The Dirty Blackleg Miner.

Those of you who were part of the Folk Club scene in the 1960's may well remember Bob Davenport. He was a Geordie and had a hugely powerful voice, which had no need of microphones, and I was told that it exploded, like an atomic bomb, in the largest of halls. I only saw him once and have found most of his early recordings almost impossible to find. He sang a number of memorable songs including "Hanging from the Old Barbed Wire" a WW1 song of anger about the  countless millions of men who were needlessly killed because of the power games of government and royalty across Europe. Yes the same ones who hypocritically lay their wreaths on war memorials at this time of year.

 He also sang, "The Dirty Blackleg Miner" which way before the strikes of the 1980's and had been going the rounds for decades. It was a song about miners, brought in from other parts of the country to break a strike, and the bitterness that was felt towards them. Bob sang the song from the pit of his stomach and vehemently spat out the title line. Unfortunately no recording of this, by him, seems to be available and sadly modern folk singers have prettified and gutted the song but this version is nearer to the original.