.” This special commemorative concert, 40 years after the unions’ landmark victory, includes appearances from Arthur Johnstone, David Hayman, James Grant, Tom Leonard, Jimmie MacGregor and Alasdair MacDonald, as well as a specially-commissioned work from composer Eddie McGuire, featuring the Whistlebinkies, the saxophone quartet Sax Ecosse and the young horns ensemble Alba Brass.

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