- Lockdown resources
- Info for event organisers
- Other political choirs and singing groups
- Songs and lyrics
- Musicians, singers and songwriters
- Campaigns we have supported
- Other organisations
Do please let us know if you have suggestions for other websites we should link to!
Lockdown resources
The songleaders and others have researched various articles and links to websites which could help people think about how to be active under current restrictions.
Black Lives Matter
- Plaque on Dundas/Melville statue Edinburgh Evening News
- Confronting British historical amnesia Commonweal
- Edinburgh’s part in the slave trade Historic Environment Scotland
- The ‘statue wars’ must not distract us from a reckoning with racism David Olusoga, The Guardian
Hiroshima/Nagasaki Commemoration
August 2020 brings the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; events are being organised to commemorate the date.
- August 2020 events commemorating the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima Peace and Justice
- Anniversary Actions Scottish CND
- A pledge to support the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons and to honour the few remaining hibakusha
There is a Japanese tradition to float lanterns on the water at dusk to commemorate ancestors and in particular those who died in the atomic bomb attacks. This year people are being invited to place a lantern in their window if they can’t take part in a gathering because of social distancing rules. Other suggestions follow here — …..please keep safety as a priority.
- Visual information and display – like the lanterns, also posters / other decorations / placards
- Vigils – in public or private, with or without fasting
- Private or public performances – of poetry / readings / songs
- Virtual talks and workshops – in particular those held locally e.g. see the links above to Edinburgh Peace and Justice Centre and Scottish CND
- Supporting ICAN – help build pressure on the UK to sign the nuclear weapons ban treaty. www.icanw.org
- Craft work – make peace cranes / lanterns / badges / banners
- Die–ins at the times of the bombs – 8.15 on 6th August and 11.01 on 9th August
Whatever you choose to do, take a picture and amplify the impact by sharing on social media and send it to Chris Pearson for the website.
Other issues
This website has a huge bank of information about nonviolent struggles from all over the world. They are categorised in various helpful ways and evaluated according to success criteria. Plenty of inspiration here!
Info for event organisers
Documents helpful for organisers of events
- Event coordinators checklist
Things to bear in mind before, during and after an event.
Political/community choirs and singing groups
- Big Big Sing
Useful list of choirs - Calder Valley Voices
World music songs, with social sensibilities. Gospel, African, East European. - Chechele World Music Choir
York-based acapella choir specialising in singing traditional music from around the world. - Côr Cochion Caerdydd
(Cardiff Reds’ Choir) came together in 1983, when events in Chile, South Africa, and at home in Wales demanded that they use their voices in protest. - Côr Gobaith
Aberystwyth street choir, singing and campaigning for peace and social and environmental justice near and far since 2006. - Harmonise
Edinburgh-based choir. - London Gay Mens Chorus
“Well worth Coming Out for.” - Loud and Proud
Edinburgh’s LGBT Choir. It provides a wonderful opportunity for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their friends to sing and socialise together. - National Street Choir Festival
(formerly the Street Music Festival) - Nottingham Clarion Choir
Formed in 1988 as a result of a project of local musicians to make the vinyl album English Rebels, celebrating the radical traditions in British politics. - Open Community Singing Group
Edinburgh-based singing group led by Penny Stone. Meets weekly on Thursdays from 18.30–20.30 at Eric Liddell centre on Morningside Road. - Out Aloud, Sheffield’s Gay Choir
Out Aloud is Sheffield’s Gay Choir. It was formed in 2006 and enables lesbians, gay men, bisexual and transgendered people in Sheffield to enjoy singing as a community. There are no auditions and you don’t need to be an experienced singer or read music. - Pink Singers
London’s Lesbian and Gay Community Chorus. - Raised Voices
London-based political choir of women and men. - Sangschule
Traditional song group based in Linlithgow, West Lothian. They welcome anybody who enjoys singing with others and who is interested in learning more about the Scottish musical tradition. - Sea Green Singers
an Oxford-based singing group of freedom and green songs. (The group is named after the colour of the ribbons worn by the Levellers, a radical movement within Cromwell’s Model Army.) - Sheffield Socialist Choir
With 60–80 members, they learn and sing songs which reflect the fight for freedom, human rights and justice around the world. - Songworks
A community of singers who meet weekly to sing for the sheer joy of it. They meet at the Columcille Centre, Morningside, Edinburgh - Strawberry Thieves
Political choir based in South-east London. Their site has words, sheet music and midi files for many of their songs. - Velvet Fist
London-based women’s choir. No longer active. - Wildfire
Edinburgh-based group, open to women of all ages and backgrounds who like or want to learn to sing in a collective group. They sing political songs, songs of struggle, peace and freedom as well as Scottish traditional material. Democratic decision making.
Songs and lyrics
- Antiwar songs
A collection of over 3000 pacifist and antimilitarist songs from all over the world and of any time, based on free contributions by readers and collaborators (commentary largely in Italian). - New Songs for Peace
UNESCO-endorsed project is intended to encourage people to think about peace, talk about peace, and write a new song that we will collect and self-publish in a book. - Quakersong
Website of Annie Patterson and Peter Blood, creators of Rise Up Singing, North America’s favorite group singing songbook. - Reclaiming Chants @ Weave and Spin
Lyrics to chants from the Reclaiming pagan activist community, co-founded by Starhawk. - Sing Out
Magazine and resource centre devoted to (mianly north American) folk song. - Songs For Change
A call to songwriters old and new to put into words and music their observations of what’s going on in the world today; to write songs that reflect our times; indeed songs which have the power to change our world. This website is a forum for writers to s - Songs for Environmental Education
Environmental songs! Environmental music! Nature songs! Earth songs! - Songs for the Great Turning
Songs which can be used in the interactive group processes developed by Joanna Macy known as the Work That Reconnects, which facilitates, a shift toward a life-enhancing human presence on planet earth. - Union Songs
Rebel songs, slave songs, songs of freedom, work songs, songs of dissent, songs of struggle, protest songs. They are the work of famous poets as well as men and women whose names have been forgotten.
Musicians, singers and songwriters
- Billy Bragg
- Dick Gaughan
Information about Dick Gaughan, a song library, a full discography with historical and biographical information, reviews, tour schedules, etc. - Holly Near
- Judy Small
Australian singer-songwriter, now a judge - Leon Rosselson
- Littleweed Music
Website of Camilla Cancantata, composer and improviser, who wrote the oratorio “Trident: A British War Crime”, and “Carbon Chronicles”. - Pat Humphries
Writer of Peace, Salaam Shalom and Never Turning Back. - Peggy Seeger
- Sweet Honey in the Rock
- Woody Guthrie
Campaigns we have supported
- Campaign Against Arms Trade
- Gude Cause
Project to commemorate the centenary of the 1909 women’s suffrage march in Edinburgh. - Make Poverty History
The biggest ever anti-poverty movement came together under the banner of MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY in 2005. Great steps forward were made, but the fight against poverty continues.
Other organisations
- Natural Voice Practitioners’ Network
We believe that singing is everyone’s birthright and we are committed to teaching styles that are accepting and inclusive of all, regardless of musical experience and ability. - Political Song Collection
Based at the University of Glasgow: “a major collection of materials relating to political song and songs of social justice. The collection comprises print, manuscript, and audiovisual media, dating from the 18th century to the present day.” - WRPM (Women’s Revolutions Per Minute)
Has supplied music performed, composed and produced by women since 1977. WRPM supports Independent Women Musicians and their catalogue includes recordings by many hard-to-find artists, including Holly Near, Judy Small and Sweet Honey in The Rock.