The UK Musicians Union tried to ban synths 40 years ago today
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23.05.2022

The UK Musicians Union tried to ban synths 40 years ago today

Words by Eli Duxson

On Robert Moog’s birthday no less!

The year is 1982 and the date is May 23. Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder’s ‘Ebony and Ivory’ has overtaken ‘Chariots of Fire’ and ‘I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll’ on the Billboard charts. It is also the legendary Robert Moog’s 48th birthday.

What you need to know:

  • The UK Musicians Union tried to ban synths 40 years ago today.
  • The motion was passed in a meeting of the Central London Branch after a Barry Manilow tour featured a number of synthesiser players instead of the orchestra his previous tour was graced with.
  • The Union eventually lifted their ban at a time in the late ‘90s where technology had improved to the point where the threat of job replacement was probably higher.

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Simpler times, many reminisce. May 23 1982 was also the date the UK Musicians Union tried to ban synthesisers outright out of a fear of musician replacements. Not quite the fear of automation we see and feel today.

Obviously, they were not successful. The motion was passed in a meeting of the Central London Branch after a Barry Manilow tour featured a number of synthesiser players instead of the orchestra his previous tour was graced with.

Though it was never the official policy of the Union (the Executive Committee passed a much more nuanced resolution on their use in November), it attracted a huge amount of attention.

The attention was notable among synth players themselves (some of whom briefly formed an organisation called the Union of Sound Synthesists) and the music press, with some press members characterising the Central London Branch as “MU loonies.”

May 23 must be a date of innovation (Moog), and the fear of it, as the date in 1973 was met with the disgust of Jefferson Airplane.

Their show at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco was cancelled because of the ban on amplified music. “We built this city on orchestral music” was the response their arrival was met with, which promptly spawned the Starship classic “We Built This City” (on rock and roll).

The Union eventually lifted their ban at a time in the late ‘90s where technology had improved to the point where the threat of job replacement was probably higher, but it matters little.

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