The Australian newspaper, the Sydney Morning Herald of December 30th, had a long interview with the music teacher of Islington Green School, Alun Renshaw, who provided the kids choir for Pink Floyd's Another Brick In The Wall.

The interview, which can be read in full at their website, is an interesting look at the creation of the recording, and the reaction of those within the school, and also in the public eye (such as Prime Minister of the time, Margaret Thatcher)...

"We don't need no education
We don't need no thought control
No dark sarcasm in the classroom
Teachers leave them kids alone
Hey! Teachers! Leave them kids alone!
All in all it's just another brick in the wall
All in all you're just another brick in the wall"

Alun Renshaw smiles when those words waft from the radio. It's not that he's not a huge Pink Floyd fan nor particularly moved by the lyrics, he's just remembering being there with the choir when the song was recorded.

Renshaw, who now lives at Wisemans Ferry, says, "I was wondering only this morning what would have happened if I'd said, 'No, we're not going to do it.' "

But, always keen to make music relevant to his charges, he agreed, thinking it would be an interesting sociological exercise. He rounded up 23 students. Then he saw what they were supposed to sing.

"Apparently I turned slightly ashen when I saw the words," he says. "I did think, 'Oh dear, this could upset a few people' But then I thought, it's Pink Floyd, the biggest pop group in the world. They want us to sing on their album. Who cares what the words are?"

It was clear that a number of people did care, and the furore, especially in the media, gave the song plenty of publicity. Recently, a claim has been made on royalties for the song since 1997, which has resulted in the children who sang on the track being found, and many old acquaintances and friendships being rekindled.

The final word was with Renshaw. He still has his copy of the album The Wall, which went on to sell more than 23 million copies. But he never had it autographed by the band. "To be honest, I actually preferred Dark Side of the Moon."