Trade Union Choir celebrates anniversary

by Kylie Salisbury

On Saturday June 16 the Sydney Trade Union Choir (SDTUC) celebrated its 
10th anniversary with a concert at the Loaded Dog Folk Club. The 
performance was recorded and a CD of this special event will be released 
shortly.

The Choir of 24 voices gave a stirring and polished performance of 22 songs 
to the rapt applause and cheers of a packed audience, many of whom stood 
throughout the three-hour performance.

Special guests John Warner and Margaret Walters introduced the evening with 
a short bracket of topical songs. Their moving song about migrant children 
outworkers in Melbourne, their MUA song, and their tribute to child care 
workers were particularly well received.

Some of the songs the Sydney Trade Union Choir performed on the night are 
very new — for example the "Nike" song written by Cathy Bloch in September 
last year. Another song "The Eight Hour Day" by John Warner, was performed 
for the first time on the night.

Archie Roach gave the Choir permission to perform his autobiographical 
testament "Took the Children Away", which was appropriately accompanied by 
the unfurling of a "Sorry" banner.

Other modern classics by Maurie Mulheron ("Four Strong Women"), Woody 
Guthrie ("Union Maid"), Tommy Makem ("Four Green Fields") and Billy Bragg 
("Power in a Union") were all superbly performed by a choir whose complex 
harmonics and clear diction match their obvious political commitment and 
activism.

All the songs performed are directly related to the struggles of the 
working people around the world, and many of them have been perfected 
through performances at rallies and demonstrations.

"The Scabs Crawl In", a parody of the "worms crawl in" is a delightful, 
pointed, never-ending loop of a song ideal for picket lines and 
demonstrations where impromptu topical verses can be added.

Another song, "Stand Together", was written by Bernard Carney in the mid-
1990s as a crowd singalong number to protest against the draconian "third 
wave" industrial relations legislation introduced by the Court Government 
in WA. It was sung at mass demonstrations and at the celebrated Workers' 
Embassy in the vacant car park near the WA Parliament House.

For the audience in the crowded room in Annandale, the urgency and vibrancy 
of such struggles was perfectly captured, both by the song lyrics and by 
the committed, enthusiastic performance of the Choir.

Perhaps the most stirring moment of the evening came when the Choir sang 
the eternal working-class anthems "Solidarity Forever", "The Red Flag" and 
"The Internationale" in startlingly new and vibrant arrangements.

Pete Seeger's view of such classics is quoted in the Souvenir Programme for 
the night: "I decided there's one thing worse than banning a song, and 
that's making it official". There is nothing "official" about the STUC's 
version of any of these — the songs are as subversive, relevant, stirring 
and challenging as they must have been when they were first sung.

Nkosi Sikelel'iAfrica.

The STUC regularly performs this song in honour of the millions of Africans 
who routinely and defiantly sang it when, being caught singing this song, 
meant arrest or imprisonment without trial or torture or even death.

It was a particularly appropriate inclusion in the anniversary concert 
because it has been such a moving, regular item in STUC performances over 
the 10 years and because the evening was coincidentally the 25th 
anniversary of the Soweto Massacre.

My other favourite was "The Ballad of 1891", Doreen Bridges' superb three-
part choral work about the 1891 shearers' strike.

The programme notes state that the song "was the first substantial song the 
Choir learned, 10 years ago. It is still one of our firmest favourites" and 
that feeling communicates very clearly to the audience.

The evening was a superb reminder of how important such a Choir is in the 
political life of a community. It sings of our historic struggles, it 
entertains and lifts our spirits, it accompanies our current struggles, it 
inspires and politicises.

Conductor Tom Bridges is to be congratulated on creating a cohesive and 
polished musical ensemble and Tom and the Choir are to be applauded for 10 
years of great music and unswerving political activism.

If you missed the concert you missed a memorable and historic occasion. 
However, you can still enjoy the performance and support the STUC by buying 
the CD recorded on the night.

To order the CD contact:
Paula on (02) 9665 0559 or Silvia on (02) 9790 0280.