| Hue and Cry – Labour of Love Lyrics | 10 years ago |
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I remember this coming out in early 1987; I was a political young thing and was struck immediately by the double play of the lyrics describing both an unhappy romantic relationship and the relationship between the electorate and the tory government. "Do you recall about 7 years ago now you said That you were so tough..." Thatcher had been elected in 79 on a conservative party platform of bringing toughness back to a Britain which had "gone soft". In particular they campaigned hard against the trade unions which were perceived at the time as holding Britain to ransom by frequent striking. "Gonna withdraw my labour of love Gonna strike for the right to get into your heart" Nevertheless trade unions continued to withdraw the labour of their members (aka striking) and during Thatcher's second term we saw the Miners' Strike in 1984-85 and the Wapping dispute (printer's strike) of 1986. "I've had enough of you, and your super-bad crew" And so this song ushered in the June general election of 1987 with a promise of an electoral revolt and the sweeping out of the tories from number 10. Except sadly I was too young to vote and clearly Hue and Cry had less voting influence than I'd hoped; the electorate returned Thatcher for a third term and we would have to wait another 10 years to get rid of the tories. |
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