THE GALLOW’S RANT
SPORADIC NEWSLETTER of the ALISTAIR HULETT MEMORIAL TRUST

September 2014
Welcome to the latest edition of The Gallows Rant, the sporadic newsletter first started by the late Alistair Hulett and now dedicated to ongoing news about his music from the Alistair Hulett Memorial Trust (UK) and the Alistair Hulett Memorial Fund (Aus).

Grants
As part of our work to help promote music in the cause of social justice, the AHMT awards grants to musicians and people and groups organising cultural initiatives. See our website for details of how to apply.

Here are some of our recent awards:

Recent awards have gone to American singer songwriter Ryan Harvey to contribute towards the production of a concept album featuring English, Palestinian and Egyptians radicals.
We have also helped support Alan Dickson to undertake independent research into the Scottish radical song tradition from the early 1700’s to the late 1800s.

A further award was made to Shut out the Light, a Liverpool film production company, towards the screening of the film, ”Still Ragged’ a documentary about Robert Tressell’s ‘The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists’ and distribution of Tressell’s book.

Merchandise
The Trust has 2 new CDs out!

’40 Years On… Justice For Victor Jara’ was produced for the 40th anniversary of the murder of Jara in the coup in Chile which overthrew the democratically elected socialist government of Salvador Allende. The compilation CD is on sale at £5 www.alistairhulett.co.uk. Artists include Peggy Seeger, Adam McNaughtan and Christy Moore. A beautifully designed Victor Jara tshirt is also available at £10!

Alistair Hulett and Phil Snell, The Wee Malkies Live at the Mad Nanny Folk Club 2008, produced by Phil Snell, Limbo Creatives Ltd is also available. Hurry and get your copy as numbers are limited.

2014 Songs of Social Justice Award
AHMT 2014 Songs for Social Justice Award competition closes on the 31st of October 2014. The competition is open to songwriters and musicians from across the UK and will focus on songs promoting equality and social justice. The AHMT has again appointed a select panel of judges from among experienced songwriters and singers and the Trustees will decide the award based on the panel’s advice. Entries should be on a CD with an accompanying lyrics sheet and should be sent to The Alistair Hulett Memorial Trust, 19 Millar Grove, Hamilton ML3 9BF.

Other News
Alistair’s version of the Internationale will be featured on an exciting new documentary coming out soon called, ‘Still Ragged’ about Robert Tressell’s novel The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists’ which was originally published in 1914. The film charts the impact of the book on people’s lives and its continual relevance today, as well as the fascinating origin of the manuscript. The film features Ricky Tomlinson, Dennis Skinner MP, Tom Watson MP as well as playwrights, singers and other fans of the book telling how Tressell’s work has influenced them personally and politically.

Coming Up…..
Look out for details of the 5th AHMT Tribute Concert at Celtic Connections in January 2015 on our website in the coming months! Artists include Nancy Kerr and James Fagan, Naomi Bedford and special guests!