ActionAid believes in campaigning to get governments to protect the worlds poorest.

With this in mind we asked Frank Turner (formerly of Million Dead) to create us a playlist on the theme "I won't sit down, I won't shut up - songs for sticking it to the man." (in reference to his song 'Photosynthesis' by the way)

But please note, we do NOT advocate the chucking of bricks at coppers.

Listen to the playlist on Spotify

Killing In The Name Of - Rage Against The Machine. buy
Frank: "Is it cheesy now? Is it slightly dated? Hell yes, but does it matter, when you're standing in a field full of people screaming the chorus at the end? No, it doesn't.."

Revenge - Black Flag buy
Frank: "Single best opening to a song ever... "It's not my imagination, I got a gun in my back!" They pack more defiance and vitriol into one minute of punk rock than most bands do into their entire careers.."

The World Turned Upside Down - Billy Bragg buy
Frank: "I love the way it's simultaneously old and new, ancient and modern, and timeless in its sentiment."

The Apollo Programme Was A Hoax - Refused buy
Frank: "This was the last track on a raging hardcore album, but it's a stripped-down folk number, and it's somehow more threatening than the rest of the album. The perfect coda to their career. "Throw a rock in the machine."

Bring The Noise - Public Enemy. buy
Frank: "Every time I have my doubts about rap, I turn back to Chuck D and get hit full in the face all over again by how powerful, how angry, how vital this record sounds. It demands recognition, refuses to be ignored."

Repeater - Fugazi
Frank: "Ian Mackaye and pals stake out their turf in admirable style, setting a business model for an entire generation of punks. "You say get a job - I have my own business. You ask what I do - none of your f***** business!"

Godspeed You! Black Emperor.
Frank: "It's hard to pick a single song from this band, not least because they don't have any individual songs in the strictest sense of the word. But I always felt like if there was going to be a revolution, it'd sound a lot more like this than Bob Dylan. Wordlessly they paint an awesome picture of collapse and redemption."

I Won't Back Down - Johnny Cash (Tom Petty) buy
Frank: "I'm a huge Tom Petty fan, but on Cash's version he makes the song his own, as he did so often. Hearing the old man in black rattling his baritone defiance always brings a shiver to the spine."

A People's History Of The World - Propagandhi buy
Frank: "I chose this song off the top of my head, but to be honest anything off their first four albums would have done just as well. This Canadian political punk band are one of the only bands I was into when I was a kid who've survived into jaded adulthood. Five minutes with one of their CDs and I want to throw bricks at cops all over again. "

One Way - The Levellers buy
Frank: "I don't care how fashionable it may or may not be, I love this band, and when I got to tour with them last year they were total gents to boot. This song reminds me of when I first got into music, it's an anthem for an entire generation."

Click here to find out how you can make some noise as an ActionAid campaigner

Back to music shop homepage.