I must hold my hand up and say I was unfamiliar with Xero Slingsby (Matt Coe) prior to this showing which was part of the International Film Festival. This was protest music that hit where it hurts far more than a lot of the folk singers of the '70s/'80s ever did.
Whether it was initially intended as protest music or just a guy busking on the streets of Leeds and other northern towns is debatable although I suppose that the nigh on 40 times he was arrested for trying to make a living on the streets may well have brought an anti-establishment element into his music.
Regarding his music, as a saxophonist he was, arguably, one of the most original players to have shone so brightly, albeit so briefly (he died aged 30) on the British scene.
He busked around the north and toured with his band, The Works, around Europe but I wondered had he ever had a crack at the London scene either in clubs or on pavements?
It was well produced and a credit to director Robert Stanley Crampton who afterwards held a Q & A session which, in truth, would have benefited from a mic.
Nevertheless, it opened up new avenues for me. Surely there will be a book in the pipeline. Lance
The press release, posted earlier, gives much more information and adds to the picture - Lance
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