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) Stone" said, "Cornell and Vedder . . . turn its four minutes into a veritable opera of rock-star guilt. . . . Cornell turns on the Robert Plant-style napalm full blast, but it is Vedder's scorched introspection that brings the conscience in the song to a full boil. 'Hunger Strike' was his first starring vocal on record; it is still one of his best." The original music video for "Hunger Strike" was directed by Paul Rachman who also directed the 2006 punk documentary "American Hardcore". A&M decided to reissue the album and promote "Hunger Strike" as a single, with an