Julian Cope's Black Sheep Joe Strummer Memorial Busking Tour in the North West

Riding the crest of the wave of excitement and critical acclaim generated by his new album, Julian Cope and his band of Black Sheep played on the streets of Britain from the 27th - 29th October, in a successful three day busking tour dedicated to the memory of a similar adventure undertaken by the Clash's Joe Strummer, back in 1986.

In the raw and radical spirit of his new album, Black Sheep, Cope and his merry black clad band, Acoustika, Michael O'Sullivan, Universal Panzies leader Christophe F., and Big Nige, ably accompanied by the mysterious Sqwubbsy, took the music to the people, in the most authentic possible way, by busking it at culturally significant sites with links to civil protest, direct action and key political moments.
As ever, Cope drew on his impressive knowledge of cultural history and treated the crowds to insightful and moving speeches at each of the locations, which blended with the music to make each stop on the tour uniquely relevant to its location.
Braving the wintry weather, Cope and the band were stalwortly supported by the faithful fans and friends, who had often travelled long distances for a chance to participate in this historic event.
Conjuring up the true spirit of rock 'n' roll, playing a mix of new and older songs, highlights of the North West's leg of the tour included numbers from the new album and a cracking good version of Pristeen at the Peterloo Massacre memorial plaque, near St. Peter's Square, Manchester. This was closely followed by the set at the site of the bust of Carl Jung, in Liverpool's Matthew Street, where the band brought the tour to a close with a marvellous version of the Teardrop's Sleeping Gas/Mighty Carl Jung, with Julian and audience members singing and dancing in the biting rain, and loving every minute of it.

You missed it? Most people did. This was a hit and run, blink and you missed it, elusive experience, a legendary moment shared by the very fortunate few.

Latest news is that Julian has had to cancel his Royal Festival Hall gig on the 18th November due to a severe throat infection, so if you have tickets for it, please contact the venue, not the Drude, to see what they have to say about refunds.

customer@southbankcentre.co.uk

By Rikki Wright

for more info about the tour visit Julian Cope's Head Heritage site

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