Messages of Support

There should be a permanent and very visible memorial to Alan Hull in Newcastle because – in his work and his life – he was such an inspiration to countless people who share his convictions of freedom and justice. His music delighted, it intrigued, it was always full of humanitarian purpose and it had a marvellous mixture of gravity and humour.
Above all, his democratic socialist commitment to peace and to opportunity, care and security for people of all ages, both sexes and every creed and ethnic background should be highlighted as practical ideals that have enduring value for all generations.
Neil Kinnock - 23rd November 2011 House of Lords

We must celebrate Alan Hull, not only to remember his achievements but to remind ourselves what it is possible to achieve. Born and brought up in the West End of Newcastle, Alan went on to write one of the greatest anthems of the North East, certainly the greatest of modern times.
I would like to see a visible memorial to Alan so that this generation can celebrate him and the next can be inspired to create the anthems and legends of a strong and vibrant North East culture. Personally, I think a Blue Plaque on the City Hall would be great.
Chi Onwurah, MP for Newcastle Central - 24th November 2011

Alan was a true working class champion who never forgot his roots and was always there for the workers when they were engaged in battle. He lived a true socialist life and I believe he is fully deserving of a Blue Memorial Plaque on Newcastle City Hall.
Dennis Skinner MP - 21st November 2011

As a Southerner come North in the very early 1970’s there was no-one who gave me a greater feel of the soul and character of Newcastle Upon Tyne and it’s people than the lyrics and music of Alan Hull and Lindisfarne. When family and friends down South asked me what it was like they had pictures more of Lowry in their minds. I gave them the words and music of Alan Hull and their perspective of the North East totally changed.
Alan Hull and his gift of music and words took his home of Tyneside into the homes of the world. Let him be remembered for that gift he brought Tyneside.
Malcolm Macdonald - 24th November 2011

For me Alan Hull stands alongside Jackie Milburn, Bobby Thompson and Basil Bunting as a Geordie icon. He remains an inspiration for many of the young folksinger / songwriters that I know and respect. Although Alan’s songs are a living memorial I’m sure that if the city of his birth had the decency to erect a memorial of some kind it would serve as an encouragement to future musicians and lyricists and show the toon had a rooted sense of itself.
Tom Pickard - 22nd November 2011

Councillors
Alan Hull was one of the most important creative artists to come out of Newcastle, not just in the latter half of the 20th century, the period when he so potently plied his musical/lyrical trade, but at any time. As a Novo-Castrian he was an inspiration to me. I regard it as lamentable that his contribution to local, national and international culture has up until now not been appropriately, i.e. officially, commemorated.
If you have the opportunity to rectify this I would implore you to do the right thing via some kind of acknowledgement. In this age of transient celebrity, bona-fide heroes are thin on the ground and we should recognise and honour the memory of those few we've been fortunate to have among us.
Jimmy Nail - 17th November 2011

What do people think of when they think about Newcastle? I am sure they would say Newcastle Brown Ale, the Tyne Bridge and NUFC. If you asked them about music, many would say Lindisfarne and if you pushed further and asked for just one song, I am absolutely sure it would be the Alan Hull classic ‘Fog on the Tyne’.
There are many great things about Newcastle upon Tyne, let’s add one more - a permanent memorial to Alan.
Amanda Berry OBE (who attended Newcastle University), Chief Executive of BAFTA

I hope Newcastle City Council will find a way to honour the memory of Alan Hull, who was a valued musical ambassador for Tyneside.
Mark Knopfler OBE - 18th November 2001

I grew up in Whitley Bay when Alan Hull was already a legend on Tyneside. There should be a permanent memorial to Alan Hull in Newcastle.....the idea of renaming part of a street “Alan Hull Way” together with a plaque on Newcastle City Hall where he performed more times than any other artiste would be a fitting memorial. I fully support Barry McKay’s initiative.
Mr Ian Huffam (originally from Whitley Bay, and agent for some of biggest music stars in the world including Robbie Williams, Coldplay, Blur and Black Eyed Peas)

Alan Hull and myself were partners in Lindisfarne for nearly twenty years, sharing the vocals and spreading the message of our native north east, particularly Tyneside, to all parts of the globe. Alan, who was a few years my senior, already had experience of performing his songs in public and started his own folk club at the Rex Hotel in Whitley Bay where we first met. Emerging names from the world of folk music at that time, The Humblebums (featuring Billy Connolly and Gerry Rafferty), Ralph McTell and Al Stewart, would play there on a regular basis. It became a vehicle for him to play and develop his own stage craft and writing talent but also to invite young performers like myself to play to a sympathetic audience. I was in a new band called Brethren and Alan liked our songs and music as we did his and we decided to team up and form a new group. This was the birth of what eventually became Lindisfarne, although we were Alan Hull and Brethren at the start. The rest is music business history.
Partly through Alan’s song writing Lindisfarne became, inadvertently, ambassadors for the north east, proudly, proclaiming our heritage to all parts of the world. Recording Alan’s song Fog On The Tyne put the area well and truly on the map. This iconic title is still used on a regular basis by journalists and writers forty years on.
Alan was not just any old pop music writer, he recorded the zeitgeist of the working people of Newcastle, pointing out injustices suffered by ordinary people, exposing those who were to blame. He was a champion of the underdog and latterly became interested in politics to fight for rights at a local level.
It would be fitting to have something to mark his commitment to the City of Newcastle by naming a square or a street after him. Better still would be to name a music performing establishment after him or renaming The Newcastle City Hall, where he and Lindisfarne appeared so often.
Alan in his own words, from the song, I Am and So Are You, wrote: “I am a singer of songs, a writer of wrongs”, which is the phrase that sums him up perfectly.
Mr Ray Jackson - 19th November 2011

As a Geordie who has lived in London for half my life, two things make me homesick, seeing a picture of the Tyne Bridge and hearing 'Fog On The Tyne', the North East's anthem. I support the wonderful idea to raise a memorial to Alan Hull.
Anthony Thomson - Co-founder and Chairman, Metro Bank (and Novocastrian)

That this House notes with deep regret the sudden and tragic death of Alan Hull, leading member of the North East band Lindisfarne; notes that Alan not only brought great pleasure to millions of music lovers but was a dedicated socialist who cared deeply for his fellow man; extends deepest sympathy to Alan's wife Pat and their three daughters in their loss; and notes that their grief is shared by his many friends and colleagues and by Tyneside as a whole which has lost a great ambassador, a true Geordie and a good man.
Early day motion, House of Commons from David Clelland - 20th November 1995

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-alan-hull-1582853.html

Alan Hull was a man who stood up for what he believed in and achieved what few others of any generation will achieve. He wrote great and memorable songs and 'Pipedream' is one of the great underrated albums.

south of Lindisfarne territory, and having fallen in with a bunch of flared trousered tie-dye wearing Grateful Dead and Pink Floyd fans, I wasn't expecting a bolt from the north, but got hit all the same. When the strains of Lady Eleanor started to be heard first on the radio, and then on our stereos, once we'd invested in a copy of Nicely Out Of Tune, we knew we'd hit another lode of the good stuff. Never mind London art schools or the Haight-Ashbury, here was a poet who spoke, as we did, with a provincial British accent. It wasn't our provincial accent, it was from somewhere far more remote and mysterious; Newcastle! I followed Alan's progress through album after album of heartfelt and beautifully stated emotions. I was gutted once I realised that I'd never even be able to dial the STD code 0632. I've had Geordie friends all my life, but I've never been there myself yet. What I know is that there should at the very least be a plaque to read, and somewhere to stand and reflect upon his brilliance, once I get there.

I first saw Lindisfarne at Knebworth in 1980, well down the bill, in the early afternoon. I hadn't really listened to them much before. They were wonderful and had the crowd on their feet clapping along. After that I saw them many many times, taking along friends who all became converts. The Christmas shows were joyful, and the highlight of each year.

Yes, Newcastle should celebrate Lindisfarne in any way they can.They should be proud of the Geordie Beatles and put up a blue plaque for each and every member of that great band.

Put up the plaque and I will make a pilgrimage.

I was present when the blue plaque was unveiled on Leeds University to commemorate The Who Live At Leeds concert. In attendance were Roger Daltrey, Pete Townsend, Peter Blake and Andy Kershaw. I'm sure Leeds Council did not have to give permission.

Oh this has stirred up some great memories for me, I was too young to see them when they originally toured but saw Lindisfarne at Newcastle City Hall for two Christmas concerts in the early 80's when they revived their Christmas concert series. Two of the best concerts I think I have ever been to.
Somewhere upstairs in a cupboard I have two live Lindisfarntastic vinyl albums from the concerts. I wonder whether they are worth anything now!
Clear White Light was always my favourite track followed by Lady Eleanor.

If memory serves, that's what it said on the sleeve-notes on Pipe Dream. Add to that bloody good bloke and taken too early. Oh, and they were the first band I ever saw live - January 1976 at The Palais Theatre, Newark.

Good luck with your petition - I'll try and make room for it over on my blog in the next few days.

Alan Hull was a fantastic songwriter. Pipedream is immense and so was the Lindisfarne stuff. I only saw them live once as a double header Charisma gig with Genesis - some time ago as it was before Foxtrot was released. I remember the joy from that gig and their rendition of Z Cars of all things.
Fog on the Tyne and Lady Eleanor are indeed classics but my absolute favourite is January Song. They don't come much better than that. Thanks for bringing this to our attention.

being a Newcastle lad myself ( i went to Rutherford School in the Seventies, just a mile up the West Rd from your old record shop )i,m well aware of the love and respect Alan still holds with the Geordie public..it,s a bond that deserves official recognition. Best of luck with the campaign

Had a call from an ex-DJ/TV presenter who used to compile Guiness Book of British Hit Singles to offer support.......also some encouraging noises from Newcastle Civic Centre.......

Lindisfarne were a source of entertainment, and a generator of passion and pride, for the region that spawned them. They were, and remain, favourite sons, and for good reason. They provided a major national, and international, boost for Newcastle and Northumberland at a time when the city was on its uppers, and the county was a forgotten, neglected corner of the country. Alan Hull's generous, socially-aware, righteously-angry, funny, inventive, adventurous spirit has ensured, and will continue to ensure, that his music and his message live on, long after his own early death. A blue plaque commemorating Alan, and Lindisfarne, on the wall of Newcastle City Hall, where they brought music and laughter, tears of joy, anger and sorrow, and an uplifted heart, to many thousands of people, would be a truly appropriate way of saying thank you.

News Release

Newcastle City Council

www.newcastle.gov.uk

For Immediate Release
29 February 2012
PR 3770

City Honour for Lindisfarne’s Alan Hull

Lindisfarne singer/song writer Alan Hull will be honoured with a permanent tribute to his life and career following a decision by Newcastle City Council’s Conservation Advisory Panel.

Meeting today, Wednesday, 29 February, the panel decided to award Alan who is one of the city most famous and best loved sons with a commemorative plaque.

The tribute to the late singer/song writer will be displayed at the City Hall which hosted Lindisfarne’s well-known Christmas concerts for many years.

The artist who passed away in November 1995 is best known for songs including ‘Lady Eleanor’, ‘Fog on the Tyne’, ‘Meet Me on the Corner’ and the anthemic ‘Run for Home’.

Before forging a critically acclaimed career in music Alan Hull worked as a nurse in mental health at the city’s St Nicholas Hospital and was also a poet and active campaigner for the North East.

The proposal for the memorial had been supported by famous North East names including Jimmy Nail, Mark Knopfler, Malcolm Macdonald and Chi Onwurah, MP for Newcastle Central

Cllr Henri Murison, Cabinet Member for Quality of Life, said: “Songs like Run for Home and Fog on the Tyne are some of this city’s most famous anthems and are known all over the world. They are a welcome reminder to Geordies living abroad of home whenever they are played.

"Alan wrote most of Lindisfarne's songs and it is fair to say that Lindisfarne were to Newcastle what the Beatles were to Liverpool.

"The City Hall played such an important role in Alan’s career and was the venue for many of Lindisfarne most memorable performances so it is appropriate that this creative site will act as the location for this permanent tribute to Alan’s life and will act as a beacon to his legacy."

Barry McKay, former Lindisfarne manager and promoter of their Christmas shows, said: “I’m extremely happy and proud that Alan is to be honoured with a plaque on Newcastle’s City Hall as, although he has performed all over the UK and across the globe and appeared at many legendary festivals such as Knebworth, the City Hall was Alan’s favourite venue in the world.”

An unveiling ceremony will be arranged by the city council in partnership with the Hull family and will take place later this year.

ENDS

http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/9561633.The_sign_by__the_Tyne_is_m...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-17210771

http://www.journallive.co.uk/north-east-news/todays-news/2012/02/29/plaq...

Excellent news!

A plaque commemorating the life of musician and poet Alan Hull will be unveiled in Newcastle in July. The plaque will celebrate the singer's links with Newcastle City Hall, where his band Lindisfarne performed more than 120 times.

It is to be unveiled by Newcastle's Lord Mayor in the presence of family members, friends and former colleagues.

Former Lindisfarne members will play a street concert after the ceremony on 19 July. Hull died in 1995 aged 50.

In addition to those who knew Mr Hull personally, the council is encouraging anyone who enjoyed his music to attend the unveiling ceremony in order to "celebrate the wonderful contribution that Alan made to his home city".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-17994008