Five albums that perfectly summed up Thatcherite Britain
It is often said that great art comes from great pain and under the government of Margaret Thatcher, the British working class certainly had their fair share of pain and suffering. An incredibly divisive figure within the world of politics, Thatcher’s government orchestrated some of the most detrimental policies the country had ever seen. From decimating the entire north of England to implementing the regressive and homophobic Section 28 legislature that forbade the mere mention of homosexuality by local schools and authorities, the Thatcher years had a detrimental effect on the social history of Britain, the remnants of which can still be seen today.
Somehow, the 1980s now have a retrospective reputation as being a colourful era of hair spray and excess. The reality, for a lot of people in Britain, was one of strikes, unemployment and discontent. So, while Duran Duran’s music videos and Top of the Pops might have provided some light relief, they are certainly not the greatest artistic representations of the period.
Throughout the Thatcher years, countless artists channelled their anger and disillusionment with the Conservative government into their music. While the punk era of the 1970s had largely died down by the time Thatcher came to power, her regressive policies inspired something of a resurgence, culminating in tracks like the self-explanatory ‘How Does It Feel To Be The Mother Of 1,000 Dead’ by Crass. Anti-Thatcher music certainly was not limited by genre; seemingly everybody from dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson to pop giants Pet Shop Boys took aim at the Prime Minister over the years.
Just as the neoliberalism decimation of the country under Thatcher can still be felt to this day, much of the music that encapsulated that era of social history still holds up in quality. So, with that in mind, let us drag you kicking and screaming back into the era of striking miners and poll tax riots with five albums that perfectly summarised Thatcherite Britain.
Five albums that sum up Thatcherite Britain:
The Specials – Specials
Released mere months into the premiership of Margaret Thatcher, the debut album from 2 Tone legends The Specials held up a mirror to the ugly face of society in Britain at the time. Covering a broad range of topics, from the welfare state to the rapidly increasing racial tension within society, bolstered both by the Conservative government and the prevalence of far-right hate groups like the National Front, Specials operate an unmatched level of social commentary.
Of course, the iconic ska band would end up being best remembered for the non-album single ‘Ghost Town’, a stunning indictment of Thatcherite socio-economic policy. However, their debut remains an impressive and somewhat depressing account of the state society was in during the early years of Thatcher’s government.
The Style Council – Our Favourite Shop
Rising to prominence during the punk revolution a decade prior to Our Favourite Shop, Paul Weller had always been a politically conscious young man. With The Jam, Weller had repeatedly criticised the government and the widening gap between social classes. When it came to the soul stylings of The Style Council, he moved on from social commentary to calls for unity and class consciousness.
Our Favourite Shop was recorded in the midst of the NUM Miners’ Strike of 1984 and 1985, which clearly had an impact on the content of the album. On tracks like ‘Walls Come Tumbling Down’, Weller preaches the promising power of unity and an uprising against authority. Meanwhile, the song ‘Come to Milton Keynes’ speaks of the breakdown of society under Thatcher.
The Housemartins – London 0 Hull 4
Throughout the years of Thatcher’s government, the country witnessed ever-increasing disparities between the north of the country and the south. Communities in the north were destroyed by the effects of deindustrialisation, with no assistance offered from the Conservative government. In fact, the government planned to put northern cities like Liverpool into “managed decline”. No album represents that continued north-south divide better than The Housemartins’ 1986 debut, London 0 Hull 4.
Within the album, the Hull-based band laments the emergence of yuppie culture with the song ‘Happy Hour’, while also commenting upon the ridiculousness of patriotism on ‘Flag Day’ and calling for class consciousness on ‘Think for a Minute’. Indie music in the 1980s was often very self-centred or non-consequential, but The Housemartins took the genre back to its punk roots while maintaining the pop potential.
Sinead O’Connor – I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got
Of course, the effects of Thatcher’s government would not be limited to the shores of Great Britain. Across the Irish Sea, her government would be responsible for fanning the flames of conflict over the North of Ireland. It is telling, for instance, that Thatcher placed the IRA in the same category as striking miners and football fans as being equal threats to the nation. The greatest encapsulation of Thatcher’s effect in Ireland came towards the end of her reign, with the release of Sinead O’Connor’s I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got.
The record is perhaps best remembered for the pop hit ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’, but it also contains one of the greatest individual anti-Thatcher songs of all time: ‘Black Boys on Mopeds’. The song refers to the death of Nicholas Bramble, who died while being pursued by police who suspected the moped that was rightfully his was stolen. O’Connor used this horrific incident to shine a light on issues of police brutality and widespread racism, which Thatcher’s government helped to foster.
Linton Kwesi Johnson – Making History
Thus far, the albums on this list have largely been created by rock and pop stars who were, to an extent, politically minded. On the other hand, Linton Kwesi Johnson was a political mind with musical tendencies. The poet would employ dub reggae to back his work, but lyrically, it contained some of the most stunning instances of social and political commentary that the UK has ever seen.
Johnson used poetry and music as a “cultural weapon” against injustice and political oppression, and that was never made clearer than on his 1984 album Making History. The entire record is a stunning indictment of Thatcherite Britain, perhaps most notably the tracks ‘Wat About di Working Claas?’ and ‘Di Great Insohreckshan‘. The latter dealt with the Brixton riot of 1981, which resulted from police oppression against the Black community, including increased ‘stop and search’ powers, which were increased and supported by Thatcher’s government.
