First held in Sheffield in 1984 as the ‘National Street Band Festival’ the Street Choirs Festival brought together musicians who played in the signature marches and protests of a turbulent decade politically defined by Thatcherism, the Falklands/Malvinas war and the miners’ strike, not to mention a strong Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, CND. The intention of the festival was to put music into protest to make it more creative, joyful and thought provoking.
In 1991 the festival was held in Hackney as the National Street Music Festival. This was the first year Billy Bragg’s 1990 version of the Internationale was sung as a mass street sing. It became the unofficial anthem of the festival and is traditionally sung as the finale to the mass sing.
By 1997 there were separate festivals for bands and choirs and in 2006 (2005) the name was changed to National Street Choirs Festival, a name that was kept until Aberystwyth hosted the festival in 2013 and ‘National’ was dropped to extend a welcome to choirs from all nations of the UK.
In that year the Campaign Choirs Network was set up as a group of choirs with a shared interest in political and social campaigning. When you read the varied histories of all the participating choirs it becomes obvious where these different histories intersect and especially with Greenham Common, the Miners Strikes, anti-apartheid issues and Palestinian struggles.
Since its inception the festival has expanded to welcome community choirs who sing together for a variety of reasons, not least the love of singing, and the range of Street Choirs includes anarchist choirs, socialist choirs, women’s choirs, LGBTQ choirs, asylum seeker choirs, choirs singing to raise awareness of human rights, social justice, environmental justice, climate justice and other campaigns.
During the past forty years this festival has had several name changes to reflect its changing nature. But musical performances in the streets have always been a central factor. With its roots in the North of England, the Festival has blossomed across the UK, from Edinburgh to Brighton, Aberystwyth to Whitby. Long may it continue!
Here is the list of festivals which have taken place over the last 40 years.
| Date | Host City/Region | Host Organisation(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Sheffield | National Street Band Festival |
| 1985 (May) | Newcastle | Tenth Avenue band |
| 1985 (November) | Manchester | Manchester School of Samba |
| 1986 | Bradford | Peace Artists |
| 1987 | Bristol | Ambling band |
| 1988 | Liverpool | Brass Hoppers |
| 1989 | Leicester | Unknown |
| 1990 | Newcastle | Tenth Avenue band |
| 1991 | London, Hackney | National Street Music Festival Big Red Band and Raised Voices |
| 1992 | Sheffield | Sheffield Socialist Choir |
| 1993 | Cardiff | Côr Cochion |
| 1994 | Leeds | Leeds People’s Choir |
| 1995 | Stroud | |
| 1996 | Nottingham | Nottingham Clarion Choir |
| 1997 | Morecambe | |
| 1998 | Leicester | Red Leicester |
| 1999 | Bradford | Bradford Voices |
| 2000 | Manchester | |
| 2001 | Nottingham | Nottingham Clarion Choir |
| 2002 | Hebden Bridge | Calder Valley Voices |
| 2003 | Belper | The Rough Truffles |
| 2004 | Leeds | Leeds People’s Choir |
| 2005 | Saltaire/Shipley | Bradford Voices |
| 2006 | Gateshead | National Street Choirs Festival Caedmon Choir and Heaton Voices |
| 2007 | Manchester | Manchester Community Choir |
| 2008 | Brighton | Hullabaloo Community Quire |
| 2009 | Whitby | Whitby Community Choir |
| 2010 | Sheffield | Out Aloud |
| 2011 | Whitby | Whitby Community Choir |
| 2012 | Bury | Bury Acapeelers Community Choir |
| 2013 | Aberystwyth | Côr Gobaith |
| 2014 | Hebden Bridge | Calder Valley Voices |
| 2015 | Whitby | Whitby Community Choir |
| 2016 | Leicester | Red Leicester |
| 2017 | Kendal | Lakeland Voices |
| 2018 | Brighton | Hullabaloo Community Quire |
| 2019 | Manchester | Manchester Community Choir |
| 2022 | Whitby | Whitby Community Choir and Northern Chorus |
| 2023 | Kendal | Lakeland Voices |
| 2024 | Sheffield | Carfield Community Choir, Out Aloud and Sheffield Socialist Choir |
Want to know more about our history?
‘Singing For Our Lives, Stories from the Street Choirs’ explores the role of street choirs in British political culture. Tracing the origins of a number of street choirs, the book also tells the story of the Street Choirs Festival from its origins to the present day.
Singing For Our Lives is based on oral histories from more than 40 members of UK street choirs, collected and presented by Campaign Choirs Writing Collective. https://www.intellectbooks.com/singing-for-our-lives
Campaign Choirs Network
Together we have a voice!
Given the political urgency of our times, the Campaign Choirs Network was formed in 2013 to share information about issues, events and actions. That urgency seems ever increasing. Through the Network, choirs share songs and campaigns and coordinate a collective presence at demonstrations and rallies. We organise through our email list, website and Facebook group.
Find out more and contact us on our website or Facebook page
