About John Powles

As part of my 15 years as Research Collections Manager at Glasgow Caledonian University I launched (in 2001) and managed the Centre for Political Song; in doing so I developed a growing awareness of the rich and diverse world of political song, and the importance of song as a tool for political activism and campaigning. In my role as Research Collections Manager I was also responsible for the University’s Archives and Special Collections (mostly focussed on centre and far left politics), as well as the Heatherbank Museum of Social Work. Political song quickly became my main interest and passion, so following early retirement in April 2010, I decided to start Giving Voice Workshops in order to carry on my work and research in the field of political song.

My activities with the Centre for Political Song included delivering political song workshops, as well as providing support for researchers from across the life long learning spectrum and from all levels of academic work. I also hosted many performance events, especially concerts championing themes of social justice.