Festive event celebrates union activist and songwriter
This festive concert has been organised by Sheffield Trades Council in memory of Joe Hill, a famous US union organiser, who died 100 years ago.
Called ‘the troubadour of discontent’, Joe was a well-known activist working for the militant International Workers of the World, nicknamed the ‘Wobblies’.
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Hide AdHis most famous songs were There is Power in a Union, The Rebel Girl and The Preacher and the Slave.
The last song, written in 1911, was a parody of the hymn In the Sweet By-and-By and coined the phrase pie in the sky.
A massive campaign to overturn Joe’s death sentence for the alleged murder of a grocer and his son in Utah failed and he was executed by firing squad in Salt Lake City in November, 1915.
His final rallying cry to fellow workers was: “Don’t waste time mourning, organise!”
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Hide AdPerforming tomorrow night are the UNITE Brass Band, sponsored by Britain’s biggest trade union, and Sheffield Socialist Choir.
They will be joined by Luke Carver Goss, a Sheffield singer and guitarist who is active in Heeley Labour Party.
He has written a song about Joe Hill especially for the event.
Doors open at 6.45pm and tickets on the door cost £6 (£4 concesssions).
The music starts at 7.30pm.
The event is suitable for children.
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Hide AdSheffield Trades Council secretary Martin Mayer said: “It’s Christmas and it’s time to get together for a good seasonal gathering with great music, a comradely atmosphere – and a bit of a political flavour too!”