Walls Come Tumbling Down: The Music and Politics of Rock Against Racism, 2 Tone and Red Wedge

(Paperback)

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Walls Come Tumbling Down charts the pivotal period between 1976 and 1992 that saw politics and pop music come together for the first time in Britain's musical history; musicians and their fans suddenly became instigators of social change, and 'the political persuasion of musicians was as important as the songs they sang'. Through the voices of campaigners, musicians, artists and politicians, Daniel Rachel follows the rise and fall of three key movements of the time: Rock Against Racism, 2 Tone, and Red Wedge, revealing how they all shaped, and were shaped by, the music of a generation. Composed of interviews with over 150 of the key players at the time, Walls Come Tumbling Down is a fascinating, polyphonic and authoritative account of those crucial sixteen years in Britain's history.

Reviews

A triumphant oral history of Rock Against Racism, 2 Tone and Red Wedge ... a tale of resistance: first, against a surge of racism and bigotry that an inspired group of activists and musicians played a key role in rolling back; and then against a government, as the same spirit of defiance quickly resurfaced in opposition to the social revolutions of Thatcherism ... a vivid portrait Guardian Charts punk, 2 Tone and then Red Wedge's subsequent battle for a multicultural Britain in a brilliant account of the period Q Magazine By the Eighties rock had grown a conscience, and Walls Come Tumbling Down, charts how, in the late Seventies and Eighties, musicians became engaged in struggled surrounding race, gender, sexuality and class Choice This incredible oral history tells the movement's story plus the rise of 2 Tone and Red Wedge, through a phenomenal range of voices - Billy Bragg, Jerry Dammers, Rhoda Dakar, Pauline Black et all all provide great insight Mojo It's a testament both to the topic and to Daniel Rachel's organisation of the material that even at 640 pages Walls Come Tumbling Down feels like the opening volume of a much longer history. This majestic work at once confirms and opens up a familiar but often forgotten series of moments in the relationship between music and politics in the UK ... as always, the delight is in the details, and, finally, the glory of something so amateurish yet passion-driven coming together to change hearts and minds Wire

Author Bio

Daniel Rachel was born in Solihull in the summer before The Beatles announced their break-up. He wrote his first song when he was sixteen and was the lead-singer in Rachels Basement, which he formed in his early twenties. In 2001, he released his debut solo album, A Simple Twist Of Folk, on Dust Records, followed in 2006 by A Taste Of Money. Daniel is a specialist in Forum Theatre direction and lives in north London with his partner and three children.