In 1976 the National Coal Board held a competition in which they invited people to compose songs about the importance of following safety procedures when you're working down a mine. The winning entry, by Jack Birchall, was put to music by Ron Goodwin, recorded by Max Bygraves & the Grimethorpe Colliery Band, and issued by the NCB as a single - the single was handed out, rather than sold. There is no catalogue number on the label, but a matrix number in the run-off reads 'GCB-2', which presumably refers to the Grimethorpe Colliery Band; this suggests that there may have been a GCB-1 of some sort. Whether or not the song had any effect on mine safety is debatable; a few years later the Thatcher government rendered the whole subject redundant. Along with the workforce.
Copyright 2006 Robert Lyons.