b. Ann Swinton. Ranking Ann came to prominence on her brother’s Black Rock sound system playing in and around London. She began her recording career with an uncompromising debut, ‘Liberated Woman’. This resulted in her being categorized as the music’s feminist DJ. When labelled as such, she announced, ‘No Rasta me’s a individualist’. In 1982 she released ‘Love On A Mountain Top’ but returned to her revolutionary style for ‘Dangerous MC’. Her popularity led to the release of A Slice Of English Toast, produced by Mad Professor. She appeared on the UK’s black magazine television programme, Black On Black, which was noted for featuring live appearances of visiting Jamaican performers. As an exception to the rule, the show’s producer focused on the Saxon sound system with performances from Tippa Irie, Daddy Colonel and Lorna ‘G’ Gale alongside Ann. Demonstrating her charisma in an extraordinary performance of ‘Militant Style’, she paraphrased the expression ‘All Dem Want Is Coal Not Dole’. In 1984 her career advanced further with the release of ‘Something Fishy Going On’ and an excursion to the USA as part of the Ariwa Posse Tour. In 1985 she made known her opposition to the parliamentary act allowing the police wider powers to stop and search suspects, of which the majority were black - ‘Kill The Police Bill’ was a pertinent piece that tackled the issue. It received strong support from the Red Wedge group, and as a result, Ranking Ann toured alongside some of the UK’s leading pop stars promoting socialist ideals.
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