Daniel Rachel

BBC Radio 5 Up All Night Record Club
2017-02-24 02:00 - 03:00 UTC
New show reappraising 5 star rated classic albums
Episode 1:
The Beatles ‘Revolver’
The Human League ‘Dare’
Join presenter Richard Foster wth special guest contributor Daniel Rachel

The Cinema Museum, film screening with Rhoda Dakar
2017-02-20 19:00 - 21:00
WALLS COME TUMBLING DOWN WITH DANIEL RACHEL
Mon 20 Feb 2017 @ 19:30 · Events

Walls Come Tumbling Down is a new book about the rise of Rock Against Racism, Red Wedge and the Anti Nazi League in the 1970s and 80s.
Author Daniel Rachel will introduce a rare screening of a 40 minute Red Wedge film, Days like These (1986), followed by a Q&A discussing how the whole movement came about, if racism is on the rise again and where Rock Against Racism and Red Wedge are in 2017.
Days Like These features Billy Bragg, Lloyd Cole, The Communards, Junior, Phill Jupitus, Madness, Johnny Marr, Tom Robinson, Paul Weller and many more.
It documents the 1986 Red Wedge tour when chart topping pop stars joined forces on stages across the UK in an attempt to politicise young people and encourage them to vote against Margaret Thatcher in the 1987 general election. Filmmakers from five cities had All Access for seven days – on the tour coach, in dressing rooms and hotel rooms – capturing a sensational line up performing hits and rousing ensemble encores including Curtis Mayfield’s Move On Up and Jimmy Cliff’s Many Rivers To Cross.
Read a Guardian review of the book.
Doors open at 19.00, for a 19.30 start.
Refreshments will be available in our licensed cafe/bar.
TICKETS & PRICING
Tickets £3 on the door

Institute of Historical Research
2017-02-13 17:00 - 19:00
Institute of Historical Research
A talk by Daniel including images and film footage.
Walls Come Tumbling Down. From Rock Against Racism to Red Wedge

Date
13 Feb 2017, 17:30 to 13 Feb 2017, 19:30

Series
Socialist History

Venue
IHR Seminar Room N304, Third Floor, IHR, Senate House, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU
Description
Daniel Rachel,

Contact
IHR Reception
ihr.reception@sas.ac.uk
020 7862 8740

Union Chapel Billy Bragg Book Signing
2017-01-16 19:00 - 23:00
Union Chapel Billy Bragg Book Signing
Daniel will be signing copies of Walls Come Tumbling Down at Billy Bragg’s gig in Islington

Bringing the House Down! in conversation with Billy Bragg
2016-12-08 19:00 - 21:00
Bringing the House Down! Daniel Rachel in conversation with Billy Bragg
Thursday 8th December 19:00 at London – Piccadilly
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.
This will be a very special evening of conversation and music – all welcome!
£5 tickets (redeemable against purchase of the book this evening) are available online, in store, by telephone 020 7851 2400 or by email piccadilly@waterstones.com
London – Piccadilly Waterstones, London – Piccadilly
Thursday 8th December 19:00
£5.00
BOOK TICKETS
BOOK YOUR TICKET TODAY

Broadway Bookshop in conversation with KEN WORPOLE
2016-12-07 19:00 - 21:00
WALLS COME TUMBLING DOWN: A TALK with DANIEL RACHEL in conversation with KEN WORPOLE
Wednesday, 7 December 2016 at 07.00am
We are thrilled to announce that Daniel Rachel, author of WALLS COME TUMBLING DOWN (published by Picador) will be in conversation with writer and historian Ken Worpole at the shop on Wednesday 7 December 2016. Daniel’s remarkable oral history – with contributions from Billy Bragg, Phill Jupitus, Clare Short, Tracy Thorn and many others – charts the years between 1976 and 1992 when ‘politics and pop music [came] together as never before to challenge racism, gender inequality and social and class divisions.’
Tickets £3 (includes glass of wine). For booking please RSVP: books@broadwaybookshophackney.com or call 020 7241 1626. For further information please see below.
About the book:
In August 1976, Eric Clapton made an inflammatory speech in support of Enoch Powell and ‘black’ repatriation, sparking an anti-racism campaign that would soon radicalise an entire generation. The following sixteen years saw politics and pop music come together as never before to challenge racism, gender inequality and social and class divisions. For the first time in UK history, musicians became instigators of social change; and their political persuasion as important as the songs they sang.
Through the voices of campaigners, musicians, artists and politicians, Daniel Rachel charts this extraordinary and pivotal period between 1976 and 1992, following the rise and fall of three key movements of the time: Rock Against Racism, 2 Tone, and Red Wedge, revealing how they both shaped, and were shaped by, the music of a generation.
Consisting of new and exclusive in-depth conversations with over 100 contributors, including Pauline Black, Billy Bragg, Jerry Dammers, Phill Jupitus, Neil Kinnock, Linton Kwesi-Johnson, Tom Robinson, Clare Short, Tracey Thorn and many more, Walls Come Tumbling Down is a fascinating, polyphonic and authoritative account of those crucial sixteen years in Britain’s history, from the acclaimed writer of Isle of Noises.
Walls Come Tumbling Down also features more than 150 images – many rare or previously unpublished – from some of the greatest names in photography, including Adrian Boot, Chalkie Davies, Jill Furmanovsky, Syd Shelton, Pennie Smith, Steve Rapport and Virginia Turbett.
“We were trying to change the world in our tiny way by stopping the rise of fascism amongst youth with the power of music.” – Red Saunders, founder of Rock Against Racism.
‘An amazing oral history’ Billy Bragg
About the author:
Daniel Rachel wrote his first song when he was sixteen and was the lead-singer in Rachels Basement. He was first eligible to vote in the 1992 General Election and now lives in north London with his partner and three children. Daniel is the author of Isle of Noises: Conversations with Great British Songwriters – a Guardian and NME Book of the Year – also published by Picador, and a regular guest contributor on BBC Radio 5.
www.danielrachel.com
Ken Worpole is a writer and social historian, whose work includes many books on architecture, landscape and public policy. He is married to photographer Larraine Worpole with whom he has collaborated on book projects internationally, as well as in Hackney, London, where they have lived and worked since 1969.
Ken is Emeritus Professor, Cities Institute London Metropolitan University, and has served on the UK government’s Urban Green Spaces Task Force, on the Expert Panel of the Heritage Lottery Fund, and as an adviser to the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment.
www.worpole.net

BIMM School London, Isle of Noises masterclass
2016-11-17 18:00 - 20:00

BBC 6 Music with Shaun Keevney Show
2016-11-16 08:45 - 21:30
This programme will be available shortly after broadcast

Author Daniel Rachel joins Shaun
Shaun Keaveny

Shaun is in search of your earworms. What song have you woken with in your head? We’ll play one before the 8am news. Plus, author Daniel Rachel chats about his new book ‘Walls Come Tumbling Down’. The book charts the pivotal period between 1976 and 1992 that saw politics and pop music come together as never before to challenge racism, gender inequality and social and class divisions. Through the voices of campaigners, musicians, artists and politicians, Walls Come Tumbling Down 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.

Show less

Hoxton Radio
2016-11-14 14:00 - 15:00
Hoxton Radio
Talking with Jenn Crothers

Louder Than Words
2016-11-13 11:30 - 12:35
Louder Than Words

Contributors

Published on July 22nd, 2016 | by LTWF
0

Daniel Rachel
Daniel Rachel is the author of Isle of Noises: Conversations with Great British Songwriters an NME and Guardian Book of the Year. He is a musician and songwriter, and a specialist director bringing drama to non-theatrical settings. After reading an American book called Songwriters On Songwriting, Daniel went in search of the British equivalent. He didn’t find it. So decided to create the book he wanted to read.
‘Without doubt the finest book I’ve ever read about songwriters and the songs they write.’ NOEL GALLAGHER
Daniel’s latest title Walls Come Tumbling Down: An oral history of Rock Against Racism, 2 Tone and Red Wedge will be published by Picador in 2016 and we’re delighted and privileged to have Daniel join us in conversation for Louder 2016.
In this special event, Daniel will take the audience through a visual tour of the voices of campaigners, musicians, artists and politicians, charting this extraordinary and pivotal period between 1976 and 1992, following the rise and fall of three key movements of the time: Rock Against Racism, 2 Tone, and Red Wedge, revealing how they both shaped, and were shaped by, the music of a generation.
Daniel’s session will also include a screening of ‘Days Like These’ a rare film that hasn’t been screened in full since 1986. Capturing the national tour of that year, the film features Billy Bragg, Madness, Paul Weller, Junior, Lloyd Cole and the Commotions, Rhoda Dakar, Johnny Marr, Tom Robinson and others.
11.30am, Sunday 13th November: DANIEL RACHEL: WALLS COME TUMBLING DOWN: The music and politics of Rock Against Racism, 2 Tone and Red Wedge
Tix: http://tinyurl.com/hul5dgt

Humbermouth - Hull Literary Festival
2016-11-11 20:00 - 23:00
Humbermouth – Hull LIterary Festival
Days Like These screening

Red Wedge ‘Days Like These’ featuring Billy Bragg, Lloyd Cole, Communards, Junior, Phill Jupitus, Madness, Johnny Marr, Tom Robinson, Paul Weller and many more.
‘Days Like These’ documents the 1986 Red Wedge tour when chart topping popstars joined forces on stages across the UK in an attempt to politicise young people and encourage them to vote against Margret Thatcher in the 1887 general election. Filmmakers from five cities had All Access for seven days – on the tour coach, in dressing rooms and hotel rooms – capturing a sensational line up performing hits and rousing ensemble encores including Curtis Mayfield’s ‘Move On Up’ and Jimmy Cliff’s ‘Many Rivers To Cross’.
This is a rare screening of the 40 minute film which is has not been shown for over 30 years.

BBC Radio Norfolk interview
2016-11-09 14:30 - 15:00
BBC Radio Norfolk interview
In conversation with Stephen Bumfrey on Norfolk’s top entertainment show, with guests and features.

BBC 5 Live Up All Night - Virtual Jukebox
2016-10-30 02:00 - 04:00
BBC 5 Live Up All Night – Virtual Jukebox
Daniel is the special guest contributor on the Virtual Jukebox.

July 16 @ 2:00 am – 4:00 am

BBC 5 Live Up All Night

2:00 am – 4:00 am

BBC Radio 5
July 16l @ 2:00 am – 4:00 am
Up All Night with Dotun Adebayo and Daniel Rachel
Your chance to help Dotun and Daniel pick the latest addition to Up All Night’s eclectic music collection.
To take part, call 0500 909 693 (free from most landlines; other networks and mobiles may charge). Text 85058 (standard rate).
Email upallnight@bbc.co.uk

Central Library Leeds with special guests Joolz Denby and Paul Furness
2016-10-26 18:00 - 20:00
Central Library Leeds
Room 700
Wednesday 26 October
6-8 pm
Walls Come Tumbling Down: Daniel Rachel in conversation with Joolz Denby and Paul Furness

BBC Leeds interview
2016-10-26 15:30 - 16:30
BBC Leeds interview

In conversation with Gayle Lofthouse on BBC Radio Leeds.

Musicport Festival in conversation with Don Letts
2016-10-22 20:00 - 22:00
Musicport in conversation with Don Letts
Screening of Clash ‘Westway To The World’ and ‘Days Like These’ Red Wedge
Screening of Red Wedge ‘Days Like These’ featuring Billy Bragg, Lloyd Cole, Communards, Junior, Phill Jupitus, Madness, Johnny Marr, Tom Robinson, Paul Weller and many more.
‘Days Like These’ documents the 1986 Red Wedge tour when chart topping popstars joined forces in attempt to oust Margret Thatcher from government. Filmmakers from five cities across the UK had All Access for seven days – on the tour coach, in dressing rooms and hotel rooms – capturing a sensational line up performing hits and the rousing ensemble encores.
This is a rare screening of the 40 minute film which is has not been shown for over 30 years.

DANIEL RACHEL will also discuss his new book

Grammy Award-winning film about The Clash

Musicport 2016 (booked s.t.c) : THE MAHOTELLA QUEENS (S. Africa),THE BLOCKHEADS, LYNCHED (Eire), KATHRYN TICKELL & THE SIDE, SOUPSONGS LIVE (The Songs of Robert Wyatt), MARTIN TAYLOR MBE, JEREMY HARDY, LEMN SISSAY, DON LETTS (DJ set), HARDEEP SINGH KOHLI, VARLDENS BAND (Sweden) SARAH JANE MORRIS, RAGGED UNION (USA), BLACK UMFOLOSI (Zimbabwe), MOUSSU T E LEI JOVENTS (Fr) Árstíðir (Iceland), COOPE BOYES & SIMPSON, GEOFF BERNER (Canada), MAZ O’CONNOR, , ME & MY FRIENDS, MANJULA, JOHN SMITH, MICHAEL MESSER’S MITRA,(UK/INDIA), SEAN TAYLOR, ME & MY FRIENDS, JESS WRIGHT & DELIA STEVENS, PEACE ARTISTES, , MOSCOW DRUG CLUB, JAMIE SMITH’S MABON (Wales), EDD BATEMAN’S W.

Start:

21 Oct 2016 – 18:00

End:

23 Oct 2016 – 23:00

Where:

Whitby Pavilion

Tickets:

Whitby Pavilion,tel 01947 603475

Read moreabout Musicport 2016 21-23 October

RT TV: Sputnik - Orbiting the World with George Galloway
2016-10-22 13:00 - 13:30
RT TV: Sputnik – Orbiting the World with George Galloway
Sputnik is broadcast every Saturday on RT UK (Russia Today in English), on Sky 512 and Freeview 135, and to a global audience online.
Previous guests include:
– Writers the Rt Hon Lord Alan Watson CBE, Peter Oborne, Quentin Letts, Seamus Milne, Patrick Cockburn, Kerry-Anne Mendoza, Ewen MacAskill, Dr Selina Todd, Francis Beckett, David Goldblatt, Martin Williams, and Mark Watts,
– Politicians the Rt Hon Sir Vince Cable, Rt. Hon. Lord Dobbs, Rt. Hon. Andrew Mitchell, Rt. Hon. Gerald Kaufman MP, Rt. Hon David Davis MP, Nigel Farage, Steven Norris, Jacob Rees-Mogg MP, Zac Goldsmith MP, Ken Livingstone and Kate Hoey MP;-
– The Rt. Hon. Lord Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal, former President of the Royal Society and former Master of Trinity College, Cambridge;
– Former Downing Street advisors John McTernan and Damian McBride;
– Cultural figures Max Stafford Clark, Ava Vidal, Dane Baptiste, Brian Eno, Selina Scott, Ben Fogle, and Aidan Killian;
https://www.rt.com/shows/sputnik/

Wanstead Tap with Steel Pulse (Mykaell Riley) and Neil Spencer (NME)
2016-10-19 19:30 - 21:00
Wanstead Tap with Steel Pulse (Mykaell Riley) and Neil Spencer (NME)

THE WANSTEAD TAP

Walls Come Tumbling Down with Daniel Rachel October 19th
5.00

Join author Daniel Rachel in conversation with Mykaell Riley (former lead vocalist with Steel Pulse) and Neil Spencer (fromer editor of NME) as they discuss the history of the Rock Against Racism, Red Wedge and Two Tone. Daniel will be signing copies of the book and this promises to be a night not to be missed.

BBC 6 Music Breakfast Show with Shaun Keaveny
2016-10-17 09:00 - 2016-10-21 10:00
BBC 6 Music Breakfast Show with Shaun Keaveny
Irreverent music lover Shaun serves up music, features and entertainment
Daniel discusses Walls Come Tumbling Down with Shaun

Birmingham Literature Festival
2016-10-13 19:00 - 22:00
Birmingham Literature Festival
Walls Come Tumbling Down

October 13 @ 8:00 pm – 9:15 pm

£12/£9.60, Festival Pass: FREE
Daniel Rachel’s new book Walls Come Tumbling Down charts the pivotal period between 1976 and 1992 that saw politics and pop music come together for arguably the first and last 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 both shaped, and were shaped by, the music of a generation.
In this special event Daniel is joined by four contributors to the book,
Richard Coles (The Communards),
Tom Watson MP,
Ranking Roger (The Beat) and
Ruth Gregory (Rock Against Racism).
The event also includes extracts of a Red Wedge film, unseen since 1986.
Sponsored by Dains Accountants
How to Book:
Please contact The BOX to book tickets on 0121 245 4455 or you can book online by clicking the button below.

Book Now

+ GOOGLE CALENDAR+ ICAL EXPORT

Details

Date:
October 13
Time:

8:00 pm – 9:15 pm

Event Categories:
History, Music, Non-fiction

Organizer

Birmingham Literature Festival

Venue

Studio Theatre, Library of Birmingham

Centenary Square, Broad Street
Birmingham, B1 2DN United Kingdom+ Google Map

BBC Radio 4 World Tonight
2016-09-20 22:00 - 23:00
BBC Radio 4 World Tonight
In conversation with Ritula Shah

A self confessed “anorak” Ritula has been listening to Radio 4 ever since she can remember. She woke up with Jack de Manio and “listened with mother”.

Having ignored her father’s advice to become a lawyer, she graduated in History from Warwick University in 1988. Soon afterwards, she joined the Radio 4 production team based in Birmingham.
After a spell in regional TV news, she joined the Today programme. Seven years and many nightshifts later, Ritula made the short journey across London to Bush House — where she became one of the presenters of the daily news show The World Today. She found herself presenting the programme from a variety of unlikely locations, including a building site at the back of a mosque in Tehran and under a table on a rooftop in Moscow (the only place where the equipment was protected from the snow).
Ritula is now a presenter of The World Tonight and Saturday PM – and in 2011 won Media Professional of the Year at the Asian Women of Achievement Awards
“Even my Mum’s impressed,” she says, “who could ask for more?”
You can follow Ritula on Twitter.

BBC London Rock Against Racism Special
2016-09-18 20:00 - 21:30
BBC London Rock Against Racism Special
A 90 minute special discussing Rock Against Racism with specials guests:
Rhoda Dakar (Bodysnatchers / Special AKA)
Lucy ‘Toothpaste’ Whitman (Rock Against Racism)
Mykaell Riley (Steel Pulse)
Daniel Rachel (Walls Come Tumbling Down)
Hosted by Dotun Adebayo

BBC Radio 2 Book Club: Fact Not Fiction
2016-09-15 22:00 - 2016-09-17 23:00
Radio 2 Book Club: Walls Come Tumbling Down

Walls Come Tumbling Down by Daniel Rachel will feature on the Radio 2 Fact not Fiction Book Club on Thursday 15 September.
The book was selected with the help of a panel made up of Reading Agency and library staff from across the UK. Find out more about thenon-fiction strand of the Radio 2 Book Club.
You can win 10 copies of Walls Come Tumbling Down for your reading group – just visit our .
We have an exclusive extract available for you to read as well as somediscussion questions for your reading group.
Walls Come Tumbling Down
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.
Selection panel review
Our reading panel from libraries and The Reading Agency loved Walls Come Tumbling Down – here are some of their comments:
“Interesting topic about the history of Rock Against Racism – well written including material from leading music journalists. I thought the book was very interesting and informative. It had a nice easy writing style. I liked the structure of the book and it gave us some insight on how the music media has tackled racism throughout since the 1960s. I liked the way the author had explored all the different musical styles and genres.”
“I thought this was fascinating for charting how cultural engagement defied politics in the late 1970s and 80s, and challenged institutionalised racism, but also for being an oral history and bringing memories and voices from the time to the fore. I learned about a movement and a time I knew little about in the music scene.”
About the author

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.
A word from Daniel
I’m thrilled Walls Come Tumbling Down has been chosen by the Radio 2 Book Club. Bringing together the voices of over 100 musicians, politicians, activists and cultural agitators has been incredible. Many of the contributors you could quite readily pass in the street little realizing the tremendous impact they had on the cultural politics of the period. Their willingness to make a stand and be defined by their politics and humanity changed the social history of our country. And yet, as the narrative and themes of the book unfold – racism, sexism, gender struggles multiculturalism, Internationalism, solidarity, immigration, political civil war, right-wing extremism – they scream out, ‘This is Britain, today.’ For all that, I hope you will find, as I do, that there is much humour, hope and inspirational goodwill to offer light across the dark days of our recent past. Enjoy!
Get involved
Tune in to the Radio 2 Arts Show on Thursday 15 September to hear an interview with Daniel Rachel talking about his book.
Have you read Walls Come Tumbling Down? You can share your thoughts with us on Twitter, using #DanielRachel, or visit the book page to leave a review, or find out what other readers thought.
Want to find out more? Take a look at the Radio 2 Book Club Twitter feed or find out more on the Radio 2 Book Club website

Rough Trade East with very special guests
2016-09-14 18:00 - 20:00
Rough Trade presents
Walls Come Tumbling Down: the music and politics of Rock Against Racism, 2 Tone and Red Wedge
an evening of conversation and live music
with special guests
Neil Spencer (Observer writer /former Editor of NME)
Lesley Woods (Au Pairs)
Rhoda Dakar (Bodysnatchers / Special AKA)
Attila the Stockbroker
and author Daniel Rachel

THIS IS A FREE ROUGH TRADE EAST IN-STORE BOOK LAUNCH EVENT, WITH PANEL DISCUSSION, SPECIAL PERFORMANCES, READINGS AND A BOOK SIGNING.
7PM – 8.45PM. FREE ENTRY.
THE PANEL DISCUSSION WILL BE FOLLOWED BY LIVE PERFORMANCE FROM LESLEY WOODS, ATTILA THE STOCKBROKER, AND RHODA DAKAR.
——————————————————————————————————————————————–
PURCHASE ‘WALLS COME TUMBLING DOWN: THE MUSIC AND POLITICS OF ROCK AGAINST RACISM, 2 TONE, AND RED WEDGE’ IN STORE AT ROUGH TRADE EAST ON THE EVENING OF THIS EVENT.
——————————————————————————————————————————————–
OR YOU CAN PRE-ORDER THE ‘WALLS COME TUMBLING DOWN: THE MUSIC AND POLITICS OF ROCK AGAINST RACISM, 2 TONE, AND RED WEDGE, ON THE ROUGH TRADE WEBSITE HERE.
——————————————————————————————————————————————–
‘WALLS COME TUMBLING DOWN: The music and politics of Rock Against Racism, 2 Tone and Red Wedge’ By DANIEL RACHEL…
In August 1976, Eric Clapton made an inflammatory speech in support of Enoch Powell and ‘black’ repatriation, sparking an anti-racism campaign that would soon radicalise an entire generation. The following sixteen years saw politics and pop music come together as never before to challenge racism, gender inequality and social and class divisions. For the first time in UK history, musicians became instigators of social change; and their political persuasion as important as the songs they sang.
Through the voices of campaigners, musicians, artists and politicians, Daniel Rachel charts this extraordinary and pivotal period between 1976 and 1992, following the rise and fall of three key movements of the time: Rock Against Racism, 2 Tone, and Red Wedge, revealing how they both shaped, and were shaped by, the music of a generation.
Consisting of new and exclusive in-depth conversations with over 100 contributors, including Pauline Black, Billy Bragg, Jerry Dammers, Phill Jupitus, Neil Kinnock, Linton Kwesi-Johnson, Tom Robinson, Clare Short, Tracey Thorn and many more, Walls Come Tumbling Down is a fascinating, polyphonic and authoritative account of those crucial sixteen years in Britain’s history, from the acclaimed writer of Isle of Noises.
Walls Come Tumbling Down also features more than 150 images – many rare or previously unpublished – from some of the greatest names in photography, including Adrian Boot, Chalkie Davies, Jill Furmanovsky, Syd Shelton, Pennie Smith, Steve Rapport and Virginia Turbett.
“We were trying to change the world in our tiny way by stopping the rise of fascism amongst youth with the power of music.” Red Saunders, founder of Rock Against Racism
Daniel Rachel wrote his first song when he was sixteen and was the lead-singer in Rachels Basement. He was first eligible to vote in the 1992 General Election and now lives in north London with his partner and three children. Daniel is the author of Isle of Noises: Conversations with Great British Songwriters – a Guardian and NME Book of the Year- also published by Picador, and a regular guest contributor on BBC Radio 5.

Punky Reggae Party at the British Library
2016-09-09 19:00 - 22:00
Punky Reggae Party at the British Library
With very special guests:
Dennis Bovell
Tom Robinoson
Lucy Whitburg
Kate Webb
To celebrate the publication of Walls Come Tumbling Down: the music and politics of Rock Against Racism, 2 Tone and Red Wedge.

Rock Against Racism formed to fight ‘the racist poison in rock music.’ With an emergent National Front and mounting attacks on ethnic minorities, punk and reggae artists united to confront neo-fascism. Author Daniel Rachel is joined by musicians Dennis Bovell and Tom Robinson, and founding members, Kate Webb and Lucy Whitman.
Punk 1976-78 is part of Punk London, a year of events, gigs, films, talks and exhibits celebrating 40 years of punk heritage and influence in London

BBC LONDON Robert Elms Show
2016-09-08 11:30 - 12:00
BBC LONDON Robert Elms Show
Daniel will be discussing Walls Come Tumbling Down at 11.30am

About the programme

The Robert Elms show is a celebration of every aspect of this tumultuous city that we share. Three hours a day we revel in the stories and characters, memories and aspirations which make this such a great place to live and work. Art, architecture, history, movies, shopping, drinking and dining all carried out to a soundtrack of music for grown ups.
The Robert Elms Show is tailor-made for you, dear Londoner

WALLS COME TUMBLING DOWN
2016-09-08
WALLS COME TUMBLING DOWN
The music and politics of rock Against Racism, 2 Tone and Red Wedge
PRESS RELEASE
WALLS COME TUMBLING DOWN
By DANIEL RACHEL

Daniel Rachel presents an oral history of Rock Against Racism, 2 Tone and Red Wedge, consisting of interviews with over 100 key figures and contributors to this musical revolution.
Walls Come Tumbling Down charts the pivotal period between 1976 and 1992 that saw politics and pop music come together for arguably the first, and last 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 both shaped, and were shaped by, the music of a generation.
Composed of interviews with over 100 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.
Daniel Rachel wrote his first song when he was sixteen and was the lead-singer in Rachels Basement. He was first eligible to vote in the 1992 General Election and now lives in north London with his partner and three children. Daniel is the author of Isle of Noises: Conversations with Great British Songwriters, a Guardian and NME Book of the Year, also published by Picador, and a regular guest contributor on BBC Radio 5.
Walls Come Tumbling Down by Daniel Rachel is published on 8th September 2016 (Picador)
Hardback & ebook • ISBN: 9781447272687 • £25
For more information and media requests please contact Sarah Patel in the Pan Macmillan press office: sarah.patel@macmillan.com or T: 0207 014 6187

BBC Radio Scotland
2016-09-05 15:05 - 15:40
BBC Radio Scotland with Ricky Ross (Deacon Blue)

15:05-15:35 in conversation with Ricky Ross and Nicola Meighan about Walls Come Tumbling Down mixed in with tracks from RAR/2 Tone/ Red Wedge artists

Red Wedge:Billy Bragg in conversation with Daniel Rachel including film screening
2016-09-03 18:00 - 21:00
Red Wedge:Billy Bragg in conversation with Daniel Rachel
To celebrate the book launch of Walls Come Tumbling Down join us for an evening with Billy Bragg in-conversation with author, Daniel Rachel including live music, an audience Q&A and a rare screening of the Red Wedge film Days like These.

The period from 1976 to 1992 was the last time cultural engagement would play a defining role in British politics. To celebrate the book launch of Walls Come Tumbling Down join Billy Bragg in-conversation with author, Daniel Rachel who will be discussing the tumultuous events of this sixteen year period including live music, an audience Q&A and a rare screening of the Red Wedge film Days like These.
*
Billy Bragg’s first political awakening was the great Rock Against Racism Carnival in London in 1978. Witnessing the energy of the Clash and the gender politics of the Tom Robinson Band led Bragg to embark on a solo career armed with a Fender Telecaster and a desire to seduce girls. As a new decade turned, and with Thatcherism taking hold of the nation, artists of the left galvanised behind the resurgent CND and in opposition to the Falkland’s crisis and the Miners’ Strike offering socialism as a compassionate alternative to savage cuts, high youth unemployment, and government class war. Alongside Paul Weller, Bragg was the driving force behind Red Wedge, a loose collective of artists declaring themselves for but not of the Labour Party.

Musician-turned-author, Daniel Rachel (Isle of Noises: Conversations with Great British Songwriters) witnessed the first Red Wedge tour in Birmingham in 1986. Raised in a staunch Conservative household, the alternative music and politics of the late Seventies and Eighties had a profound effect on his ideological thinking. Interviewing over 100 people Walls Come Tumbling Down charts the battle for the musical and political terrain of Great Britain: when youth culture demanded a voice; when counterculture became national news; when politicians campaigned alongside contemporary pop stars; and when the political persuasion of musicians was as important as the songs they sang.

The sixteen-year period between 1976 and 1992 was characterized by badge-wearing, flag-waving, rioting, marching and partisan alliances. Political activism brought a young electorate to an understanding of the ideological struggle; it brought them to protesting on the streets, to free festivals, to concert halls, to rallies, to comedy gigs across the country, and finally it brought those ideas to Parliament.
The revolutionary spirit was that of People Unity:
Governments crack and systems fall . . . lights go out – walls come tumbling down!

6.15pm – Screening of Red Wedge film in the Coal Store
7.00pm – Drinks reception and private view of Rock Against Racism exhibition in the Accumulator Tower
7.30pm – Daniel Rachel in conversation with Billy Bragg
9.00pm – event finishes

Edinburgh International Book Festival
2016-08-20 19:00 - 20:00
Edinburgh International Book Festival
DANIEL RACHEL
Sat 20 Aug 7:00pm – 8:00pm
Baillie Gifford Corner Theatre
£8.00, £6.00

IN PRAISE OF PROTEST SONGS
Political protest seems to happen more in other countries nowadays, but in the 70s and 80s Britain was awash with activism, both on the streets and on the musical stage. In this event, Daniel Rachel discusses the golden era of Rock Against Racism, Red Wedge and 2 Tone with Vic Galloway, cataloguing interviews with many of the period’s key players. Are we living in too cynical a time for similar movements to gather momentum now?
Part of our Music and Meaning series of events.

Tickets go on sale at 8:30am on Tuesday 21 June.
