New version of Michael Jackson's song, with lyrics modified by Steve Wallis, Yas Martil and John Wilkes. Sung by Yas and Steve, with Ali and John on acoustic guitar.

The Way You Make Me Feel

Lyrics adapted from the John Lennon song and sung by Steve Wallis and Yas Martil. Musical accompaniment on acoustic guitars by Ali and John Wilkes.

This new version urges unity between atheists and religious people (and agnostics), struggling for a better world (not just peace but communism in its utopian sense "imagine no possessions" rather than Stalinism as in the USSR and Eastern Europe in the past or capitalist China today), in contrast to Lennon's original song that was anti-religion. Dedicated to Steve's late grandmother Ruth, who was an atheist, and died about the time this song was recorded. For more information about the justification for the song,  plus lyrics, go to http://thatcheroftheleft.wordpress.com/2013/06/03/uniting-atheists-agnostics-and-believers-struggling-for-a-better-world-through-music/

Imagine (duet)

Lyrics written by Steve Wallis. Guitar chords composed by Ali and John Wilkes. Sung by Steve with Ali and John on acoustic guitars. Loosely based on "We need unity not austerity" at https://soundcloud.com/fruity-frank/unity-not-austerity. There is now a music video for the song at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cDsEJZkQVU.

Lyrics:

We need unity
Not austerity
No ifs, no buts
Stop all the cuts
Except Trident of course
And perhaps the armed forces

We can choose eating
Or we can choose heating
With high energy bills
Austerity kills

When it gets cold
Unite young and old
With high energy bills
Austerity kills

Those on the right
Oppose our fight
And ignore our plight
Unite black and white

The problem is not immigration
Welcome foreigners' integration
Into British society
Don't make their life a misery

Blame the rich not poor
No to another war

It's rich bankers who are mainly to blame
Our rebelliousness they want to tame
Tories must think the masses are twits
Trying to blame people on benefits

In “Nineteen Eighty-Four”
World fascism Orwell foresaw
We correctly hate
The surveillance state
Big brother is watching you
He opposes revolution too

We need unity
Not austerity
No ifs, no buts
Stop the cuts

Austerity Kills

Song adapted from a classic (written by John Lennon) by Steve Wallis and sung by him, with John Wilkes and Ali on acoustic guitars. Video now available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ph40vmEJ3U0!

Let this become an anthem of the anti-fracking movement (alongside others of course). Other artists are welcome to do recordings using the same or similar lyrics, for non-commercial purposes.

For more information about and to discuss fracking, including the massive threat to our countryside, water supply, health and house prices (to name a few problems), go to the Facebook page "No fracking worldwide, particularly in or near towns/cities" at https://www.facebook.com/nofrackingintownsorcities. [If you are not on Facebook, I particularly urge you to read items on the subject from my blog, including about how huge amounts of radioactive wastewater, with 90 times natural levels of radium, were dumped into Manchester Ship Canal - see http://thatcheroftheleft.wordpress.com/2014/01/29/radioactive-wastewater-radium-90-times-background-levels-without-treatment-facilities-puts-fracking-future-at-risk/.]

Lyrics:

When the earth finds herself in times of trouble
She doesn't say to me
Speaking words of madness, frack me
And in this time of struggle
She is lying right under me
We speak words of wisdom, let her be
Let her be, let her be
Let her be, frack free
Whisper words of wisdom, let her be

And when the ordinary people
Living in the world agree
There will be an answer, just let her be
For though we are divided
There'll be many chances for us to see
That we can take over, and let her be
Let her be, let her be
Let her be, frack free
Yeah we can overthrow the frackers, let her be
Let her be, let her be
Let her be, frack free
Whisper words of wisdom, let her be

Let her be, let her be
Let her be, frack free
Whisper words of wisdom, let her be
Stop pollution of the water
There is still a sun that shines on me
Shine on until tomorrow, let her be
We wake up to the sound of drilling,
Mother earth says to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let me be
Let me be, let me be
Let me be, frack free
Oh there could be tidal power, let her be
Let her be, let her be
Let her be, frack free
Oh there will be an answer, let her be
Let her be, let her be
Let her be, frack free
Whisper words of wisdom, let her be

Let Her Be (Frack Free)

Lyrics:

Don't you know we're talking about a revolution that sounds
Like a whisper
Don't you know we're talking about a revolution that sounds
Like a whisper

Poor people gonna rise up, get their share
Poor people gonna rise up, take what's theirs

And I try, oh my God do I try
Yes, I try to explain why
We need a revolution

If God was one of us
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
If God was one of us
He'd lead a revolution

Now finally the tables are starting to turn
Yes, finally the tables are starting to turn

We're talking about a revolution that sounds
Like a whisper

But it shouldn't be a whisper any more
Maybe it never should have been a whisper

Shout, shout, let it all out
Let them all know what we're on about
Come on, I'm talking to you
Come on
Shout, shout, let it all out
On big business we'll inflict a rout

Talking About A Revolution

There's a music video for this track at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtBT6k3Gomc

Manchester Left Unity is encouraging a referendum in each EU member states to give people a say on the appalling TTIP "free trade" deal between the EU and US being discussed in secret, that would allow companies to sue governments. Different terminology is used to try to confuse us - TTIP is sometimes called TAFTA, there is a parallel trade treaty on services called TISA and there are Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) between two specific countries. These should all be defeated.

Read my blog post http://thatcheroftheleft.me.uk/2014/07/11/manchester-leftunity-urges-activists-across-the-eu-to-demand-referenda-against-the-ttip-corporate-power-grab/ on the subject.

For an explanation of TTIP, see the excellent video "What is the Transatlantic Trade Investment Partnership?" at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4OQeekSD6s - I have used excerpts from it in this video. Also, see http://www.nottip.org.uk and use the hashtag #noTTIP.

Lyrics:

TTIP CORPORATE POWER GRAB

Listen
Do you want to hear a secret?
Yes, I know that we should tell

TTIP
Companies could sue in secret
Governments that we elect

UKIP
Yes, they are in favour
Cos they're backed by some bosses

Tories
Claim they want a referendum
But not on this corporate power grab

They call it a free trade deal
Between the US and EU
The poor may miss out on a meal
They'd prevent a say for me and you

Listen
Do you want to hear a secret?
Yes, I know that we should tell

TTIP
Companies could sue in secret
Governments that we elect

Labour
Say they'd grant a referendum
If more powers go to the EU
But do they care about the masses?
They should grant one on TTIP too

Bosses want to stop nationalisation
Especially with expropriation
But we won't be stopped by legislation

We'd have to rip it all up
The era of reforms would be over
We'd need international solidarity
Socialism would be on the agenda

TTIP Corporate Power Grab

A cover version of the Steve Skaith Band track of the same name, which is based on Steve's band Latin Quarter's 1980s hit Radio Africa.

Radio Africa Continued

This political love song, originally recorded by Steve's Manchester band <a href="/galaxia" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Galaxia</a>, has been rerecorded in tribute to the memory of the wonderful political activist Gayle O'Donovan, who died tragically in January 2012.&#13;
&#13;
Steve did not find out about Gayle's death until over a year afterwards, and about a week later his new band recorded this version of the song (with Ali on acoustic guitar and Yvette on Bongos).&#13;
&#13;
Steve first met Gayle at the Convention of the Left in the autumn of 2008, at the time of the Labour Party conference in Manchester. It brought together activists from virtually every serious political organisation to the left of Labour (and left formations inside). Gayle was in Green Left - the left-wing faction within the Green Party - but Steve did not find this out until later. When Steve handed Gayle one of his <a href="http://PRsocialism.org" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Foundation for Proportional Representation-based Socialism</a> newsletters, Gayle said something about having handed them out herself, "Don't you remember", but Steve didn't and thought something conspiratorial was going on!&#13;
&#13;
Gayle asked Steve for a drink, and they went for one (with others). When Gayle told Steve her name, he instantly recalled the song "Donovan's Doorway" by his favourite overtly political band of all time <a href="/latin-quarter-2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Latin Quarter</a>. He later wrote new lyrics based on that song (which he didn't have a copy of but he found the original lyrics on the internet) and the song was recorded with improvised piano to yield http://soundcloud.com/galaxia/donovans-doorway.&#13;
&#13;
Steve met Gayle several more times in meetings and at protests in the Manchester area. She was usually (but not quite always) a very bubbly, beautiful woman, as well as being astute politically. She was not just involved in Green Left and environmental campaigns, but was secretary of Manchester Green Party and a parliamentary candidate for that party at the 2010 general election.&#13;
&#13;
Steve knows a bit about the circumstances around her death, but does not want to share that information here. Better to remember her for the good times he and others spent with her in her short time on the earth.&#13;
&#13;
Lyrics for this song can be found on the Fruity Frank website by clicking <a href="http://www.fruityfrank.net/lyrics/Gayle.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>.

Donovan's Doorway

There is now a YouTube video for the song at http://tinyurl.com/notausterity.

Song written by Steve Wallis (8/5/2013) - sung by Steve with Ali on acoustic guitar, promoting the International Demonstration against Austerity (cuts) on Saturday 1 June.

London protest, 2pm, HM Treasury, 1 Royal Horse Guards Road - plus many other protests across Europe. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/PeopleUnitedUK or search for [hash]1J on Twitter (together with your country or city).

Lyrics:

We need unity
Not austerity
No ifs, no buts
Stop all the cuts
Except Trident of course
And perhaps the armed forces

We need unity
Not austerity
So join the International Demo
The ConDems have got to go
And capitalists across the EU
We need somebody new

We need unity
Not austerity
Demonstrate on the first of June
And sing socialist tunes
As we prepare for power
And topple them from their tower

We need unity
Not austerity
No ifs, no buts
Stop the cuts!

We need unity not austerity | Sat 1 June 2013 | International Protests

A cover version of Bob Dylan's song, also performed by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds featuring Kylie Minogue.

Dedicated to Ruth Wallis, an atheist and committed revolutionary who will not live long enough to see a socialist revolution. Even if she does not go to heaven, she will leave behind a sort of spirit in those she has affected over her lifetime. [She will actually not be as lonely as the song suggests because her family will be around her, but this choice of song was made by her grandson Steve on hearing that she has a broken leg that cannot be operated on because her heart is too weak and that she is just being given painkillers.]

Sung by Steve Wallis and Yas Martil, with Ali on acoustic guitar.

Death Is Not The End

A new version of John Lennon's "Imagine", adapted by Steve Wallis and Yas Martil to urge unity between atheists and religious people (and agnostics), struggling for a better world, in contrast to the original that is anti-religion. Dedicated to Steve's late grandmother Ruth, who was an atheist, and was buried the day after this song was recorded. For more information about the justification for the song, go to http://thatcheroftheleft.wordpress.com/2013/06/03/uniting-atheists-agnostics-and-believers-struggling-for-a-better-world-through-music/

Sung by Steve, with Ali and John Wilkes on acoustic guitar and Guitar Dave on electric guitar.

Lyrics:

Some imagine there’s no heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today…

Some imagine there’s a heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us not just sky
Imagine all the people
Living life in joy…

Your spirit lives on
When you’re gone
In people you’ve known
Ever since your birth
In those you’ve affected
In your time on the earth

Believers and non-believers unite
Continue the fight
Of those who are gone
And whose spirits live on
To make Lennon’s hopes reality
A world of joy and hilarity

Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
Freedom of religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace…

You may say I’m a dreamer
And a schemer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world…

You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will live as one

Imagine

A band based in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. Steve Wallis (vocals/lyricist), John Wilkes and Ali (acoustic guitars), plus guests on other tracks. It split up on 24 July 2014 (amicably), a good point to stop after a particularly important song "TTIP Corporate Power Grab", calling for referenda on that "free trade" treaty between the EU and USA, which would let companies sue governments.

FruityFrank&FriskyFreaks

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