Another Peter Wright, not the same one as yesterday's, though his story also has antipodean links.
Something of a cause celèbre in 1987, though hindsight suggests it was a bit of storm in a teacup, and perhaps no one would have noticed it at the time had not the government and the Establishment kicked up such a fuss by banning the publication of the Spycatcher book.
This song may be the most memorably legacy of the whole affair. Written by Rosselson, including lyrics which gave away the 'secrets' the government wanted withheld, Wikipedia takes up the story:
Rosselson set out to break the law. He spent two days reading [Peter Wright's book], then encapsulated it and quoted from it in a specially written song, Ballad of a Spycatcher which was published in the British weekly New Statesman. A single of it, with backing from Billy Bragg and the Oyster Band, was released and started to get radio play, including by Simon Bates on the BBC pop music channel Radio 1. He appeared to expect a police raid or court order. In the event, nothing happened. In Rosselson's words: "So much for subversive intentions…" It even reached number 7 in the NME indie singles charts.
In the event, nothing happened. I'd like to think that someone in the Establishment noted that Rosselson was on a secret list of National Treasures and granted immunity from prosecution. After all, only people like me would buy the record, so it wasn't going to change anything. I signed the Official Secrets Act that same year, and went on unofficial strike in protest at the ban on Trade Union membership at GCHQ the following year.
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