John Sinclair – Renegade Poet, Beatnik and Cultural Revolutionary

Immortalized by John Lennon’s 1972 song that bears his name, Sinclair is an iconic figure of ‘60s counterculture, famous for, among other things, having co-founded the anti-racist White Panther Party and for managing Detroit’s legendary proto-punk outfit MC5 early in its history. Following a highly publicized two-year stint in prison for marijuana possession (Lennon’s song was a protest against his incarceration), Sinclair has stuck to his guns as an advocate for marijuana reform. “Living Euro to Euro, sleeping on the couches and extra beds of friends, a man without a country and a post office box in New Orleans for a permanent address.” That's how spoken word poet John Sinclair describes…

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Iron Man Records Rehearsal Space and Recording Studio in Birmingham.

“Imagination is the only weapon in the war against reality” – The Cheshire Cat, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Iron Man Records provides a cultural outpost for Musicians, Writers, Performers and Travellers in the arts with a large purpose built Music Rehearsal Space and Recording Studio. The Record label seeks to encourage residents and travellers in the arts to gather, record and present their cultural insights and experiences. “The first step to controlling your world is to control your culture. To model and demonstrate the kind of world you demand to live in. To write the books. Make the music. Shoot the films. Paint the art.” Chuck Palahniuk Located outside the Clean…

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Building the Iron Man Records Rehearsal Space and Recording Studio

Iron Man Records provides a cultural outpost for Musicians, Writers, Performers and Travellers in the arts with a large purpose built Music Rehearsal Space and Recording Studio. The Record label seeks to encourage residents and travellers in the arts to gather, record and present their cultural insights and experiences. Located outside the Clean Air Zone, in Hockley, Birmingham, the rehearsal space and recording studio offers an Embassy for the Imagine Nation committed to inspiring and promoting Independent creativity. "We had to pull down our old rehearsal space and recording studio in September 2020. The landlord had sold the building. In May 2021 we found a new place. We decided to build…

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King Rocker – The mysterious existence of Robert Lloyd of The Nightingales – Official Trailer [Feb 6th, 9pm, Sky Arts]

**PREMIERES SATURDAY FEBRUARY 6th at 9PM. SKY ARTS** King Rocker (2019) A film about Robert Lloyd and The Nightingales by Michael Cumming and Stewart Lee. Produced by James Nicholls. Running Time: 90 Minutes (approx) / Colour Genre: Music Documentary Starring: Robert Lloyd, Stewart Lee, Frank Skinner, John Peel, Marc Riley, and many more King Rocker - Official Trailer [Feb 6th, 9pm, Sky Arts] - YouTube “The Second Best Music Film of 2020” MOJO MAGAZINE How does a working class autodidact, with no visible means of support, maintain his role as the leader of a cult British underground band into its fifth decade? Comedian and writer Stewart Lee (Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle) , director…

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Nightingales – Four Against Fate UK Tour

If you already have tickets for any previously announced 2020 Nightingales headline shows (April, September or November!) do not cash them in, these tickets will still be valid. This includes any previously listed 2020 headline gigs in towns not rescheduled for April/May - These will be rearranged for later in 2021. Simply a great rock group who use constantly changing time-signatures and baffling wordplay to create a playful, poetic and rockin’ mix of glam, twang, country, pop and the avant garde that’s in a category and class of its own. LOUDER THAN WAR 10/10 The ‘Gales at times completely defy categorisation and that is very  much the beauty of them... ‘Four…

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John Sinclair Freedom Rally – The Full Movie – December 10, 1971, in Crisler Arena

The John Sinclair Freedom Rally was a protest and concert in response to the imprisonment of John Sinclair for possession of marijuana, held on December 10, 1971, in Crisler Arena at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The event was filmed and released as Ten For Two. The reason behind the concert was the arrest of Sinclair, who was given ten years in prison for possessing two marijuana cigarettes. Shortly after the event, Sinclair was released. POWER TO THE OCCUPY MOVEMENT! Directed by Steve Gebhardt Cast Commander Cody and The Lost Planet Airmen ... Themselves Rennie Davis Rennie Davis ... Himself David Dellinger David Dellinger ... Himself Allen Ginsberg…

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How to live a psychedelic life with the poet and activist John Sinclair

Psychedelia with John Sinclair Stuart Maconie's Freak Zone Stuart finds out how to live a psychedelic life with the poet and activist John Sinclair as BBC Music's My Generation celebrates the 1960s. John Sinclair is best known for his jazz poetry, managing the rock band MC5 and being a founding member of the White Panther party in the late 1960s. Stuart chats to him about the creative philosophies behind psychedlia and how to open your mind. John Sinclair in the Iron Man Records shop

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Interview: John Sinclair – Mohawk

John Sinclair, the renegade poet, scholar and cultural revolutionary interviewed on his new album Mohawk, music and poetry, sharing ideas, the war on drugs, doing what you want, and more. John Sinclair - “Mohawk” CD. Released Monday 24th March 2014 by Iron Man Records John, has been described as an Archetype of the 1960's art, music and literary synthesis, and who today, is still kicking with both feet on his trajectory for cultural transformation. His new record features ten tracks from his book of verse: always know: a book of monk. Twenty poems planted firmly in a single-shot session, and carefully trimmed down to ten exhibits for this album. Beatnik poems,…

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WHITE PANTHER: The Legacy of John Sinclair

WHITE PANTHER: The Legacy of John Sinclair - a short film by CHARLES SHAW featuring JOHN SINCLAIR music by THELONIUS MONK John Sinclair is best known as the Sixties "marijuana" activist who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for giving two joints to an undercover policewoman. he was eventually freed when John Lennon and Yoko Ono spoke out on his behalf Less understood is his role as the founder and chairman of the radical anti-war group, The White Panther Party, an offshoot of the Black Panthers. The Black Panther Party was a militant political organization formed after the brutal murders of Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and Robert Kennedy. The…

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Documentary: John Sinclair in New Orleans during Mardi Gras

"I always was involved into music. As a fan, composer, journalist, performer, photographer and now film maker....I was lucky to work with Blondie, David Bowie, Chris Wilson, Chris Blackwell and of course John Sinclair, (author, performer, beat-poet, DJ, founder of the White Panther Party, “Spirit” of the early MC5, ex-radical hippie saved from 10 years of prison by John Lennon....) John has been a major contributor to the Culture of New Orleans and one of its most enlighted experts....particularly found of the “Black culture” of New Orleans, so rich in extraordinary talents...John guided me through the back streets of New Orleans, so to encounter the Mardi Gras Indians...." Gilles Riberolles Click the…

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