Brian Fitzgerald from Greenpeace International introduces the latest video in the 'Stories from the Rainbow Warrior' series.
He infiltrated the Greenpeace ship Esperanza masquerading as an assistant cook. Nobody knew, nor were they supposed to know, his true identity.
Spy? Provocateur? Nope. In this case, it was a rock star.
When Paul Simonon, former bassist for The Clash, told Frank Heweston, action coordinator for Greenpeace UK, that he wanted to join a Greenpeace ship's crew and make a stand against Arctic oil drilling, Frank told him that if he wanted the real experience, he couldn't join the ship as a rock star passenger.
He'd need to become a member of the crew, and earn his acceptance. He'd need to take a lowly job -- assistant cook would do nicely, and not tell anyone who he was. He'd need to scrub toilets and swab decks.
The strategy was so effective that some of his fellow activists, who spent two weeks in prison with him, are only just now learning who "Paul, the assistant cook" was.
"He was a quiet, humble and funny guy who just fit in. He worked really hard, cooking even on Sundays, which is usually the cook's day off." said Martti, who was then third mate aboard the Arctic Sunrise and shared a cell with Paul.
Paul joined the action in the Arctic to demand Cairn oil produce their oil spill response plan, which they had refused to make public. On June 3, he braved firehoses and a gruelling climb to board the Leiv Eriksson oil rig with 17 other activists.
Cairn refused to make their disaster plan public.
The activists refused to budge until it was provided.
It was then that the Greenland police arrested Paul and the other activists and tossed them into jail.
"The food was so bad, we finally got the guards to agree to let Paul cook," said Martti. He'd get an armed escort out to the supermarket to get supplies, and at one point one of the guards noticed an uncanny resemblance to the bassist whose face wasn't visible in The Good the Bad & the Queen in a performance aboard the Rainbow Warrior near Tower Bridge, followed by a benefit gig at the Coronet.
The first Rainbow Warrior sailed past Tower Bridge on her maiden voyage decades ago, and it seemed fitting that the new Rainbow Warrior's first gig was here on the Thames, in what Damon Albarn called "her spiritual home." He appealed to "anyone who wants to make a difference to join Greenpeace."
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