1981 Irish hunger strike showdown between the prisoners and the British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher. One hunger striker, Bobby Sands, was elected as a Member of Parliament during the strike, prompting media interest from around the world. The strike was called off after ten prisoners had starved themselves to death—including Sands, whose funeral was attended by 100,000 people. The strike radicalised Irish nationalist politics, and was the driving force that enabled Sinn Féin to become a mainstream political party. There had been hunger strikes by Irish republican prisoners since 1917, and twelve had previously died on hunger strike, including Thomas Ashe, Terence MacSwiney, Seán
Hunger Strike (song) number four on the "Billboard" Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and number seven on the "Billboard" Modern Rock Tracks chart. Jim Guerinot, A&M's senior VP of marketing at the time, said, "I don't think that anyone would have paid attention if 'Hunger Strike' wasn't a great song." It still receives regular radio play on many hard rock radio stations. Outside the United States, the single was released in Australia, Canada, Germany, and the United Kingdom. In Canada, the song reached the top 50 on the Canadian Singles Chart. "Hunger Strike" reached the top 60 in the UK. David Fricke of "Rolling