I saw Show of Hands live in Germany. Among a bunch of bigger gigs they did a tiny midweek venue. I was staggered by their professionalism. Even though the audience was small they performed as though it was the Albert Hall. I am not a massive fan of their music, some good some mediocre. Live though, amazingly good. Intelligent erudite blokes too.

I think its obvious that the key sentiment of Roots is that England has lost is cultural heritage, perhaps in comparison to the other elements of the UK. The Union Jack line is deliberately emotive and makes a good play on a symbol traditionally associated with the right wing , allying it to a depth of feeling for older better days - certainly not older better right wing days. Its unfair to expect a song to address every postmodernistic issue in age where culture and heritage has been deliberately hijacked for political purposes. If the song stirs up interest and provokes debate perhaps that's good enough. Also a singer has got to sing about what he believes in - that's art. I discussed this briefly with Steve - I got the strong impression he is doing what he believes in. He is certainly doing it well. (And I was sober)