I can't imagine meself singing "The dirty blackleg librarian" somehow

I would love to know a bit more about the popularity of TBM among actual miners. I suspect - with no evidence - that it's generally fairly low, although rising (with regional variations) around 1984-5.

The possibility has been raised that TBM originated not from Mr Sampey of Bishop Auckland but from the Yahie Miners, as reimagined by Bert Lloyd. Assume for the sake of argument that that's correct. Then you've got a song in praise of unionised miners being unforgiving and vicious, if not murderous (this stuff is far less prominent in the Yahie Miners) - and this song's produced by a non-miner & sung with great relish by other non-miners. (Self included. Well, my Dad's father was in fact a miner, but I never knew him.) I can't help thinking these two things are related - and that radical song sometimes has a particular intensity when you feel that you're joining in other people's battles, rather than fighting your own.

Tunes, anyway, are generally a lot more contentious - although I do remember the time I was busking on the flute and some away Rangers supporters asked me for the Sash... (I genuinely didn't know it, or even know of it.)