A nationwide NUS strike began in January 1988. It was organised in solidarity with workers in the Isle of Man who had been sacked for not accepting new contract terms.
The union had negotiated a weekly ferry service that acted as a lifeline for the Shetland Islands. It would carry essential supplies for the islands, and staff would not take payment - rather the money would go to charity. But some crew from the St Clair ferry joined the picket, meaning it would not make the Shetland sailing.
Shetland's Folk Festival has always been ambitious - bringing international artists to community halls, bars, and an audience that otherwise may not have been able to see them. An inescapable part of the experience for visiting artists is to make the journey up from Aberdeen on the overnight, 14-hour ferry. The strike action put the festival at risk.
Elvis Costello negotiated the passage of the ferry in exchange for performing a benefit concert for the workers on his return to Aberdeen. He probably single-handedly saved the Shetland Folk Festival that year.
Good to his word, he hired the Aberdeen Music Hall and performed a variety concert in May 1988. In Melody Maker, he was reported as saying: "I agree with the NUS side of things. Anything we can do to get publicity for them...must be good. I spoke to the pickets and they are just ordinary blokes trying to protect their jobs."
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