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Following the untimely death of Alistair Hulett in January of this year, this and future issues of the Gallows Rant come to you via his wife, Fatima Uygun, continuing Alistair’s long-standing tradition of keeping his friends and fans around the globe abreast of what’s happening with regard to his music and those political issues about which he was passionate. Alistair has left us with a wonderful legacy in the form of his writing, his recordings and the widespread influence he had through his activism on behalf of many very worthy social causes. His family, friends and comrades are honoured to keep his memory alive in every way possible, so if you have any news or information that you feel should be included in the Gallows Rant, please write to alistair.hulett@googlemail.com. ALISTAIR’S FUNERAL This was held at the Linn Crematorium in Glasgow on 5 February, 2010, followed by a rousing reception at Langside Halls, where Alistair’s great political hero, John Maclean, held his rallies around the time of the First World War. Grateful thanks must go to all those who helped organise and those who contributed to such a wonderful send-off for a much-loved man. Performers included Dave Swarbrick, Alasdair Roberts, Adam McNaughtan and David Lindsay. Graeme Cumming was an eloquent and sincere celebrant, while other speakers included Alison Hulett, John Hamill and Jimmy Ross. Special thanks go to Beth Armstrong who filmed the service and to the hundreds of people who came from far and wide to farewell Alistair so fittingly. The reception at Langside Halls was spectacularly organised, decorated and catered for by the Govanhill Baths Community Trust. Thank you to all the musicians who performed, including Rory McLeod, The Swing Guitars, Mick West, Gavin Livingstone, Nancy & James Fagan, and to all those who spoke so sincerely and movingly about the influence Alistair had on so many lives. OBITUARIES These are all available on the Alistair’s Facebook tribute page (Alistair Hulett Tribute) set up by Tim Anderson, about whom Alistair wrote Roaring Jack’s much-quoted song, ‘Framed’. These obituaries will soon be posted on alistairhulett.com, but in the meantime you can click on any of the links below: 1. The Guardian 2. The Herald Scotland 3. The Scotsman 4. Sydney Morning Herald 5. Socialist Alternative 6. Socialist Worker 7. Folk Radio UK 8. Living Tradition 9. Green Left Weekly TRIBUTES MUSIC DELI On 5 February, 2010, Paul Petran devoted an hour-long tribute to Alistair on ABC National Radio’s, Music Deli. The program was compiled from many previous sessions recorded by the ABC, including several interviews and on-air performances by Alistair of some of his most memorable songs. http://www.abc.net.au/rn/musicdeli/stories/2010/2807894.htm
SOCIALIST ALTERNATIVE, SYDNEY On Sunday 14 February, 2010, a tribute concert was held at The Gaelic Club in Sydney, organised by the Socialist Alternative. Performers included John Warner, Margaret Walters, Darren Whitaker, Jenny Fitzgibbon, Steph Miller, Rex Havoc, Ken Stewart, Colin Charlton, Miguel Heatwole and Cathy Rytmeister. Diane Fieldes was MC for the event, which is ably documented by Jo Mettam in the following write-up: http://www.sa.org.au/culture-and-reviews/2595-memorial-for-alistair-hulett-held-in-sydney.
ROMA, ITALIA On 27 March, 2010, a tribute concert was held in Rome at the Hamish Henderson Folk Club. The event included: readings by Carlo Costa and Lorenzo Teodonio, authors of the book about the Black Partisan, 'Razza Partigiana, Stovia di Giorgio Marincola’ (1923-1945); a speech by the great Guido Bellachioma; songs from Angelo ‘Sigaro’ Corsi, lead singer from Banda Bassotti; Pino Mereu; and Alison Adam. The concert was filmed and will be available soon on Alistair’s website.
HOBART Thanks to Roger Joseph, a tribute concert was held at the New Sydney Hotel, featuring Peter Hicks and John Gaitens, The Grassroots Union Choir, Twice Bitten and Trouvers. $472 was raised for the Alistair Hulett Memorial Fund (see below).
NATIONAL FOLK FESTIVAL, CANBERRA Margaret Walters and a group of friends including Chris Maltby, Prue Cancian and Mary-Jane Leahy took over the usually acoustic/trad style chorus singing session on Easter Sunday night and – with minimal publicity – attracted about 200 people to a four-hour event dedicated to Alistair. About 50 songs were sung altogether (over 90% of them written by Alistair), performed by over 30 different singers. By all accounts it was a wonderful tribute to Alistair’s music and his life.
THE SCALLYWAG SHOW Barnacle Brian has produced a really great podcast dedicated to the works of “the Roaring Jack front man, the late great Alistair Hulett (and a bloody nice guy in person) – lots or rare stuff for the hardcore fan and a great intro if you’re new to the music of the Australian Pogues.” You can download/listen to the podcast by logging onto: http://thescallywagshow.libsyn.com or http://www.shitenonions.com
GREGSON LANE FOLK CLUB A big thank you to the Gregson Lane Folk Club, Preston England, in particular to Graham Dixon, for the tribute they staged on 8 April 2010. The event contributed £80:00 to the Alistair Hulett Memorial Fund (see below). RORY McLEOD Rory McLeod, who was not only one of the pallbearers at Alistair’s funeral but also brought the house down with his performance at the reception that followed, has included a tribute song to Alistair on his soon-to-be-released CD, ‘Swings and Roundabouts’. This will be available for purchase from 1 May, 2010 on Rory’s website http://www.rorymcleod.com. UPCOMING EVENTS SYDNEY – MEMORIAL/TRIBUTE AT THE VANGUARD 2 May 2010, from 6pm This Memorial/Tribute to Alistair Hulett, organised by his wife, family and friends at The Vanguard, 42 King Street, Newtown, will celebrate Alistair’s life and musical legacy. The event will include performances by: Roaring Jack There will be no charge for admission, but those wishing to attend must email John Cass on john@thevanguard.com.au to request a booking (giving names of those attending and a contact phone number). Priority for the table seating downstairs on the same level as the stage will be given to those people who book for dinner. Other seating will be available upstairs on the mezzanine level. The Vanguard has made the venue available at no charge, but in return, guests are encouraged to order drinks and food on the night to help cover John’s costs of staffing and catering for the event. The more structured, acoustic part of the evening will be from 6pm to 7:30pm. Martin Pearson will be the MC and Tim Anderson and others will share their memories of Alistair. After a break for dinner and socialising, the various bands and singers will perform sets for the rest of the night until late. For any further information please email Alison Hulett on hulettpopov@mac.com.
GLASGOW – STAR FOLK CLUB Thursday 13 May, 2010. This concert by a group of people who have a long association with The Star – and who were also Alistair's pals – will be a personal tribute to a man who was a dearly loved friend of the club. For more information contact http://www.starfolkclub.com/star_gig_guide.htm
NEWTONGRANGE, SCOTLAND – MAY DAY SOCIAL & CELEBRATION Saturday 1 May, 2010, 7.30pm till Late. Organised by the Midlothian Trades and Labour Council at Dean Tavern in Newtongrange, this event will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the formation of the Council. The social will also pay tribute to folk artist, Alistair Hulett. For details, contact Jonsen Green jon45sen@yahoo.co.uk ALISTAIR HULETT MEMORIAL FUND This initiative will be launched at the Sydney Memorial/Tribute to be held on May 2 at The Vanguard (see above). The aim of the Fund will be to: • support, develop and nurture musicians involved in social justice issues; and • support musicians in need. This will be achieved through grants, donations; the presentation of concerts and recitals; and the production of recorded and published music. All future proceeds from the sale of Alistair’s CDs and merchandise, as well as royalties from his music, will go towards this fund. If anyone is interested in donating to this registered charity, please email Fatima Uygun at alistair.hulett@gmail.com. Further details of the Fund will shortly be available on www.alistairhulett.com. OTHER UPCOMING INITIATIVES ALISTAIR’S MUSIC ON iTUNES Full albums and individual tracks from all of Alistair’s CDs (including some rare and out-of-print) will soon be available for purchase/downloading on iTunes. Further details will be posted on www.alistairhulett.com. T-SHIRTS & BAGS ON SALE A “Roaring Jack Tribute to Alistair Hulett 2010” t-shirt is available for $15 AUD and a “Smoke of Innocence” bag for $10 AUD. Both will be on sale at the Sydney Tribute on May 2 at The Vanguard, and afterwards via Alistair’s website www.alistairhulett.com. All proceeds will go towards the Alistair Hulett Memorial Fund. TRIBUTE CD COMING SOON!! Further details will be announced at the Sydney Tribute on May 2 at The Vanguard and afterwards via Alistair’s website www.alistairhulett.com. All proceeds will go towards the Alistair Hulett Memorial Fund. GRATEFUL THANKS ... to everyone who has contributed to celebrating the music of Alistair Hulett, and a special thank you to Linda Leib from DragonFire Design for building and maintaining Alistair’s website. Also to Andy Carr from Roaring Jack Archives for his unstinting support and hard work on behalf of all Roaring Jack fans. Alistair’s friend John Hamill is compiling an archive of all audio, video, photographs ect. If you have anything you would like to add to this archive please contact John at johnhamill54@googlemail.com or send to John Hamill To stop receiving The Gallows Rant, just send us back a cheery ‘Please Delete Me Let Me Go’. If you’ve had this newsletter forwarded by a friend and want future copies sent direct to your own inbox, send an email message with the subject line ‘Rush Me A Rant’ to alistair.hulett@gmail.com and be sure to include your country of residence for the sake of keeping the mailing list nice and tidy. Please do visit the two Alistair Hulett websites at www.alistairhulett.com and www.folkicons.co.uk then drop into The Roaring Jack Archives on www.roaringjack.com as well as The Malkies smart new website at www.themalkies.co.uk
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For all bookings contact Alistair Hulett at alistair.hulett@googlemail.com |
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