In June 1963 48 British and American playwrights signed a declaration that they would not allow their plays to be performed before segregated audiences in South Africa. This was part of a wider cultural boycott. The actors union Equity already insisted that if members performed in South Africa they must perform in ‘non-white’ venues. The union later took up a declaration promoted by Vanessa Redgrave where members pledged they would not perform in front of segregated audiences.

In June 1963 48 British and American playwrights signed a declaration that they would not allow their plays to be performed before segregated audiences in South Africa. This letter from Samuel Beckett pledges his support for the declaration.

Programme for a fundraising concert with folksingers Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger and South African musician Todd Matshikiza. This was the first of many folk concerts and theatre presentations held to raise funds for the AAM in the 1960s.

Leaflet advertising a fundraising concert with folksingers Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger and South African musician Todd Matshikiza. This was the first of many folk concerts and theatre presentations held to raise funds for the AAM in the 1960s.

Marlon Brando asked film directors, actors and producers to forbid the screening of their films before segregated audiences in South Africa on a visit to London in 1964. In the photograph he is at a press conference with the AAM’s Hon. Secretary Abdul Minty. He also took part in a vigil outside South Africa House calling for the release of political prisoners.

In June 1965 the AAM presented a dramatisation of life under apartheid. This leaflet advertised the event and set out campaign priorities for 1965.

Leaflet advertising ‘Anatomy of Apartheid’, a dramatic presentation staged at Central Hall, Westminster on 21 March 1966. The show drew on court case records and personal affidavits from people who had suffered under apartheid. It was scripted by John Hales and Christopher Williams from the Royal Shakespeare Company and starred Joss Ackland, John Bird and Eleanor Bron. The show led to a big increase in the membership of the Anti-Apartheid Movement.

Programme for a fundraising concert in the Royal Albert Hall to mark the UN Human Rights Year and South Africa Freedom Day on 26 June 1968. The concert was arranged by the International Defence and Aid Fund (IDAF). Contributors included Marlon Brando, Warren Mitchell and ‘the Alf Garnett family’, Jonathan Miller and guitarist John Williams. The concert was supported by the Anti-Apartheid Movement.

This leaflet advertised a fundraising event held on the evening of the AAM’s conference on liberation and guerrilla warfare, at the Round House in Camden, north London. It featured a film about Bob Dylan’s England tour ‘Don’t Look Back’ and poetry and music groups The Scaffold, Yes and Dry Ice. 

The AAM staged a re-enactment of the Sharpeville shootings in Trafalgar Square on 21 March 1970 to mark the tenth anniversary of the massacre. Bishop Ambrose Reeves, Bishop of Johannesburg at the time of the shootings, spoke about life under apartheid ten years on. The following evening, the AAM presented a programme of specially commissioned short plays by leading British playwrights before an audience of 1,500 at the Lyceum Theatre. Both events received wide media coverage.

Poster publicising a re-enactment of the Sharpeville massacre in Trafalgar Square on 21 March 1970. Around 3,000 people watched as actors dressed as South African police took aim and people in the crowd fell to the ground. The event received wide media publicity. It was organised by the AAM and the United Nations Student Association.

On the tenth anniversary of the Sharpeville massacre the AAM staged a re-enactment in Trafalgar Square. Around 3,000 people watched as actors dressed as South African police took aim and people in the crowd fell to the ground. The event was organised by the AAM and the United Nations Students Association (UNSA).

Bishop Ambrose Reeves speaking at a re-enactment of the Sharpeville massacre staged in Trafalgar Square on 21 March 1970. Around 3,000 people watched as actors dressed as South African police took aim and people in the crowd fell to the ground. The event was organised by the AAM and the United Nations Students Association (UNSA).

Ethel de Keyser worked full-time for the Anti-Apartheid Movement from 1965 to 1974 and was appointed as its Executive Secretary in 1967. She continued to serve on the AAM Executive Committee until the mid-1980s. She later became the Director of the British Defence and Aid Fund and set up the Canon Collins Educational Trust for Southern Africa.

In this clip Ethel de Keyser talks about the importance of the visual image of the Anti-Apartheid Movement, and describes the dramatisation of the Sharpeville massacre in Trafalgar Square and a show at the Lyceum Theatre in 1970.

On 22 March 1970 the AAM staged a fundraising evening of Freedom Theatre to mark the tenth anniversary of the Sharpeville massacre. The programme included short plays by leading British playwrights and attracted an audience of 1,500 at the Lyceum Theatre. The evening received wide media coverage. The AAM depended on membership subscriptions and events such as this to fund its campaigns.

Programme for an evening of music and readings to mark Human Rights Day, 10 December 1975, and raise funds for campaigns for Southern African political prisoners. Among the performers were actor Ian McKellen and South African saxophonist Dudu Pukwana.

Flyer publicising an evening of Indian music and dance at London’s Institute of Education on 15 April 1983.

This programme of events organised by Merton AA Group in south London, October–December 1980, included a fundraising filmshow and concert, with Liverpool reggae band Cross Section, and an evening of poetry and music with South African singer James Phillips. It advertised pickets of the local branches of Sainsbury’s and Barclays Bank, and a material aid collection.

Leaflet publicising a Festival on Merseyside, north-west England, in January 1982, celebrating the 60th anniversary of the founding of the African National Congress.

Flyer advertising a fundraising gig with Orchestre Jazira at the University of London Union in January 1982. The concert was organised by the recently-formed London Anti-Apartheid Committee, set up to co-ordinate the work of local anti-apartheid and other sympathetic groups in London. It was the first of many gigs promoted by the London AA Committee over the next decade.

Poster advertising the Festival of African Sounds, held at Alexandra Palace, north London on 17 July 1983, the eve of Nelson Mandela’s 65th birthday. The concert featured new music by African musicians. The all-star line-up included Hugh Masekela, Jazz Afrika, Dudu Pukwana and the Ipi Tombi dancers. The concert was organised by the AAM and sponsored by the Musicians Union, Arts Council and Greater London Arts Association.

The Festival of African Sounds at Alexandra Palace in north London, marking Nelson Mandela’s 65th birthday in July 1983,  was the first big concert held for Mandela. It featured new music by African musicians. The all-star line-up included Hugh Masekela, Jazz Afrika, Dudu Pukwana and the Ipi Tombi dancers. The concert was sponsored by the Musicians Union, the Arts Council and Greater London Arts Association.

The Festival of African Sounds at Alexandra Palace, north London, celebrated Nelson Mandela’s 65th birthday in July 1983. Zenani Mandela was a special guest. The bust of Mandela in the photograph was created by sculptor Ian Walters. Mandela’s birthday was marked by events all over Britain. The London Borough of Greenwich awarded him the freedom of the borough and public gardens were named after him in Leeds and Hull.

Mike Terry, Bob Hughes MP and Abdul Minty at the Festival of African Sounds held to celebrate Nelson Mandela’s 65th birthday in 1983. Zenani Mandela was a special guest. The bust of Mandela in the photograph was created by sculptor Ian Walters. Mandela’s birthday was marked by events all over Britain. The London Borough of Greenwich awarded him the freedom of the borough and public gardens were named after him in Leeds and Hull.

Julian Bahula wrote ‘Mandela’ for the Festival of African Sounds at Alexandra Palace, north London, held on 17 July 1983 to celebrate Nelson Mandela‘s 65th birthday. It was performed there by Jazz Afrika and recorded on ‘African Sounds for Mandela’, TS Afrika Records, 1983. Jerry Dammers cites ‘Mandela’ as the inspiration for his hit song ‘Free Nelson Mandela’. You can listen to it here. 

This poster advertised a concert in the Queen Elizabeth Hall on London’s South Bank, one of many events held to celebrate Nelson Mandela’s 65th birthday on 18 July 1983. It raised funds for the 1983 Free Nelson Mandela Campaign, which brought together trade unions, the Church of England’s Board of Social Responsibility, and black and ethnic minority organisations.

This concert, held in the Queen Elizabeth Hall on London’s South Bank, was one of many events held to celebrate Nelson Mandela’s 65th birthday on 18 July 1983. It raised funds for the 1983 Free Nelson Mandela Campaign, which brought together trade unions, the Church of England’s Board of Social Responsibility, and black and ethnic minority organisations.

This concert, held in the Queen Elizabeth Hall on London’s South Bank, was one of many events held to celebrate Nelson Mandela’s 65th birthday on 18 July 1983. It raised funds for the 1983 Free Nelson Mandela Campaign, which brought together trade unions, the Church of England’s Board of Social Responsibility, and black and ethnic minority organisations.

The march against P W Botha on 2 June 1984 was followed by a free concert in Jubilee Gardens on London’s South Bank. This was one of a series of big music festivals organised by the AAM in the 1980s. It was sponsored by the Greater London Council.

Leeds City Council, local trade unions, and Leeds City and University AA Groups came together to organise a week of anti-apartheid events in October 1984. Activities included a vigil for political prisoners, collection of material aid, film shows and fundraising concerts, and an activists conference.

The ANC’s cultural group Amandla was formed in Angola after the 1976 Soweto uprising. It was made up of 30 young South African singers, dancers and musicians. On its1985 tour of Britain it visited centres all over the country, performing and holding workshops on music, dance and drama. The tour included shows at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall and Shaw Theatre. It was sponsored by trade unions and local authorities.

Members of the actors’ union Equity called for the resignation of Equity President Derek Bond after he performed for whites-only audiences in South Africa. Bond campaigned to reverse Equity’s support for the cultural boycott. Equity members picketed the first night of a play at Theatre Royal, Nottingham, in which Bond played a starring role.

In 1985 the British Defence and Aid Fund launched the Mandela Poetry Project to mark Human Rights Day, 10 December. It asked school students to contribute poems about Nelson Mandela and other Southern African political prisoners. This poster reproduces some of the 200 poems that were written as part of the project.

Cartoons reproduced from Anti-Apartheid News by artists including Steve Bell, Ken Sprague and Peter Clarke.

Lenny Henry and David Yip were among the 200 entertainers at the launch of Performers Against Racism on 26 January 1986. They pledged to boycott all links with apartheid South Africa. The launch was triggered by a referendum in the actors union Equity seeking to relax the cultural boycott. Performers against Racism called for the boycott to be extended to films and video as well as radio and television.

Sleeve for a cassette of freedom songs sung by Tyneside Anti-Apartheid Choir. The choir sang at many events on Tyneside in the 1980s. The cassette was produced to raise funds for Tyneside AA Group.

Leaflet advertising a May Day fundraising social for the AAM organised by Haringey AA Group and Haringey Trades Union Council on 3 May 1986. The evening included live music sponsored by the Musicians Union and a speaker from the African National Congress.

Leaflet advertising a fundraising gig at a north London trade union centre on 27 September 1986. The event was organised by Haringey AA Group and sponsored by the London Borough of Haringey’s Community Arts and Entertainment Department.

Poster publicising a week of anti-apartheid events in Lambeth, south London in 1986. The week included films, exhibitions and an evening of poetry and music with rock band Misty and reggae artist Tippa Irie.

Poster advertising an AAM march and festival on 28 June 1986, the culmination of a month-long intensive campaign for sanctions. Thousands marched from central London to Clapham Common, where 250,000 people attended a star-studded concert organised by Artists Against Apartheid. Speakers at the concert included Thabo Mbeki of the ANC and Moses Garoeb of the South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO).

A quarter of a million people took part in the AAM’s Festival for Freedom on London’s Clapham Common on 28 June 1986, the culmination of a month-long campaign for sanctions against South Africa. The programme, including sets by Boy George and Sting, was organised by Artists Against Apartheid.

Programme for the AAM’s March and Festival for Freedom on 28 June 1986, the culmination of a month-long campaign for sanctions against South Africa. Thousands of people joined the march from Hyde Park to Clapham Common. At the Festival 250,000 heard a star-studded programme organised by Artists Against Apartheid. Thabo Mbeki of the ANC and Shapua Kaukugua of SWAPO asked the crowd to support the freedom struggles in South Africa and Namibia. 

Thousands of people joined the AAM’s ‘March for Freedom’ from Hyde Park to Clapham Common on 28 June 1986. The march was the culmination of a month-long campaign for sanctions against South Africa. They called for an end to all British support for apartheid. At Clapham Common 250,000 took part in a Festival for Freedom with a star-studded programme organised by Artists Against Apartheid.

Thousands of people joined the AAM’s ‘March for Freedom’ from Hyde Park to Clapham Common on 28 June 1986. It was the culmination of a month-long campaign for sanctions against South Africa. They called for an end to all British support for apartheid. At Clapham Common 250,000 took part in a Festival for Freedom with a star-studded programme organised by Artists Against Apartheid.

Thousands of people joined the AAM’s ‘March for Freedom’ from Hyde Park to Clapham Common on 28 June 1986. It was the culmination of a month-long campaign for sanctions against South Africa. They called for an end to all British support for apartheid. At Clapham Common 250,000 took part in a Festival for Freedom with a star-studded programme organised by Artists Against Apartheid.

Thousands of people joined the AAM’s ‘March for Freedom’ from Hyde Park to Clapham Common on 28 June 1986. It was the culmination of a month-long campaign for sanctions against South Africa. They called for an end to all British support for apartheid. At Clapham Common 250,000 took part in a Festival for Freedom with a star-studded programme organised by Artists Against Apartheid.

The platform at the AAM’s Festival for Freedom on Clapham Common on 28 June 1986. 250,000 people heard performers including Sting, Billy Bragg, Maxi Priest, Gil Scott-Heron, Audio Dynamite and Hugh Masekela. The programme was organised by Artists Against Apartheid.

250,000 people attended the AAM’s Festival for Freedom on Clapham Common on 28 June 1986. Performers included Sting, Billy Bragg, Maxi Priest, Gil Scott-Heron, Audio Dynamite and Hugh Masekela. The programme was organised by Artists Against Apartheid.

250,000 people attended the AAM’s Festival for Freedom on Clapham Common on 28 June 1986. Performers included Sting, Peter Gabriel, Billy Bragg, Maxi Priest, Gil Scott-Heron, Audio Dynamite and Hugh Masekela. The programme was organised by Artists Against Apartheid.

Peter Gabriel at the AAM’s Festival for Freedom on Clapham Common on 28 June 1986. 250,000 people heard performers including Sting, Billy Bragg, Maxi Priest, Gil Scott-Heron, Audio Dynamite and Hugh Masekela. The programme was organised by Artists Against Apartheid.

Sting at the AAM’s Festival for Freedom on Clapham Common on 28 June 1986. 250,000 people heard performers including Billy Bragg, Maxi Priest, Gil Scott-Heron, Audio Dynamite and Hugh Masekela. The programme was organised by Artists Against Apartheid.

Elvis Costello at the AAM’s Festival for Freedom on Clapham Common on 28 June 1986. 250,000 people heard performers including Sting, Billy Bragg, Maxi Priest, Gil Scott-Heron, Audio Dynamite and Hugh Masekela. The programme was organised by Artists Against Apartheid.

Billy Bragg at the AAM’s Festival for Freedom on Clapham Common on 28 June 1986. 250,000 people heard performers including Sting, Maxi Priest, Gil Scott-Heron, Audio Dynamite and Hugh Masekela. The programme was organised by Artists Against Apartheid.

Big Audio Dynamite, Hugh Masekela, Maxi Priest, Madness and Jerry Dammers with AAM President Trevor Huddleston.

Leaflet advertising a concert headlining The Smiths, organised by Artists Against Apartheid at the Royal Albert Hall in November 1986. The concert was rescheduled because band member Johnny Marr was hurt in a car accident. It eventually took place at the Brixton Academy on 12 December. The concert was one of many high profile gigs arranged by Artists Against Apartheid to raise funds for the AAM.

This LP, released by independent label Davy Lamp in 1986, featured tracks by indie rock group The Housemartins, Bill Bragg, Attila the Stockbroker and other artists. The proceeds were donated to the Anti-Apartheid Movement.

Leaflet publicising a fundraising concert organised by Tower Hamlets AA Group at the Half Moon Theatre in east London in 1987. The event was sponsored by the local council’s arts committee.

The Jazz Warriors were an all-black British jazz group including musicians Courtney Pine and Gary Crosby. This concert, held at London’s Hackney Empire on 21 March 1987, the anniversary of the Sharpeville massacre, raised funds for the ANC and the London Anti-Apartheid Committee.

Leaflet advertising a benefit concert for SACTU (South African Congress of Trade Unions) in 1987. The concert featured jazz and blues saxophonist Dick Heckstall-Smith and his Electric Dream ensemble, and Julian Bahula.

Members of the Royal Shakespeare Company joined protests against the invitation to the South African Embassy to take part in the annual Shakespeare birthday celebrations at Stratford in April 1987. Fifty countries pulled out after the organisers refused to withdraw the invitation to South Africa.

Police arrest a protester at a demonstration against the invitation to the South African Embassy to take part in the annual Shakespeare birthday celebrations at Stratford in April 1987. Members of the Royal Shakespeare Company joined the protests. Fifty countries pulled out after the organisers refused to withdraw the invitation to South Africa.

The Peterborough Against Apartheid festival held in May 1987 featured British folk punk group ‘The Men they Couldn’t Hang’ and singer songwriter Rory McCloud, as well as stalls and speakers from the ANC and SWAPO. Over 1,000 people attended the festival, one of the most successful events ever held in the city. 

Poster for a folk concert to raise funds for the ANC and Nottingham Anti-Apartheid at Nottingham’s Trent Polytechnic Students Union in 1987.

Leaflet advertising an evening of poetry and music to raise funds for the British Defence and Aid Fund (BDAF), at Riverside Studios in west London on 24 May 1987. The evening featured performances from Attila the Stockbroker, Jeni Couzyn and E A Markham, and supporters included Carol Ann Duffy, Spike Milligan, Lemn Sissay and Benjamin Zephaniah. The compere was Roger McGough.

Leaflet advertising an afternoon of videos, exhibition and stalls in support of South African women on International Women’s Day in 1987. The afternoon was followed by a gig with post-punk Artery Band. It was organised by Ealing AA Group with sponsorship from the London Borough of Ealing.

Hackney AA Group joined with local community groups to organise a week of activities celebrating the 75th anniversary of the founding of the African National Congress. The week included a meeting at the Turkish Community Centre, a filmshow at the Rio Cinema, culminating in a day of music, dance and poetry at the local leisure centre on 4 July 1987. The week was sponsored by the Race Relations Unit of Hackney Borough Council.

Poster advertising the SARMCOL Workers Co-op’s play ‘The Long March’ at the Hackney Empire, in September 1987. The play was put on by workers from the British-owned BTR factory in Howick, Natal, who were sacked after going on strike in 1986. It toured all over Britain, September–November 1997. The tour was sponsored by the British TUC.

In the late 1980s Bristol AA Group held an annual Festival against Apartheid. The 1987 Festival featured filmshows, the BTR strikers play ‘The Long March’ and performances by the jazz ensemble the Grand Union Orchestra and Zimbabwean singer Lovemore Majaivana.

Brochure advertising a free concert organised by Hounslow AA Group on 22 October 1987 at Hounslow Civic Centre. The brochure highlighted the strike by workers at the British-owned BTR company in South Africa and the AAM’s petition calling for the release of South African political detainees. The gig featured Attila the Stockbroker.

Leaflet advertising events promoted by the Tsafrika record label at The Town and Country Club in Camden, London and the 100 Club in 1987. They included a gig featuring Julian Bahula’s Jabula and a ‘Free South Africa’ concert by the ANC’s cultural group Amandla.

Musicians Little Steven and Jerry Dammers sign the SATIS petition calling for the release of detainees in South Africa. Altogether 30,000 South Africans were held in detention under the State of Emergency imposed in June 1986. The petition was supported by the British Council of Churches and the TUC and signed by a third of a million people. It was presented to the South African authorities, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and the UN Secretary-General on Human Rights Day, 10 December 1987.

Promotional flyer for ‘Twilight Freedom – Zulu Blood’ by Bryan Oliver, a drama featuring life under apartheid. The show was put on by Sassafras Theatre Company and sponsored by Haringey Community Arts and Entertainment in 1987. It toured alternative theatre venues in the London boroughs of Haringey, Hounslow, Camden and Islington.

Leaflet advertising a concert with music by South African jazz musician Dudu Pukwana's group Zila to celebrate South African Heroes Day in December 1987. The leaflet listed the regular meeting dates of local anti-apartheid groups in the Greater Manchester area and the local branch of the Namibia Support Committee.

Artists Against Apartheid called for the release of the Sharpeville Six, 16 March 1988. In the photograph with Trevor Huddleston are (l to r) Jerry Dammers, Pat and Greg Kane from the pop duo Hue and Cry, and Suggs from the ska band Madness. The Sharpeville Six were sentenced to death in December 1985 because they were present at a protest where black collaborators were killed. In December 1987 the South African Appeal Court rejected their appeal for clemency. After an international campaign their sentence was commuted in July 1988.

Leaflet advertising a Latin American music night to raise funds for the South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO) in 1988. The concert was organised by Camden AA Group and Kings Cross Labour Party in central London.

Leaflet publicising an Anti-Apartheid Festival in Southall Park, West London on 18 June 1988. The Festival featured South African jazz musician Jonas Gwangwa and poet Benjamin Zephaniah, as well as children’s events and food stalls. It was organised by Ealing AA Group, with support from the London Borough of Ealing.

The Nelson Mandela 70th birthday tribute concert held at Wembley Stadium on 11 June 1988 was attended by a capacity audience of 72,000 and broadcast to over 60 countries. The concert was the opening event in the AAM’s ‘Nelson Mandela: Freedom at 70’ campaign. The concert programme carried features on the artists taking part, including Stevie Wonder, Whoopi Goldberg, Whitney Houston, George Michael, Sting, Dire Straits and Simple Minds.

Poster advertising the concert held at Wembley Stadium on 11 June 1988 as part of the AAM’s ‘Nelson Mandela: Freedom at 70’ campaign. The concert was attended by a capacity audience of 92,000 and broadcast to ove 60 countries with a potential audience of a billion people. Oliver Tambo was the guest of honour and Stevie Wonder, Whitney and Sting were among the performers.

The Nelson Mandela 70th birthday tribute concert held at Wembley Stadium, London on 11 June 1988, was attended by a capacity audience of 92,000 and broadcast by the BBC to 63 countries. It was organised by the AAM with the support of Artists Against Apartheid. The concert was part of the AAM’s Nelson Mandela: Freedom at 70 campaign. Mandela became a household name and a public opinion poll found that 70% of people in Britain supported the call for his release.

The Nelson Mandela 70th birthday tribute concert held at Wembley Stadium, London on 11 June 1988, was attended by a capacity audience of 92,000 and broadcast by the BBC to 63 countries. It was organised by the AAM with the support of Artists Against Apartheid. The concert was part of the AAM’s Nelson Mandela: Freedom at 70 campaign. Mandela became a household name and a public opinion poll found that 70% of people in Britain supported the call for his release.

The Bee Gees at the Nelson Mandela 70th birthday tribute concert held at Wembley Stadium, London on 11 June 1988. The concert was attended by a capacity audience of 92,000 and broadcast by the BBC to 63 countries. It was organised by the AAM with the support of Artists Against Apartheid. The concert was part of the AAM’s Nelson Mandela: Freedom at 70 campaign. Mandela became a household name and a public opinion poll found that 70% of people in Britain supported the call for his release.

Annie Lennox at the Nelson Mandela 70th birthday tribute concert held at Wembley Stadium, London on 11 June 1988. The concert was attended by a capacity audience of 92,000 and broadcast by the BBC to 63 countries. It was organised by the AAM with the support of Artists Against Apartheid. The concert was part of the AAM’s Nelson Mandela: Freedom at 70 campaign. Mandela became a household name and a public opinion poll found that 70% of people in Britain supported the call for his release.

Richard Gere at the Nelson Mandela 70th birthday tribute concert held at Wembley Stadium, London on 11 June 1988. The concert was attended by a capacity audience of 92,000 and broadcast by the BBC to 63 countries. It was organised by the AAM with the support of Artists Against Apartheid. The concert was part of the AAM’s Nelson Mandela: Freedom at 70 campaign. Mandela became a household name and a public opinion poll found that 70% of people in Britain supported the call for his release.

George Michael at the Nelson Mandela 70th birthday tribute concert held at Wembley Stadium, London on 11 June 1988. The concert was attended by a capacity audience of 92,000 and broadcast by the BBC to 63 countries. It was organised by the AAM with the support of Artists Against Apartheid. The concert was part of the AAM’s Nelson Mandela: Freedom at 70 campaign. Mandela became a household name and a public opinion poll found that 70% of people in Britain supported the call for his release.

Little Steven and Jim Kerr at the Nelson Mandela 70th birthday tribute concert held at Wembley Stadium, London on 11 June 1988. The concert was attended by a capacity audience of 92,000 and broadcast by the BBC to 63 countries. It was organised by the AAM with the support of Artists Against Apartheid. The concert was part of the AAM’s Nelson Mandela: Freedom at 70 campaign. Mandela became a household name and a public opinion poll found that 70% of people in Britain supported the call for his release.

Poster advertising a concert held to celebrate Nelson Mandela’s 70th birthday on 18 July 1988. The concert featured the Zimbabwean group the Bhundu Boys, calypsonian David Rudder and Orchestra Marrabenta from Mozambique. It took place at The Academy, a major rock venue in Brixton, home of one of London’s biggest black communities.

This concert celebrating Nelson Mandela’s 70th birthday on 18 July 1988 featured the Zimbabwean group, the Bhundu Boys, calypsonian David Rudder and Orchestra Marrabenta from Mozambique. It took place at The Academy, a major rock venue in Brixton, home of one of London’s biggest black communities.

Leaflet publicising a concert to celebrate Nelson Mandela’s 70th birthday organised by Nottingham AA Group. It featured La Danza Continua. Events like this were held all over Britain.

Front cover of a booklet about the ‘Sisters of the Long March’, a South African theatre group that toured Britain, September–December 1988, to win support for South African workers in their long-running dispute with the British-owned company BTR Sarmcol. The Sisters were a seven-woman song and dance group from Natal. They took their show to over 20 venues all over the country. The year before, a theatre group set up by the BTR workers brought their play about the strike ‘The Long March’ to Britain. Both tours were sponsored by the British TUC and supported by the AAM. 

London AA Committee flyer publicising a concert at The Fridge, Brixton in December 1988. It featured Jonah Moyo and Devera Ngwena from Zimbabwe and was sponsored by the journalists trade union NUJ.

Actor Leonard Fenton, a stars of the TV soap EastEnders, presented the first prize of a holiday in China in the AAM’s 1988 Prize Raffle. Fundraising was an important part of the AAM’s activities. It depended entirely on small donations and fundraising projects and received no grants from government or major donor institutions.

Local AA groups all over Britain organised activities as part of the AAM’s ‘Boycott Apartheid 1989’ campaign. Tyneside AA Group asked the supermarket chain William Laws to reinstate a local worker sacked for refusing to handle South African fruit. This leaflet publicised its Boycott Conference and a fundraising concert for workers on strike at BTR in South Africa.

Poster advertising a benefit concert at the Tabernacle in Notting Hill, West London organised by Notting Hill Anti-Apartheid Group. The gig featured ska/rap band Ruff Ruff and Ready. The AAM received no government or large institutional grants and depended on membership subscriptions and events like this for funding.

Many local AA groups organised women’s campaigns in solidarity with their sisters in Southern Africa. This leaflet advertised a women only concert orgaised by Sheffield AAM women members on International Women’s Day 1989 to raise funds for women in Southern Africa.

The AAM celebrated the 30th anniversary of its founding as the Boycott Movement in 1959 with a fundraising concert at the Camden Centre in central London. It featured Bushmen Don't Surf, the Kafala Brothers from Angola and South African jazz musician Julian Bahula.

In the late 1980s Bristol AA Group held an annual Festival against Apartheid. The 1989 Festival had an ambitious two-week programme featuring music from Southern Africa, an exhibition of Zimbabwean artworks and a children’s day with workshops on gumboot dancing, circus skills and drama.

Poster advertising Bristol AA Group’s 1989 Festival against Apartheid. The Festival had an ambitious two-week programme featuring music from Southern Africa, an exhibition of Zimbabwean artworks and a children’s day with workshops on gumboot dancing, circus skills and drama.

This Festival brought together speakers from the Namibia Support Committee and Wales AAM with the Cuban ambassador, who spoke about his country’s support for Angola against South African aggression. The conference was followed by an evening concert with music from the Cardiff Red Choir and singer songwriter Maria Tolly.

A week of music and poetry in venues all over London led up to the second Mandela Wembley concert on 16 April 1990. 

Two months after his release, Nelson Mandela attended a second Wembley Stadium concert held on 16 April 1990. The concert was attended by a capacity audience of 76,000 people and broadcast around the world. Mandela thanked the hundreds of thousands of people who had campaigned for his freedom and called for the continued isolation of South Africa until it had been transformed into a non-racial democracy.

Nelson Mandela at the Wembley concert held on 16 April 1990.

This festival was organised by Glasgow North-West AA Group as part of Glasgow’s 1990 European City of Culture celebrations. It featured African and Asian dance and the Zambian band Masusu.

As part of Glasgow’s 1990 European City of Culture celebrations, Mandela Club Nights showcased bands from Southern Africa. The Sechaba Festival brought 60 South African poets, musicians, actors and dancers to Glasgow in a two-week programme of events. The Festival included a five-day international conference on cultural resistance to apartheid, and performances, exhibitions and films. The Club and the Festival were organised by Sechaba Festivals Ltd., established by the Scottish AAM Committee and the STUC with support from Glasgow City and Strathclyde Regional Councils and individual trade unions.

Poster advertising a concert by South African musician and political activist Mbuli Mzwakwe at Lambeth Town Hall, south London on 7 December 1990. Concerts featuring music from Southern Africa played a big part in attracting support in Britain for the Southern African liberation struggle in the 1980s and early 1990s. This concert was one of many such events sponsored by the London Borough of Lambeth.

Leaflet publicising a fundraising concert of Latin American concert organised by Bath AA Group in 1991.

Leaflet publicising a fundraising concert, 'Rock Against Apartheid', organised by Birmingham AA Group and Birmingham Trades Council in 1992.

Poster for a concert to raise funds for the ANC election campaign in South Africa’s first democratic election in April 1994. The concert was organised by Nottingham anti-apartheid supporters and was supported by Nottingham City Council. It took place in the Marcus Garvey Centre, an Afro-Caribbean community centre in Nottingham’s Lenton district, and featured the Zimbabwean group, the Bhundu Boys.

Leaflet advertising 'The Free at Last Party, a concert at London's Astoria to celebrate Nelson Mandela’s inauguration as President of South Africa on 10 May 1994.

Poster advertising a concert on 9 July 1994 celebrating South Africa’s first democratic election. The concert featured an all star line-up of South African artists, including Hugh Masekela, Miriam Makeba, Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Lucky Dube, Black Ladysmith Mambazo and Brenda Fassie. It was organised by Islington Council in north London.

Jerry Dammers formed the Specials in Coventry in 1977. He was an anti-apartheid activist from his school days, and in 1986 founded Artists Against Apartheid to involve musicians in anti-apartheid campaigns and promote the cultural boycott of South Africa. He wrote the song ‘Free Nelson Mandela’, which became an international hit and helped raise awareness of the situation of Nelson Mandela and political prisoners in South Africa.

This is a complete transcript of an interview carried out as part of the Forward to Freedom AAM history project in 2013.

Jerry Dammers formed the Specials in Coventry in 1977. He was an anti-apartheid activist from his school days, and in 1986 founded Artists Against Apartheid to involve musicians in anti-apartheid campaigns and promote the cultural boycott of South Africa. He wrote the song ‘Free Nelson Mandela’, which became an international hit and helped raise awareness of the situation of Nelson Mandela and political prisoners in South Africa.

In this clip he taks about how he came to write ‘Free Nelson Mandela’.

Jerry Dammers formed the Specials in Coventry in 1977. He was an anti-apartheid activist from his school days, and in 1986 founded Artists Against Apartheid to involve musicians in anti-apartheid campaigns and promote the cultural boycott of South Africa. He wrote the song ‘Free Nelson Mandela’, which became an international hit and helped raise awareness of the situation of Nelson Mandela and political prisoners in South Africa.

In this longer clip (approximately 30 minutes) Jerry taks about his anti-apartheid work.