Working Class Hero

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John Lennon's Working Class Hero performed by POING and Maja S.K. Ratkje. Live at Vooruit, Ghent (Belgium) June 2013.

Three years ago, in response to the financial and political crisis, the Norwegian electronica artist Maja Ratkje, and the contemporary music ensemble POING (Rolf-Erik Nystrøm, sax; Frode Haltli, accordion; Håkon Thelin, double bass), took to the streets of Oslo. They were armed with the battle songs of Kurt Weill, Bertold Brecht and Hanns Eisler. This acclaimed 'outing' resulted in the album 'Wach Auf', in which a global mix of traditional socialist songs rub shoulders with with quirky versions of songs such as 'True Color' by Cindy Lauper, and hard core classics such as 'Seeing Red' by Minor Threats. The voice of commitment and fighting zeal!

The work, which fluctuates between cabaret, rock and improvisation, received its Belgian premiere in the Vooruit in early 2012. According to Guy Peters, of music site Enola it was "a musical feast from start to finish".

WITH 100 SINGERS AS BACK UP!
For VOORUIT100, Ratkje and Poing revisit that stirring concert, but are backed this time by a chorus of 100 singers from three Flemish choirs. Let this unique interpretation of old socialist fighting songs awaken your revolutionary spirit! They will perform the 'International', the socialist anthem composed 125 years ago by Ghent-born Pierre De Geyter.