Freemuse: music that annoys the dictators

The Amnesty shop is selling a CD, Listen to the Banned, of music that has been banned by dictators and authorities in various places.  The CD is compiled by Deeyah, an artist who has stopped performing because of frequent threats and intimidation. Freemuse is an organisation promoting the CD and it protects the right of freedom of expression by musicians and composers.

I have written on my blog previously about a film The Singing Revolution, showing the power of many thousands of people singing in Estonia.  The Freemuse website mentions that many people gathered to sing forbidden patriotic songs in the years 1986 to 1991 but the website also tells of a gathering earlier, in the year 1969.  Thousands of Estonians at a music festival defied the ban on a song that had become an unoffical national anthem.  They kept on singing the song and officials eventually had to give up and let them sing.