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Karl Dallas

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Karl Dallas
Born
Karl Frederick Dallas

(1931-01-29)29 January 1931
Acton, London, England[1]
Died21 June 2016(2016-06-21) (aged 85)
Bradford, West Yorkshire, England
NationalityBritish
Other namesFred Dallas
Occupation(s)Journalist, musician, author, playwright, peace campaigner, record producer, broadcaster
Websitewww.karldallas.com

Karl Frederick Dallas (29 January 1931 – 21 June 2016)[2] was a British journalist, musician, author, playwright, peace campaigner, record producer, and broadcaster. He was described as "the most vigorous, influential, and informed folk music journalist in Britain".[3]

Biography

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Early life

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Dallas was brought up in a communist household, and was named after Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.[4] His father Jack Dallas was an ex Scots Guardsman and a founder member of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB). Karl lived as a child in Whitley Bay, Northumberland,[5] and later attended Bec School in Tooting, London.[6] He had a half sister Kathleen and like her joined the CPGB. He started writing poetry, and writing and performing songs in London in his teens, using the name Fred Dallas.[3] His songs have been recorded by The Spinners (The Family of Man, written in 1955, after Dallas saw the exhibition of the same name[7]), Ewan MacColl, June Tabor and others.[6] He also contributed music reviews to the St Marylebone Record and Musical Opinion magazine.[8]

Journalism and public relations

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In 1957 Dallas began working as a full-time reporter, later becoming a freelance writer on music – including pop, jazz, classical and folk music – and fashion.[6] Many of his articles were published in the Melody Maker; he also wrote for The Times, The Independent, and many magazines. He published his own magazines, including Folk Music, Folk News, and Jazz Music News,[9] and in 1967 wrote his first book, Swinging London: a guide to where the action is.[10] His other books included Singers of an Empty Day: last sacraments for the superstars (1972), The Cruel Wars: 100 soldiers' songs from Agincourt to Ulster (1972), One Hundred Songs of Toil: 450 Years of Workers' Songs (1974) and The Electric Muse: The Story of Folk into Rock (with Dave Laing, Robin Denselow and Robert Shelton, 1975). For a time he ran his own public relations agency, with clients including Pan Books, Topic Records, and Billy Smart's Circus. He worked as a record producer for the Transatlantic, Island and Sonet labels, and as a concert promoter.[6] From the late 1970s he also wrote on information technology, and contributed articles to most British computer magazines.[11]

Later life

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He was a lifelong atheist until converting to Anglican Christianity in 1983.[12] [4][13] He moved with his wife to live in Bradford in 1989,[6] and retired from full-time journalism in 1999.[14] He became chairman of Bradford Community Health Council,[14] and, in 2003, travelled to Iraq in a double-decker bus as part of the group of campaigners intending to act as human shields in the event of invasion.[15][16] Following his return, he wrote Into the War Zone, which he described as a "musical tragicomedy" satirising his experiences as a human shield in Iraq. The play was performed by the Writers Company in Bradford in 2005.[17]

He wrote several other plays, including a seven-hour play on the life of Stalin,[6] as well as several books, including The Fourth Step, described as "a thriller of the international drugs trade",[6] and Good News for the Last Times (2010), a "prophetic vision for the 21st century" based on his religious experiences.[18] A book of his critical writings, The Lie That Tells The Truth, was published in 2012.[19] In later life he continued to broadcast regularly for Bradford Community Broadcasting, and reviewed books, music and films for the Morning Star daily newspaper.[11]

Death and legacy

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He died at the age of 85 on 21 June 2016, after being diagnosed with terminal cancer four months earlier.[14] His funeral was held in the parish church of St Paul in Manningham, Bradford on 30 June.[20] He was then buried at a woodland site in the city.[20]

Obituaries were published by The Guardian[1] and the Morning Star,[21] the latter including a fond reminiscence from Arlo Guthrie.[21]

References

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  1. ^ a b Denselow, Robin (27 June 2016). "Karl Dallas obituary". The Guardian.
  2. ^ Karl Dallas blog. Retrieved 2 July 2013
  3. ^ a b Harper, Colin (2 April 2012). Dazzling Stranger: Bert Jansch and the British Folk and Blues Revival. A&C Black. ISBN 9781408831021 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ a b Becky Barnicoat, Weekender: Karl Dallas, writer, 82, The Guardian, 27 April 2013. Retrieved 2 July 2013
  5. ^ Karl Dallas: Autobiography at Rockopedia. Retrieved 2 July 2013
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Dallas, Karl (6 August 2010). "The Fourth Step". HoustonMedia – via Amazon.
  7. ^ Dallas, Karl. "The Family of Man". Bandcamp. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  8. ^ Dallas, Karl. "The Lie That Tells the Truth" – via Amazon.
  9. ^ "Articles, interviews and reviews from Karl Dallas: Rock's Backpages". Rocksbackpages.com.
  10. ^ Dallas, Karl F (20 May 1967). Swinging London: a guide to where the action is. Stanmore P. OCLC 957623 – via Open WorldCat.
  11. ^ a b Karl Dallas at Journalist Directory Freelance Database. Retrieved 2 July 2013
  12. ^ [1] [dead link‍]
  13. ^ "Karl Dallas obituary". The Guardian. 27 June 2016.
  14. ^ a b c Kathie Griffiths, "Bradford justice and peace campaigner Karl Dallas dies after fighting a final battle with cancer", Telegraph & Argus, 22 June 2016. Retrieved 22 June 2016
  15. ^ BBC News, Pensioner's 'human shield' offer, 24 January 2003. Retrieved 2 July 2013
  16. ^ BBC News, Pensioner to become Iraq human shield, 17 February 2003. Retrieved 2 July 2013
  17. ^ BBC Bradford and West Yorkshire, Karl Dallas: "We must love one another", August 2005. Retrieved 2 July 2013
  18. ^ Dallas, Karl, ed. (10 August 2010). "Good News for the Last Times". October Press – via Amazon.
  19. ^ The Lie That Tells The Truth at Reality Now!. Retrieved 2 July 2013
  20. ^ a b "Friends and family remember activist musician and poet Karl Dallas". Morning Star. 1 July 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  21. ^ a b "Karl Dallas". Morning Star. 30 June 2016. Archived from the original on 30 June 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
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