Ian Stanton

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Ian Stanton (1950-1998) was described in his obituary in The Guardian as the disabled people's movement's "premier singer-songwriter and best-loved activist. His ironic lyrics encapsulated the humour as well as the anger underlying the civil rights struggle of disabled people, and his songs enlivened the public demonstrations ... in town centres across England." He performed his music across the UK and internationally, as well as being an actor on stage and national TV. He worked at the Greater Manchester Coalition of Disabled People as the editor of the Coalition magazine.

Early years and family[]

Ian Stanton was born in Oldham in October 1950, and educated at the local grammar school. His first jobs were as a printer, which he worked at until developing Berger’s Disease in the 1970s, which led to the amputation of both his legs.[1]

After his time recovering in hospital he went to QEF, Queen Elizabeth’s Foundation for the Disabled, a rehabilitation college in Surrey, where he reportedly became the first disabled person to be expelled, which was for producing a newsletter, The Tuppenny Terrible, that was highly critical of the college.[1][2]

On 14 February 1994 at Oldham Register Office he married Audrey Savage, a co-worker at the Greater Manchester Coalition of Disabled People.[3][1] He had one step-son.

Work[]

After leaving the Queen Elizabeth's Foundation college and returning to live in Oldham, his interest in writing continued when he went to New Vale House, a day centre where he established a newsletter in 1984 which again was highly critical of the organisation.[1][2]

He was employed by the Greater Manchester Coalition of Disabled People in 1986 to be their first Information Worker, and he soon established its journal or magazine - Coalition - which gained a national reputation for the quality of its coverage of disabled people's politics. He also produced a regular Information Sheet with details of local events and contacts.[3] The Coalition magazine was recognised in university-level textbooks and papers as being a key source of knowledge for disability studies.[4][5][6][7][8]

He retired for health reasons in the mid-1990s and continued to edit the Coalition as a volunteer member until his death on 26 November 1998.[3]

Music[]

His musical career started following a course he attended at the Northern College taught by Richard Stilgoe. He began singing on stage at clubs around Oldham and Ashton, notably The Witchwood live music pub, and subsequently went on to perform in day centres, disability arts cabarets, rallies and at mainstream events.[9][2]

Below are lists of his three albums and his major gigs, notably including Glastonbury Festival, Vancouver Folk Music Festival, Edinburgh Fringe, and Cambridge Folk Festival. He toured the USA with Johnny Crescendo (aka Alan Holdsworth) and Wanda Barbara (aka Barbara Lisicki).[10][2]

He was a leading player at the Block Telethon demo in 1992, where the highlight of his set was singing Message from Telethon (to you) (C. Avison / I. Stanton). The words had been written by Cathy Avison, a leading member of the Greater Manchester Coalition of Disabled People, who had died in the spring before the protest.[11][2]

Archive[]

His family have placed 304 of his papers and artefacts, the Ian Stanton Collection, in the GMCDP Archive in the Central Library, Manchester, which is exists in partnership with Archives+.[3][12][2]

Discography[]

Ian Stanton, Shrinkin’ Man tape cassette, 1989, self-released

  • Shrinkin’ Man (I. Stanton)
  • Chip on yer Shoulder (I. Stanton)
  • We’ve Got Each Other (I. Stanton)
  • S.O.S. (I. Stanton)
  • Lady’s Chamber (I. Stanton)
  • Someone Said (I. Stanton)
  • Sweet Reason (I. Stanton)
  • Tap Room Boys (I. Stanton)
  • Talkin’ Disabled Anarchist (I. Stanton)
  • Money Talks (I. Stanton)

Ian Stanton, Freewheelin’ tape cassette, 1992, self-released

  • A Bloody Funny Way (I. Stanton)
  • Foot Fetish Blues (I. Stanton)
  • Remember Douglas Bader (I. Stanton)
  • If I Could Talk to You (R. Crombie)
  • Tragic but Brave (I. Stanton)
  • Story (I. Stanton)
  • The Glee Club (I. Stanton)
  • Angela (I. Stanton)
  • Message from Telethon (to you) (C. Avison / I. Stanton)
  • Pushin’ 40 (I. Stanton)

Ian Stanton, Rollin’ Thunder CD, 1995, Stream Records

  • Invisible (I. Stanton)
  • Chip on yer Shoulder (I. Stanton)
  • Rollin’ Thunder (I. Stanton)
  • Remember Douglas Bader (I. Stanton)
  • In the Meantime (I. Stanton)
  • Talkin’ Disabled Anarchist (I. Stanton)
  • Bloody Funny Way (I. Stanton)
  • Takin Liberties (I. Stanton)
  • Tragic but Brave (I. Stanton)
  • Angela (I. Stanton)
  • Holdin’ On (I. Stanton)
  • Tap Room Boys (I. Stanton)

Not recorded as album tracks:

  • Poor Dear
  • Head Over Heels
  • Charity Knocks[10]

Major gigs[]

  • Block Telethon, LWT Studios, London, 27 May 1990
  • Queens Festival Belfast, November 1991
  • Glastonbury Festival, June 1992
  • Block Telethon, LWT Studios, London 1992
  • Vancouver Folk Music Festival, Canada, July 1992
  • EUCREA Colloquium, Maastricht, November 1992
  • Disabled and Proud Celebration, Minneapolis USA, August 1993
  • Cambridge Folk Festival, 1996 Plus:
    • The Restricted Growth Convention, Manchester, 18 October 1997, where Ian said he felt very honoured to be asked to perform at this event.

Drama, actor[]

  • Dog’s Dinner, theatre play written Anne Dodd, Derby, October 1997
  • Holby City, series 1 episode 2, "Happy Families", first broadcast 19 January 1999, recorded 11 and 21 October 1998, [working title: Surgical II], with end-credit memorial to Ian.

Documentary TV, featuring[]

  • BBC TV, One in Four, 1990
  • Channel 4, Link programme, 1993
  • BBC2 TV, Over the Edge, 1996

Journalism and editing[]

  • The Tuppenny Terrible, Queen Elizabeth's Foundation for the Disabled (rehabilitation college)
  • New Vale House (day centre) newsletter, 1984-1988
  • Coalition magazine, Greater Manchester Coalition of Disabled People, 1986-1998

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Shakespeare, Tom (November 1998). "Ian Stanton Obituary". The Guardian.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Source: The Ian Stanton Collection, GMCDP Archive
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Baldwinson, Tony. "Ian Stanton 1950-1998".
  4. ^ Gary L. Albrecht, Katherine D. Seelman, Michael Bury (2001). Handbook of Disability Studies.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ Barnes, Colin (2007). "Disability, higher education and the inclusive society". British Journal of Sociology of Education. 28 (1): 135–145. doi:10.1080/01425690600996832. ISSN 0142-5692. S2CID 146258714.
  6. ^ Finkelstein, V. (2007). The 'social model of disability'and the disability movement. Centre for Disability Studies, University of Leeds.
  7. ^ Beresford, Peter (2000). "What Have Madness and Psychiatric System Survivors Got to Do with Disability and Disability Studies?". Disability & Society. 15 (1): 167–172. doi:10.1080/09687590025838. ISSN 0968-7599. S2CID 143708065.
  8. ^ Barnes, C. (2003). "Effecting change: Disability, culture and art". Finding the Spotlight Conference. 28. p. 31.
  9. ^ Caulfiield, Deborah (2017). "Ian Stanton: the man, the music and the movement".
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b Cameron, Colin (2009). "Tragic but Brave or Just Crips with Chips? Songs and their Lyrics in the Disability Arts Movement in Britain". Popular Music. 28 (3): 381–396. ISSN 0261-1430.
  11. ^ Baldwinson, Tony (1992). "Cathy Avison 1963-1992".
  12. ^ NDACA - National Disability Arts and Culture Archive (2019). "Ian Stanton".
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