'Battle of Saltley Gate' / 'Folk Songs, Pop - Rock Music

These recordings are primarily research tapes for the show's script and to provide actuality statements as required. They consist of interviews made by Charles Parker with miners from South Wales and Yorkshire. Duplicate recordings were created by Parker and these are retained in this sub series. There are also some recordings of folk songs and (possibly) rehearsals of pop/rock music sessions. Although recorded on a tape whose box includes a reference to Saltley Gate, at the time of cataloguing it is unclear as to the precise relationship of this recording to the rest of the 'Saltley Gate' tapes.

MS 1611/B/9 [Banner Theatre 'Saltley Gate Show']

'Saltley Gate' of the title refers to a district of Birmingham, close to the site of a historic victory for the British labour movement. On Thursday 10th February 1972, mass pickets from the National Union of Mineworkers [NUM], supported by hundreds of trades unionists from Birmingham factories forced Nechells Gas Works to close. [This should not be confused with Saltley Gas Works, which remained open during the dispute.] This closure prevented coking coal being moved from Nechells to other gas works and contributed to the success of the national Miners' Strike.

Banner Theatre's 'Saltley Gate Show' was billed as a celebration of working class solidarity. It was scripted by Dave Rogers, Chris Rogers, Rhoma Bowdler and Charles Parker. 'Saltley Gate' was originally produced in 1976 under the direction of Rhoma Bowdler. In 1977, the play was performed in London in support of the Grunwick strikers, a campaign that similarly called on mass support from the labour movement [including miners].

'Saltley Gate' was repeated as a concert version in the early 1990s. This was undertaken in response to requests from NUM activists to help with the campaign against pit closures in 1992 -93.