Singer Sean Cooney of award-winning folk trio The Young 'Uns is among various speakers in a day of talks exploring Teesside culture, people, politics and history later this month.
The daytime event, called Tees Politics, History & Ideas, will take place at Middlesbrough's Dorman Museum on Sunday, November 17.
Other speakers include two Teesside University research students, a leading Middlesbrough councillor and a Whitby author on film and music.
Stockton-born Sean Cooney is a singer, songwriter, radio presenter and Young 'Uns member. He has won three BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards with the group. Their albums include Tiny Notes, which has an LP version manufactured at Middlesbrough's Press On Vinyl record plant.
Sean also wrote The Ballad of Johnny Longstaff, a musical performance charting the life of a Stockton man who joined 1930s hunger marches and political causes, and fought fascism in the Spanish Civil War. It has been performed across the UK and abroad, including Stockton's Arc venue for BBC Radio 3. Sean has written and presented documentaries for BBC Radio 4 and appeared on BBC TV's Springwatch and Inside Out. He also works with schools and singing workshops.
Other speakers will include Middlesbrough councillor Philippa Storey, deputy mayor and executive member for education and culture. She also has links to community organisations, Tees Valley Combined Authority, Middlesbrough Development Corporation and Tees Valley Arts Board.
Teesside University PhD research student Jake Milner will talk about Teesside's changing industrial identity from the 1970s to the 2020s,contemporary green economics and the need for local decision-making.
Separately, this year is the 50th anniversary of major council changes in 1974, offering an opportunity to reflect on the region's decision-making arrangements and democratic representation, past, present and future.
Teesside culture and social history is on the agenda too. Chloe Morgan, also a Teesside University PhD researcher, will examine folk traditions of east Cleveland longsword dancing in villages including Loftus. The origins of longsword dancing has been widely debated but there has been less focus on the dancers themselves, Chloe said. Her talk will highlight dancers, families and social aspects of the tradition.
Another speaker is Mark Goodall, who grew up in Great Ayton, attended Stokesley School and now lives in Whitby. He is a Bradford University associate professor specialising in film history, music and counter-culture. His talk will highlight the significance of 1970s and 80s Teesside punk and new wave bands, fanzines, record shops and venues on rural areas. Alternative music outside big cities is rarely addressed and is arguably an unwritten history.
Tees Politics, History & Ideas is developed by journalist Robbie MacDonald and Teesside University principal lecturer Christopher Massey, with input from Teesside University and Middlesbrough's MIMA gallery. Their first event was held at MIMA in 2021. Admission is free. Organisers and speakers are all unpaid and contributing as volunteers.
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