While I was studying for my GCSEs and A-Levels, The Levellers were massive. Being heavily into goth and dark, noisy stuff, their zealous folk-rock did nothing for me. Of course, more than the music I loathed their fans: middle-class pseudo-dropouts who thought dreadlocks and white lightning was the perfect rebellion against suburban respectability. They were so sodding right-on in their German army jackets and DMs, sitting cross-legged in the parks smoking spliffs.
The music, it has to be said, still does nothing for me, despite my horizons being considerably wider these days, but I have to admit a certain respect for the band, who’ve carried on regardless without being swayed by whatever happens to be in vogue.
‘The Recruiting Sergeant’ is a rabble-rousing call to (down) arms, a vehement anti-war song, and whatever your opinion of the band and their music (or their fans), there’s no denying that they’re sincere and honourable in their political intent. And in times of such painful apathy, we need agitators like The Levellers, and it’s also welcome to find a charity release (this one’s in support of War Child) that’s actually saying something, and isn’t a half-arsed cover to raise the profile of some chart-friendly pretty boys / vacant bims.
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The Levellers Online
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