ABSTRACT
The defenders of the established order certainly recognised the power of a union street procession to impress itself on individual minds. The picket line complemented the role played by the trade union initiation rituals in imparting certain taboos of that world. A musical atmosphere returned to the proceedings when the striking sailors disembarked from the incapacitated ships. In other words, and as shown in the turnout of the Rochdale doffers, a procession could issue a call to arms to other workers to join the fray. Music thus seemed uniquely placed to convey messages, influence thinking, and elicit required responses in the context of labour disputes. Music could stir one to action, from another perspective, deter one from acting in ways contrary to the social ideal. As evident with the Rochdale doffers, cotton workers certainly recognised the value of musical sounds and musical processions which included fife and drums as a means of issuing a call to arms during a turnout.
