As a silent Trappist in Scotland, Paul made his guitar from scrapwood and a (retired!) toilet seat. Under its beautiful influence, he left to become a minstrel for peace through justice, a bit like early Bob Dylan (“but quieter”). 35 years on, he has sung with Inti Illimani and Joan Jara (Chile), Carlos Mejia Godoy (Nicaragua), Daniel Viglietti (Uruguay), Jackson Browne and Martin Sheen (USA), among others. He sang “We Shall Overcome” to 300,000 people (plus a pope), led bishops in a nuclear protest to invade Queen Elizabeth II's private castle, and helped fight off death squads in Los Angeles. In telling these adventures, and of the wonderful people who shared them with him, he weaves Flamenco, Gregorian chant, poetry, protest and Latin American song together to move people to take action for peace by building justice. In particular, he sings the beautiful, passionate, songs of Victor Jara, Chile’s beloved singer and songwriter, tortured and murdered during the horrific Nixon/Kissinger/Pinochet coup of 9/11/1973.

For ten years, Paul lived with Salvadoran exiles assaulted by death squads, attacking children even in the United States. Married to ex-Sandinista guerrilla Fátima Hernández, he now lives in a marginalized neighbourhood of Managua, Nicaragua. There, Paul is co-founder of Café Sandino, Echoes of Silence and the Victor Jara Cultural Workers Movement, all committed to rolling back global warming by making peace, justice and beauty through creative, sustainable lifestyles and agriculture, people-to-people interchange, just trade, and the committed arts. Previously he served for years as both the UK and US national solidarity organizations' staff person in Nicaragua.

Paul's most recent recording is, “Hasta el aroma de la flor - To the Very Fragrance of the Flower”, Victor Jara’s best-loved songs in their original Spanish, with Paul’s singing English translations. He has also had two books published, “Of Minstrels, Monks and Milkmen” and “Song In High Summer”; and is currently working on “Flowers In the Desert”, a film script based on the death squad experiences, plus a new book entitled: “Zen and the Art of Buttock-Clenching (or, Thank God, My Computer's Really Slow”). (“There is a connection – buy the book!”)

Through Echoes of Silence, Paul is coordinating a team of musicians, poets, actors, dancers, storytellers, painters, etc. to promote the Zero Hunger programme of the new FSLN administration, both within Nicaragua and abroad. He is also raising support for Echoes' own projects including, “The Revolution Will be Re-Painted”: the recreation of some of the wonderful murals of beauty and hope painted after the expulsion of the Somoza dictatorship and obliterated by Nicaragua’s corrupt president, Arnoldo Alemán; and “Ponies and Small People”, where children rescued from city streets care for horses worn out working those same streets.

Comfortable in pulpit or on picket-line, in concert hall or living room, Paul will be on UK tour from August 10th – September 8th. While costs dictate some fee (usually £50 - £150), just entrance and/or passing the hat is often fine. Basic travel expenses (bus, floor space) are requested.

To book a presentation, or for more information, please contact Lissethe Polanco at nicared@ibw.com.ni – (505) 405 2563, or call Christine Jennings on 01225 866181. Thank you.