The music that came out of the H-block struggle is not just specific to Irish folk or pub music. Certain internationally renown bands have dedicated some of their music to commemorating the deaths of Bobby Sands and his fellow hunger strikers. Notably, The Police’s song “Invisible Sun” (which is immediately preceded by “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” on their album Ghost in the Machine) makes reference to the IRA and the hunger strike:
I don’t want to spend the rest of my life
Looking at the barrel of an Armalite
I don’t want to spend the rest of my days
Keeping out of trouble like the soldiers say
I don’t want to spend my time in hell
Looking at the walls of a prison cell
I don’t ever want to play the part
Of a statistic on a government chart
The song goes on to express a more universal message that even in times of dire and abject hardship, there is hope, emitted by an “invisible sun.” Here, we see an intersection between the personal and the political that is not present in the folk or folk-reminiscent songs coming out of Ireland during the same era. The Police, through this song, are making the struggle of IRA prisoners more accessible to a global audience. Obviously, the British government also recognized this, because the song, which was released in September 1981, was banned by the BBC and did not receive any British airtime. Interestingly, The Police sang this song in their sets when on benefit tours with Amnesty International.
On May 6, 1981, one day after the death of Bobby Sands, The Grateful Dead dedicated their performance of their song “He’s Gone” to him. The live recording, from the Nassau Coliseum in New York, is on the album Dick’s Picks Volume 13. While Bob Weir simply saying Bobby Sands’ name is clearly not as extreme as The Police’s song, this is notable in that it shows Sands’ hunger strike and death, and the larger IRA struggle for political status for prisoners, was occupying a global consciousness.