Des de Moor
And They All Sang Rosselsongs: Various artists

Words and music by Leon Rosselson.

Des de Moor has contributed to an outstanding compilation of new recordings celebrating the work of Leon Rosselson, veteran English chansonnier and one of Britain's foremost political songwriters. And They All Sang Rosselsongs, released on 5 September 2005 on Fuse Records, features Des's interpretation of 'Jackboot Democrats' alongside tracks from well-known folk performers like Martin Carthy and Frankie Armstrong as well as contributions from artists known for English chanson like Barb Jungr and Robb Johnson (see full listing left).

Des comments: "Leon has for many years been a lone representative of intelligent and incisive songwriting on the British music scene and I've long admired his work. I've been doing 'Jackboot Democrats' in live sets for some time now and I was proud to be asked for my version to appear in such distinguished company.

"The song came from his 1986 LP Bringing the News From Nowhere and as far as I'm aware Leon's original version hasn't been re-released on CD. He hardly ever does the song himself, I think because the references locate it firmly in the high Thatcherism of the mid-1980s. But it's a brilliant song, a great one to perform, and the bitterly humorous contempt and disgust for the ruling class expressed in the lyrics is vintage Rosselson. And let's face it, today's lot are no less militaristic, authoritarian, callous and awash with toadyism, dishonesty and hypocrisy than they were when Leon wrote the song 20 years ago."

Des's version was recorded with the help of long-term collaborators, pianist David Harrod, who also co-arranged based on the original arrangement by Fiz Shapur, and Julia Doyle who contributes some great bowed bass work.

The album is also well worth a listen for the 14 other distinguished interpreters tackling hand-picked jewels from Leon's long career, all of them, as he says in his sleeve notes, "singers who know how to sing words and who are not afraid to stamp their own personalities on the songs." Especially noteworthy are Barb Jungr and Adrian York's take on 'Invisible Married Breakfast Blues'; David Campbell's powerful reworking of 'Stand Up For Judas' with programming by Nick Garvey; Eliza Carthy's take on 'The Man Who Puffs The Big Cigar', one of Leon's most Brechtian songs; and Robb Johnson rising brilliantly to the unenviable task of reinterpreting Leon's possibly best-known song, 'The World Turned Upside Down'.