A Miner Club Hit

A Keith LeBlanc and Adrian Sherwood production from 1984, paying tribute to the massive Miners Strike then taking place in the UK. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that this is probably the greatest pro-union, electro hip-hop single of all time. (I dream of a world where it would have more competition!)

The Enemy Within - Support The Miners
Rough Trade - RTT 151
Vinyl, 12", 45 RPM, UK, 1984
More info on Discogs

Tracklist
A        Strike
B        Strike (General Mix)

Keith LeBlanc is an American drummer, probably best known for his 1983 No Sell Out single, released by a still new Tommy Boy Records. The record was credited to Malcolm X, whose cut up speeches were set over a LeBlanc produced beat. Although claims that it was the first record to use "sampling" or the first to use a DMX drum machine are laying it on a bit too thick, No Sell Out is rightly celebrated as a key moment in hip-hop and electronic music history.

Less well known is today's record, something of a cousin to that cut. As No Sell Out was making waves in 1984 New York, another 12" single would be released in the UK, this time setting the speeches of the National Union of Miners president, Arthur Scargill, over LeBlanc's futuristic drum programming. Scargill's union had walked out on what was to be a brutal, year long national strike and a defining battle with Thatcherism for unions, working people and the left. London record label Rough Trade funded the release as a benefit for the miners' solidarity fund.

Maggie Thatcher referred to strikers as "the enemy within," her attack giving a name to this one-off project. According to the insert, "The Enemy Within is John Duguid and Marek Kohn," who are credited with the record's "concept and vocal arrangement." (Kohn would go on to be a successful writer on science and politics.) The two of them pulled together and arranged the recordings of union rallies, but the music is by Keith LeBlanc, who co-produced the record with Adrian Sherwood in one of the earliest of their many, many collaborations. LeBlanc's electro, hip-hip beats are definitely given the Sherwood touch as dub influences seep in along with a healthy appreciation for the noise and distortions that the studio could create.

LeBlanc had spent a few years prior to this as the house drummer working for Sugar Hill Records, playing on classics by the Sugarhill Gang, Grandmaster Flash and others. Along with fellow Sugar Hill house band veterans Doug Wimbish (bass) and Skip McDonald (guitar), the link with On-U Sound's Adrian Sherwood would go on to create important music under many names and in many genres: influential hip-hop, funk, reggae, blues, rock, dub and industrial records were put together by this crew over the years. As Tackhead, Fats Comet, Maffia, Little Axe, and other guises, these four created many of my favorite records, so we'll definitely be hearing about them again. (And again and again.)

On a different note- In a strange twist of fate, I wound up speaking at a May Day event in Manchester, England a few years ago that also featured Arthur Scargill participating on a panel. T and I were invited to fly out there by one of the UK teachers unions to speak about our union's recent strikes. I'm not much of a traveler and have rarely ever left the country, but it was a great experience. Kind of remarkable (and surreal) that I somehow stumbled my way in life into meeting this legendary labor leader at a Trades Union Council hall in northern England. Of course, I secretly wish I had been carrying my copy of this 12" on that day... Hard to imagine what he (or 99% of the striking miners for that matter) would have thought about this track dedicated to them if they heard it booming out of a speaker back in 1984!

Join the union, support strikers and enjoy the music at the links below!