Caption Competition: Win 11 Signed Joe Solo Albums
Anyone who knows who Joe Solo is will be entering this competition in seconds - anyone who doesn't is in for a treat! All you have to do to win is come up with a caption for the above pic - what follows may help inspire you.
The Prole Star is helping run this competition in conjunction with Political Provocateur website and Joe Solo Music - and Joe will be announcing the winner on his Coast and County radio show on Monday evening - so get busy, there isn't much time! To enter, reply to posts of this article, or the piece by Political Provocateur, on Facebook or Twitter.
If you aren't lucky enough to win, you can also buy the full 11-album set for the bargain price of just £35 - there's your Xmas presents sorted!
Before you read the official bio - here's the condensed version: Joe Solo is an ordinary human being like all of us. But when he isn't working for a living repairing washing machines, or spending time with his family, he travels the length and breadth of the UK, at his own expense, taking part in events to try and make life better for those in need.
He is the driving force behind the groundbreaking We Shall Overcome project, which has raised money for the poorest and most vulnerable in our society since 2015.
As part of this, he released 'Merry Xmas From Hatfield Main' two years ago, recorded with the Hatfield Brigade, a band of former mineworkers and their families. If you somehow missed out on hearing it, here it is:
On Saturday September 8th 2018 Joe Solo was presented with the Gerrard Winstanley Gold Spade Award for ‘Outstanding Contribution to Socialism’ at Wigan Diggers Festival. The only previous winners had been Tony Benn, Maxine Peake, Jimmy McGovern and Ken Loach.
He is one of the hardest working activists we have ever had the pleasure to work with.
Joe Solo is an award-winning musician, writer, poet, activist, broadcaster and washing machine engineer from Scarborough. His musical odyssey began in 1987 fronting a bash-em-out band at school, and has seen him play nine countries either as lynchpin of pop-punk upstarts Lithium Joe or hammering out his unique brand of Folk, Punk and Blues in his own right.
On top of releasing sixteen albums since 2004, Solo has written books and had them written about him; runs a research project on the Hull Pals Battalions in the First World War; has worked with underprivileged children to help them write their lives in song; co-runs ‘May Day Festival of Solidarity‘ an annual event bringing together voices from music, poetry and politics to celebrate International Worker’s Day; hosts a weekly radio show; and still found time to open for the likes of Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott, Billy Bragg, Chris Wood, TV Smith, Louise Distras, David Rovics, Grace Petrie, Attila the Stockbroker, Otis Gibbs, Robb Johnson, Edgar Broughton, Naomi Bedford & Paul Simmonds, Emily Portman, Pete Wylie, and The Blockheads; whilst his songs have been played by John Peel on Radio One, Mike Harding on Radio Two and Tom Robinson on BBC6Music.
In May 2015 Joe helped create WE SHALL OVERCOME, a campaign pushing for a positive response from the music community to the poverty and hardship inflicted on ordinary people by the government’s austerity program. Since October 2015 the movement has organised more than 900 gigs in 142 towns and cities across 9 countries on 3 continents raising an estimated £400,000 in cash, food, clothing and bedding for those hardest hit.
WSO scooped the ‘People’s Choice’ gong at the annual Yorkshire Grassroots Music Awards on 16th October 2015, and on the back of his efforts The Morning Star named Solo ‘Human Being of the Year’.In October 2016 Joe was awarded the ‘Outstanding Songwriting’ prize at Yorkshire Gig Guide Grassroots Music Awards for his work on the album ‘Never Be Defeated’ telling the stories of the men and women of Hatfield during the 1984-85 Miner’s Strike; and their annual songs together, under the name Joe Solo & The Hatfield Brigade, raise much-needed cash for the DN7 Hardship Fund set up to help those struggling in the former pit communities of South Yorkshire. Just before Xmas 2016 they performed on stage together with a very special guest, none other than Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
After 30 years of writing and gigging, Joe made his Glastonbury debut in June 2017, taking to the Leftfield stage a skip in his step and a tear in his eye. As he said later: “It only took 30 years! Imagine what I could do in another 30!”
Don't forget, to enter you need to reply with your caption - TODAY! - to either our FB post or the post by Political Provocateur
Joe will announce the winner on his show between 10 and 11pm tonight - Good Luck!