Julie's guitar is weapon against landmine tyranny

In fact the rocker has been talked into playing mandolin alongside Julie on stage in Manchester as part of an anti-landmine campaign concert.

It is not too surprising, because Julie, now aged 63, who shot to fame in the 1960s, has a persuasive sincerity which makes you sit up and listen.

The singer who was a leading light alongside the protest singers of the decade, is still angry after all these years.

And this time she is directing her energies to the campaign championed by Princess Diana before her death.

She became involved after watching a television programme, and got in touch with the Manchester based Mines Advisory Group (MAG), and little more than a year later is the driving force behind Guitars Against Landmines, a fundraising concert being staged at the Lyric Theatre, of The Lowry on Sunday, January 27.

Julie explained: "The more I discovered the more dedicated I became. It put in focus a great waste of life. These minefields remain long after the wars are over. Countries most affected are the poorest and, within them, the poorest sections of communities are affected. These mines are a great scar on the conscience of the world and we are allowing it to continue.

"When the idea of a concert first began I attracted all kinds of people but as the year went on recording obligations came into play and it began to get difficult. I just needed that first person to commit."

That person ended up being Steve Harley. Bill Wyman followed, and John Paul Jones --"we used to be neighbours".

Julie said: "I have always had sympathy with the underdog and have always been aware of what is unfair in the world. I am very emotionally involved. As a musician I felt kind of like a troubadour -- someone to spread the news. I feel all artists have the ability, if not the responsibility, to spotlight certain areas in our cultures that need balancing.

"These days you do occasionally get someone coming up with a conscience. But at present there is no surprise that music is currently at an all time low. It is like a wave of feeling that goes out and comes back in. After the sixties and seventies there was a tremendous wave of materialism. But I do think a concern for our environment will eventually come through. It can not be ignored anymore. Protests will come through music again -- I certainly hope so.

"Music is a wonderful catalyst. I have seen people, who have been as hard as nails, moved to tears by it."

Julie first came to prominence in the mid-60s. After enjoying chart and television success she seemed to fade out of the limelight.

She said: "Folk was not in the fore any more and at the end of the Seventies I stopped singing for four or five years and moved back to the US from England. In 1986 I went on a peace march in Central America and it made me realise there was still a lot to sing about so I came back to England.

"I think I also went through a mid life crisis. Having had a high profile I started to wonder who I really was. It was a difficult time for me. I think it was because I had always been protesting against people with money and power, and then I became one of those people.

"When I came back to England I started singing in clubs and getting involved in human rights again. I went back to what inspired me in my early career, but sang with a greater maturity."

Although a native Californian, Julie spends most of her time in England. She said: "I prefer being here -- except for the weather. I feel safer somehow on European soil."

Julie wrote her first song aged just seven, and can still perform it if asked. She laughs: "It was about a pixie."

She was taught how to play guitar by her father -- "an excellent musician" -- and she lists her biggest influences as being Bob Dylan, Woodie Guthrie and the poetry of Leonard Cohen.

She is working on recording a tribute album to Dylan and plans a tour in Spring.

Tickets for Guitars Against Landmines are from the Lowry on 0161-876-2000.