Alistair Hulett
Alistair Hulett (1951–2010) was a Scottish folk singer best known as the frontman of the folk-punk band Roaring Jack. Born in Glasgow, he discovered traditional music as a teenager and started performing on the folk scene in New Zealand after moving there with his family in 1968. He moved to Australia in 1971 and continued to play at festivals.
In the early 1980s he formed Roaring Jack, a five‑piece folk-punk group that opened for acts like Billy Bragg, The Pogues, and The Men They Couldn't Hang. The band earned two ARIA nominations during their career. Hulett’s first solo album, Dance of the Underclass (1991), was completely acoustic and included contributions from Roaring Jack members and a version of The Internationale. The album helped establish him as an important Australian songwriter, with several songs becoming well known. The song He Fades Away, about the death of an asbestos miner, was covered by other artists.
A second solo album, In the Back Streets of Paradise, followed in 1994, and featured longtime collaborator Jimmy Gregory. Around this time he formed Alistair Hulett and The Hooligans, with Lindsey Martin, John Deery, James Fagan, Phil Murray, and Jimmy Gregory. He also worked with Dave Swarbrick of Fairport Convention on three albums and later formed The Malkies.
Hulett was active in politics. He joined the International Socialist Organisation in 1991 and helped found Socialist Alternative in Australia in 1995, often performing at political benefits and rallies. He wrote songs supporting Indigenous Australians, unions, and various left‑wing causes, as well as songs critiquing imperialism and other political topics.
He returned to Glasgow in the late 1990s and stayed involved in political and musical circles. In January 2010 he became very ill and was diagnosed with aggressive cancer. He died on 28 January 2010 in Glasgow, at age 58, survived by his second wife, Fatima Uygun.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 18:30 (CET).