Episode 129: Richard Sanderson on Getting Cancelled

Richard Sanderson was a director of the London Musicians Collective for ten years, helped set up the UK radio station Resonance FM, and founded the experimental music label Linear Obsessional through which he released over 150 albums as downloads, CDs, cassettes and vinyl, until its demise in 2022.The label’s demise was precipitated by strong, negative, and abusive reactions Richard received to four of his social media posts sharing commentary on trans issues. The backlash drove him out of the experimental music scene to the point that he felt compelled to shut down his label.In November 2024 he wrote an article about his experience, which is how I found out about his story.Richard and I sat down together to discuss some of the experimental music he put out, how it felt to be subjected to abuse online, what being ‘on the left’ means these days, and more.It was a great chat, and Richard even brought along his melodeon to play us out with an exclusive in-studio rendition of There Was An Old Woman Tossed Up In A Blanket, a lovely English folk tune.I hope you enjoy it.You can find Richard on Substack and X, and visit the remains of Linear Obsessional on Bandcamp.1984today.substack.com1984.todayX: @1984TodayPod This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 1984today.substack.com