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  1. Politics
26 March 2010updated 12 Oct 2023 11:09am

Our 20 greatest political songs as read by Tony Blackburn

Radio DJ counts down our pick of the greatest political songs.

By George Eaton

This week we published a list of the 20 greatest political songs, as selected by members of the Political Studies Association, and it’s proving quite a phenomenon. No less a figure than the radio DJ and I’m a Celebrity . . . Get Me Out of Here! winner Tony Blackburn has counted down some of his favourites from the list on the Daily Politics.

Elsewhere, NME has picked up on the list and named some “glaring omissions”, including Metallica’s “One” and System of a Down’s “BYOB”.

Here’s a reminder of the 20 that made the cut. But which do you think we missed? Let us know and we may use them in the future.

1. Woody Guthrie — This Land Is Your Land
2. The Special AKA — Free Nelson Mandela
3. Bob Dylan — The Times They are a-Changin’
4. Billie Holiday — Strange Fruit
5. Claude de Lisle — La Marseillaise
6. U2 — Sunday Bloody Sunday
7. Eugène Pottier — The Internationale
8. Robert Wyatt/Elvis Costello — Shipbuilding
9. Sex Pistols — God Save the Queen
10. William Blake — Jerusalem
11. The Who — Won’t Get Fooled Again
12. Rage Against the Machine — Killing in the Name
13. Tracy Chapman — Talkin’ ’bout a Revolution
14. Nina Simone — Mississippi Goddam
15. Marvin Gaye — What’s Going On?
16. Gil Scott-Heron — The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
17. Bob Marley — Redemption Song
18. John Lennon — Imagine
19. Pete Seeger — Where Have All the Flowers Gone?
20. Tom Robinson — Glad to Be Gay

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Select and enter your email address Your weekly guide to the best writing on ideas, politics, books and culture every Saturday. The best way to sign up for The Saturday Read is via saturdayread.substack.com The New Statesman's quick and essential guide to the news and politics of the day. The best way to sign up for Morning Call is via morningcall.substack.com Our Thursday ideas newsletter, delving into philosophy, criticism, and intellectual history. The best way to sign up for The Salvo is via thesalvo.substack.com Stay up to date with NS events, subscription offers & updates. Weekly analysis of the shift to a new economy from the New Statesman's Spotlight on Policy team. The best way to sign up for The Green Transition is via spotlightonpolicy.substack.com
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