All you need is love: Beatles week, UKIP & plastic flags.
This past week my life has been dominated by the music of The Beatles and we all know that a Beatles week has 8 days in it (ugh).
It’s been an immense pleasure to spend time with folks from all over the globe brought together by a band from Liverpool. It was a week of great joy but I had one day away from the festival to cover the supposed UKIP march through the streets of Liverpool.
The juxtaposition of union jacks; both being on display in the day compared to the night, and having wildly different meanings in the context they were used, was something that gave me both joy and anguish.
In the day, the Union Jack printed on cheap plastic stood for all I despise about it. Ignorance, hatred, misunderstanding and racism. Then in the night - proudly displayed on guitars and guitar straps from musicians from different cultures and nations. This symbolised “Cool Britannia”, creativity, understanding and a flag proud of its musical heritage and culture. The real meaning of the flag was shown from foreigners coming over here and having a good time, how dare they!
The Beatles themselves were influenced by cultures from all over the globe too, from the early black rhythm and blues records arriving into the Liverpool docks from America which eventually shaped the basis of the Skiffle music sound in Liverpool. Then later in their career and the influences George Harrison pulled from India formed songs like Across the Universe. That’s the wonderful thing about music- it transcends all borders and cultures.
UKIP wanted to march through the streets of L8 - a multicultural hub of Liverpool. Wanting to pass by the local mosque and the Nelson Mandela centre whilst the people of those cultures were celebrating with the community in a day of activities and understanding. They then wanted to end their march at the Women’s hospital, cause that’s just what you want, having a racist mob turn up as you’re giving birth. Won’t somebody think of the children? Evidently not.
UKIP tried to cause a division in those communities to put fear into them, that they aren’t welcome, although they are more welcome in this city than you will ever be. Luckily, the people of Liverpool stopped them. They didn’t leave the boundaries of St. George’s hall, they had a quick walk around the block before disbanding into meek fragments. I couldn’t have been more proud to see them fail so spectacularly.
The real beauty of this week was in L8 and what was happening right down in the basement of an old jazz club, in the birth place of Liverpool’s music scene. In a club inspired by the jazz clubs in France, dominated by a band that was inspired by America, that cut their teeth in Germany, that pieced the iron curtain in Russia and that now plays host to bands from Indonesia, Poland, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Japan, Brazil, Argentina, Sweden, Peru, Costa Rica, Chile, Spain, Germany, France... You can see what I’m getting at here.
Music and culture is a melting pot and what doesn’t divide us only makes us stronger and for that to happen all you need is love and not a plastic flag.
