That ’ s Entertainment
Harry Leslie Smith Harry ’ s Last Stand
That ’ s Entertainment
My Life In The Jam , Rick Buckler
The Black Box Saturday 11 June – 8pm Tickets : £ 8 /£ 6
Harry Leslie Smith Harry ’ s Last Stand
With Seamus McKee
Crescent Arts Centre Saturday 11 June – 8.30pm Tickets : £ 8 /£ 6
We are very pleased to welcome The Jam ’ s drummer Rick Buckler to this year ’ s Belfast Book Festival line-up . Rick will be joining us to discuss his book , That ’ s Entertainment : My Life in the Jam , which is a biography reflecting on Rick ’ s life inside and outside the band .
The Jam formed in Woking , Surrey , in 1972 . During their successful career , they had 18 consecutive Top 40 singles in the United Kingdom , from their debut in 1977 to their break-up in December 1982 , including four number one hits .
Spearheaded by the songwriter Paul Weller , the rhythm section , of Rick Buckler on drums and Bruce Foxton on bass guitar were an integral part of The Jam ’ s sound and success .
Rick , who still lives in Woking has run a successful furniture restoring business as well as working with Time UK , The Gift and From The Jam and managing a number of other musical acts .
In November 2013 , 91-year-old Yorkshireman , RAF veteran and ex-carpet salesman Harry Leslie Smith ’ s Guardian article ‘ This year , I will wear a poppy for the last time ’ was shared over 80,000 times on Facebook and started a huge debate about the state of society .
Harry Leslie Smith is a survivor of the Great Depression and , at 93 , an activist for the poor and for the preservation of social democracy .
Now he brings his unique perspective to bear on NHS cutbacks , benefits policy , political corruption , food poverty , the cost of education – and much more . From the deprivation of 1930s Barnsley and the terror of war to the creation of our welfare state , Harry has experienced how a great civilisation can rise from the rubble . But at the end of his life , he fears how easily it is being eroded .
Harry ’ s Last Stand is a lyrical , searing modern invective that shows what the past can teach us , and how the future is ours for the taking . belfastbookfestival . com 17