John Morton (10 March 1925 – 26 January 2021) was an English

trade unionist A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and Employee ben ...

and musician. Born in

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunian ...

, England, Morton learned to play the piano while he was a child. On leaving school, he started an apprenticeship as a printer, but his love of

swing music Swing music is a style of jazz that developed in the United States during the late 1920s and early 1930s. It became nationally popular from the mid-1930s. The name derived from its emphasis on the off-beat, or nominally weaker beat. Swing bands ...

led him to leave to play in a band.John Silverlight, "Pianist who calls the tune for the musicians", ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'', 27 July 1980 Musicians' Union,
John Morton
He joined the Union, and gradually rose to prominence, winning election to its executive committee, and leading a boycott of Wolverhampton's Scala Ballroom over its policy of only admitting white people. Morton worked full-time for the union for a few years, but moved to become a lecturer in industrial relations at

Solihull College Solihull College & University Centre, formerly called Solihull Technical College, is a further education college located in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, in the West Midlands, England. The College has two main campuses; the Blossomfield ...

. Despite this, he remained on the executive committee and, when General Secretary

Hardie Ratcliffe John Hardie Ratcliffe (2 January 1906 – 26 May 1975) was an English musician, and General Secretary of the United Kingdom Musicians' Union from 1948. Ratcliffe was born in 1906 in Liverpool, and named after Keir Hardie. In childhood, he play ...

announced his retiral, he asked Morton to run for the post. Morton won election as general secretary, focusing much of his time on opposing the closure of orchestras, and negotiating with broadcasters, particularly the new independent local radio stations. He also became President of the

International Federation of Musicians The International Federation of Musicians (french: Federation Internationale des Musiciens, FIM) is a global union federation bringing together trade unions representing music performers. FIM counts member unions in 70 countries and three regional ...

(FIM). He was elected to the

General Council of the Trades Union Congress The General Council of the Trades Union Congress is an elected body which is responsible for carrying out the policies agreed at the annual British Trade Union Congresses (TUC). Organisation The council has 56 members, all of whom must be proposed ...

, serving from 1975 to 1985, and again from 1986 until his retirement. Politically, he was considered to have moved from the left-wing of the union to the centre or right during this period. Morton retired as general secretary in 1990, but remained president of the FIM until 2002, and president emeritus of the FIM thereafter. He died at the age of 95, in 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morton, John 1925 births 2021 deaths English jazz pianists General Secretaries of the Musicians' Union (UK) Members of the General Council of the Trades Union Congress People from Wolverhampton