>
>Billy Bragg is attempting to get - against all the odds - the UK's
>Number One single during Golden Jubilee Week at the start of June.
>His song, Take Down the Union Jack, is the music industry's only
>dissenting
>contribution to the Royal event, which will otherwise see Sir Paul
>McCartney and Sir Elton John, together with Pop Idol Will Young and
>S Club, performing a pop concert at Buckingham Palace.
>
>Bragg and his tiny independent label, Cooking Vinyl, acknowledge that
>they are up against the enormous marketing muscle of the major
>  corporations, but believe that Take Down the Union Jack can become
>a conduit for everyone wanting to protest against all that is
>represented by the Golden Jubilee.
>
>Take Down the Union Jack will be released in three formats - priced at
>£1.99 each or all three for £5.00 - on Monday 20th May 2002. All profits
>will be donated to the Living Wage Campaign. Says Billy Bragg: "Am I
>the only person in the country who is dreading the festival of
>fawning and flag waving that will accompany the Golden Jubilee
>celebrations this summer? "Whilst the Daily Mail congratulates
>itself on mounting its recent advertising campaign on behalf of the
>Royal Family, I find myself
>wondering what I can do to express my dissent? Maybe send a letter to
>the papers or perhaps hold a republican street party? Such small
>gestures would be lost amongst the royalist propaganda determined to
>portray Britain as a nation united in celebration of Her Majesty's
>Reign. "But how would it be if, in the week of the Golden Jubilee,
>the UK singles chart was topped by a song called Take Down the Union
>Jack? I believe that if each of you is prepared to spend a total of
>just £5.00 to purchase all three formats of the CD single, then
>together we can make our mark in history.
>
>"Counting the number of CDs sold is a trivial way of measuring the depth
>of antipathy towards the monarchy, but it's no less a scientific method
>than pointing to the crowds outside Buckingham Palace as proof that,
>at heart, we are still a nation of royalists. "This single offers
>everyone a chance to register their opposition to the Golden Jubilee
>in a communal act of defiance. What better time to be blowing a
>raspberry than in the week of the celebrations themselves?"
>
>  .......................................................................
>  .
>  .
>    For more information go to http://www.angloplugging.co.uk
>     Clare Beaumont  Anglo Plugging Regional Promotions
>    Tel:  020 7800 4488  Fax: 020 7371 9490 Mob: 07788 922 960
>    Fulham Palace, Bishops Avenue, London, SW6  6EA