Maggie Out

"Maggie Out" was a chant popular during the Miners' Strike, student grant protests, Poll Tax protests and other public demonstrations that fell within the time when Margaret Thatcher was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.[1][2][3][4][5]

The chant called for her to be removed from that role. It was referred to, in that context, during a parliamentary session in 1984.[6]

When Margaret Thatcher felt compelled to resign some people had memories of chanting it for thirteen years.[7][8] People were passionate about this group activity and associated it with varied political struggles from that time.[9][10]

It is a variant of the "Oggy Oggy Oggy, Oi Oi Oi" chant. When used in that format, the lyrics were:

Maggie, Maggie, Maggie!
Out! Out! Out!
Maggie, Maggie, Maggie!
Out! Out! Out!
Maggie!
Out!
Maggie!
Out!
Maggie, Maggie, Maggie!
Out! Out! Out!

The chorus of the chant became the title of a compilation album from Anagram Records (Catalog#:GRAM 28) released in 1987.

The Larks produced a track called "Maggie, Maggie, Maggie (Out, Out, Out)" which was included on the Miners’ Benefit LP “Here We Go” on Sterile Records.[11]

Comedian Alexei Sayle remarked humorously that he couldn't find his way around London unless he walked down the middle of the streets shouting the words.

Since 1990 two variants of this song have been heard - adapted for both her successors; replacing 'Major' for 'Maggie' during the tenure of John Major and 'Tony' for 'Maggie' since Tony Blair's plan for the Iraq War in 2003.

The song has occasionally been revived to "greet" Thatcher's public outings following her resignation as Prime Minister, but with the word "gone" substituted for "out".

Following the death of Thatcher on 8 April 2013, this chant was revived in the format of "Maggie, Maggie Maggie (Dead, Dead, Dead)" at celebratory parties held in Glasgow and Brixton.

References

  1. ↑ Sergeant, John. Maggie: Her Fatal Legacy. Pan Macmillan, pg 8.
  2. ↑ El Saadawi, Nawal. The Nawal El Saadawi reader. Palgrave Macmillan, pg 274
  3. ↑ Miners' strike - Dragon's Flame http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/history/sites/themes/society/strike_dragons_flame.shtml
  4. ↑ Margaret Thatcher, inspiration to New Labour http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/themargaretthatcheryears/1895878/Margaret-Thatcher-inspiration-to-New-Labour.html
  5. ↑ Are ageing lefties in denial? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-10633782
  6. ↑ House of Commons PQs, Margaret Thatcher Foundation http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/105727
  7. ↑ Fun memories of protesting http://web.archive.org/web/20020105051537/http://socialistworker.co.uk/1742/sw174223.htm
  8. ↑ Steel, Mark. Reasons to be Cheerful. Scribner
  9. ↑ Oh I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside. http://web.archive.org/web/20030201041127/http://cjstone.co.uk/pgs/others05seaside.htm
  10. ↑ Remarks visiting Bristol, Margaret Thatcher Foundation http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/105329
  11. ↑ The Larks http://www.myspace.com/exaltationoflarks
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