MUSIC FOR SOCIALISM (MFS) is a Hackneybased group who are breaking out from their local base to organise the music for the 1 May festival in Victoria Park. They've put together a wide range of radical bands - Talisman, Tour de Force, Ivory Coasters, Morons and To the Finland Station. It will be interesting to see whether the politics comes across Rock Against Racism/Anti Nazi League carnivals. Rock Against Racism (RAR) and No Nukes Music are broad based in their approach to music.
Simon Lockwood spoke to Jane MFS.
Tell MFS came from.
About three years ago we started as Hackney RAR to put on name bands at local venues to push the politics across. our experiences in RAR we became TOL moTe politicised and as this hapour approach became apDarent First we felt that weren't getting any politics There was also a problem Witn bands wno were still into the stardom We weren't confident Take onl their role as 'stars'.
So the bands weren't being co-operative Towers me aims RAR?
Yes, but the aims of RAR were not well defined. The vanus nouzne cy were doing their bit for antius. They thought for us to take them other issues was just nit-picking We were always in a defensive position.
So it's fair to say that you found it necessary to prioritise anti-sexism over anti-racism?
The welch involved always found RAR anyway, but the antisexism Lne men developed through seeing industry.
THE CONFLICT between Britain and Argentina points up the importance of an understanding of imperialism. As Lenin Revolutionary Proletariat and the Right of Nations Self-Determination, revolutionaries must be 'that division of nations into oppressor and oppressed, which forms the essence of imperialism, and is deceitfully evaded by the social-chauvinists 'This division angle of bourgeois pacifism or the philistine Utopia of peaceful dependent nations under capitalism, Swells, Oxy and the more effectively than at the grander But MFS seem to have a critique.
Watt from This obviously contrasts heavily with the current approach of RAR where their expensive black artists orter have dubious attitudes? Yes. MFS may not be getting huge bands but we're in a position to be positive about what we are doing.
So MFS would only put on bands who were Very definitely. We are not putting on each g1g to.
campaign rather than setting ourselves up as a little group pure ideals. Rather than organising gigs as straight benefits we encourage the campaign to be involved throughout the gig as a focus.
the audience TOCCLON nave you been successful in Yeah, we put out leaflets breaking down mechanics of the gig, demystifying People read them and ask about MFS.
Because much more selective the al" mosphere of the gigs. much less oppressive. Instead of pandering to the whims of rock stars. with providing the sandwiches and the heroworship, we are setting out evening's, entertainseen as of the same imporexplained in The the starting point for is not significant from the competition among inbut it is lance To get away from the male band format wee using theatre groups, poets and comeulalls Do you think that the RAR carnivals weren't Ine siecess they were made out to be?
with the circles that control the whole of that country's economic and political life.
important to be able to distinguish between countries and those that are pawns of the mocialisi. between an imperialist power and a semicolonia country even one suffering under a brutal dictatorship tionaries take the side of the oppressed nation. Definitely. People largely just went along to see the bands. I think there was a lot of self-delusion on the left. It was assumed that because people went to see The Clash al a RAR gig they automatically became politicised — which is a lot of rubbish! You're talking about image, the way rock stars diminish the politics of an event.
Yes, we also want to fight how bands act on stage When The Clash appeared acted the role of Hicca slals Very macho. We wouldn't book bands who acted in a macho way on stage.
Are any MFS members pollical organisation?
We're mostly members of Music for socialism has the ideas to make an important conconsistent defence of the oppressed. The First International Conference for the Fourth the Trotskyist organisation, held in 1936, stated in an antiwar resolutribution politica culture in this country ove the next few years. It'll ba develonmenting tore e development. toria Park gig kicks off a 2pm on 1 May and goes or to 8.30mmfor our other smaller benefits.