Political birthday celebrations
I was busy at the end of last month so I did not celebrate my birthday until a few days later. My first ‘do’ was an all-party political event with my son Jack. I was invited to the House of Commons to meet and lobby MP’s of various persuasions about the second reading of (SNP) Peter Wishart’s Copyright in Sound Recordings and Performers’ Rights (Term Extension) 2008 bill. Doesn’t sound very sexy does it? Politics isn’t. It’s money and glamour that rocks most people’s boats! But Peter, as good fortune would have it, happens to be an ex-musician. The law on recording copyright ownership as it stands is mind-bogglingly unfair to UK performers. In fact is so unjust and inhumane that I have been considering taking our case to the European Courts for Human Rights.