Nice film clip from the summer of 1963 of a bus trip organised by Blackfriars Settlement in Southwark: 'It was the time of their lives for 200 Southwark children... they were going down to Greenwich for a glorious day in the country'. Rather patronising as you might expect - apparently Greenwich Park was 'a wonderful open space such as a good many had never seen before, real grass too'.
If you wondered what a 1960s children's playground looked like, look no more. Also some film of the Cutty Sark (click on image to play).
Can anybody identify the Southwark estate?
New book out now - click on image for more details, including where to get it
Sunday, April 03, 2011
Friday, April 01, 2011
Smiley Culture in Catford
Nice bit of footage of the late Smiley Culture , seemingly shot at a Fashion records showcase at the 10 club in Brownhill Rd, Catford in 1983. There's a little bit of Maxi Priest, then I believe Papa Face then Smiley doing Cockney Translation, obviously already well known to the crowd a year before it became a hit record. If you have any memories of that club or even that night please comment.
Details have now been confirmed for the demonstration called by the campaign for Justice for Smiley Culture on Saturday April 16th. It will be assembling at noon at the Southbank Club, 124 - 130 Wandsworth Road SW8 2DL, and then heading to New Scotland Yard.
Details have now been confirmed for the demonstration called by the campaign for Justice for Smiley Culture on Saturday April 16th. It will be assembling at noon at the Southbank Club, 124 - 130 Wandsworth Road SW8 2DL, and then heading to New Scotland Yard.
KTBJD SE13
Previously at Transpontine we have acknowledged the wondrous loveliness of Katy B and her Peckham and New Cross connections. An interview in this week's Guardian reveals further details: 'Born Kathleen Brien ("the most Irish name ever") to a plumber father and postwoman mother, Katy grew up in Peckham, south-east London and learned her trade as a vocalist on the underground dance scene... I went to FWD [Rinse's legendary dubstep/grime night in east London] every single week. But I had work the next day, so I'd be the first one there at 10, on my own, then I'd leave at 12 to get the night bus home." Where were you working? "In Lewisham, in JD Sports. But it was alright. I didn't even have a hangover, 'cos I couldn't afford to drink."
(love the new single Broken Record, reminds me of Let Me Be Your Fantasy by Baby D, a track that for some reason always makes me think of the Venue in New Cross - remember dancing to that track there at some point in the 1990s)
New Cross Bombed and Bombing
Some reflections by Les Back, published in the new issue of The Paper (April 2011):
'Britain is a bombed and bombing culture. This is captured in the opening of Virginia Woolf’s essay Thoughts on Peace in an Air-raid written for an American symposium on women in the war in August 1940. As part of the recent graduate Collective Futures symposium at Goldsmiths we took these insights for a walk along the New Cross Road. Pausing at the house of Barnes Wallis, inventor of the ‘bouncing bomb’ immortalised in the 1954 film The Dambusters, to read at the curb side extracts from W G. Sebald’s On the Natural History of Destruction. The plaque on Wallis’ former home makes no mention of his deadly inventions or the raids or attacks on the Möhne, Eder, and Sorpe dams in the Ruhr area that resulted in the drowning of close to 2000 people. Drifting down the street the group including students from all over the world stopped by the Rising Sun café to hear a reading from Virginia Woolf’s essay in the ‘bomb print’ of a V2 rocket that killed 168 people in 1944. The readings evoked the shared human frailty of the civilians who died in Hamburg, Berlin and London'.
Full article - Fear that Stops the Thinking
'Britain is a bombed and bombing culture. This is captured in the opening of Virginia Woolf’s essay Thoughts on Peace in an Air-raid written for an American symposium on women in the war in August 1940. As part of the recent graduate Collective Futures symposium at Goldsmiths we took these insights for a walk along the New Cross Road. Pausing at the house of Barnes Wallis, inventor of the ‘bouncing bomb’ immortalised in the 1954 film The Dambusters, to read at the curb side extracts from W G. Sebald’s On the Natural History of Destruction. The plaque on Wallis’ former home makes no mention of his deadly inventions or the raids or attacks on the Möhne, Eder, and Sorpe dams in the Ruhr area that resulted in the drowning of close to 2000 people. Drifting down the street the group including students from all over the world stopped by the Rising Sun café to hear a reading from Virginia Woolf’s essay in the ‘bomb print’ of a V2 rocket that killed 168 people in 1944. The readings evoked the shared human frailty of the civilians who died in Hamburg, Berlin and London'.
Full article - Fear that Stops the Thinking
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Remembering Rocky
Thanks to Gabz on Twitter (The Come Up) for the reminder that it was ten years ago today that footballer David Rocastle died an untimely death at the age of 33 from non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. Best known for his time at Arsenal, he also played for Leeds, Manchester City, Chelsea, Norwich City and Hull, as well as England.
He went to Turnham Primary School in Brockley and Roger Manwood Secondary School in Brockley Rise (as did Maxi Priest).
Love to his wife Janet, son Ryan and daughters Melissa and Monique.
Not going to lie though, the greatest moment in my football supporting days was seeing him lose at Wembley in 1988 (Luton 3 Arsenal 2).
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Moses Tagoe: a death in police custody (1967)
The recent strange death of Smiley Culture in a police raid continues to raise alarm. Last week there was a packed public meeting in Brixton, and the family-led Campaign for Justice for Smiley Culture has called a demonstration on Saturday, April 16th at 1:00pm from Wandsworth Rd in Stockwell (where David Emmanuel/Smiley Culture grew up) to Scotland Yard.
The campaign has already reawakened memories of many other deaths in police custody in the past. Doing some unrelated research this week I came across the following South London case from 1967 - what is particularly shocking about this one is that as recently as the late 1960s, 'coloured people' getting 'over-excited' was accepted as a cause of death! The police are going have to try a bit harder in 2011 to provide a satisfactory explanation for what happened in Warlingham, Surrey, on the 15th March.
'A 22-year-old Nigerian student went berserk when a police officer approached him at night in St Thomas Street, Southwark. Fifty minutes later, the man died in Tower Bridge Police Station, the Southwark inquest was told.
The Southwark coroner, Mr A. Gordon Davies, was informed the student was arrested after striking the policeman, PC John Carr, with a heavy brief-case, in the face. Then the student, Moses Tagoe, of Dalyell Road, Brixton, ran away, but was chased - first by PC Carr and then PC Anthony Mercer. Finally Police Sergeant Henry Dowswell arrested Tagoe.
At the inquest Mr Davies told the jury: 'If you are satisfied that there was quite proper force used, and there was no undue violence on the part of the police, the only possible verdict would be Accidental Death. There is no evidence for any other verdict'.
The jury returning an accidental verdict, had been told by Professor Francis Camps that some coloured people suffered from a disease which could lead to a fatal attack when over-excited. Mr Davies said that because the dead man was coloured, the authorities had made a very thorough investigation to ensure that no charge of racial discrimination could be made.
Pointing out that no reason for the attack on the policeman was apparent, Mr Davies said of Tagoe: 'He may have been under some delusion - persecution complex, or paranoia does seem very possible'.
Tagoe was said by the police to have been writhing on the floor of the police station charge-room, and to have been dead when a police surgeon was called to attend PC Carr'.
Source: South London Observer, 22 March 1967.
The campaign has already reawakened memories of many other deaths in police custody in the past. Doing some unrelated research this week I came across the following South London case from 1967 - what is particularly shocking about this one is that as recently as the late 1960s, 'coloured people' getting 'over-excited' was accepted as a cause of death! The police are going have to try a bit harder in 2011 to provide a satisfactory explanation for what happened in Warlingham, Surrey, on the 15th March.
'A 22-year-old Nigerian student went berserk when a police officer approached him at night in St Thomas Street, Southwark. Fifty minutes later, the man died in Tower Bridge Police Station, the Southwark inquest was told.
The Southwark coroner, Mr A. Gordon Davies, was informed the student was arrested after striking the policeman, PC John Carr, with a heavy brief-case, in the face. Then the student, Moses Tagoe, of Dalyell Road, Brixton, ran away, but was chased - first by PC Carr and then PC Anthony Mercer. Finally Police Sergeant Henry Dowswell arrested Tagoe.
At the inquest Mr Davies told the jury: 'If you are satisfied that there was quite proper force used, and there was no undue violence on the part of the police, the only possible verdict would be Accidental Death. There is no evidence for any other verdict'.
The jury returning an accidental verdict, had been told by Professor Francis Camps that some coloured people suffered from a disease which could lead to a fatal attack when over-excited. Mr Davies said that because the dead man was coloured, the authorities had made a very thorough investigation to ensure that no charge of racial discrimination could be made.
Pointing out that no reason for the attack on the policeman was apparent, Mr Davies said of Tagoe: 'He may have been under some delusion - persecution complex, or paranoia does seem very possible'.
Tagoe was said by the police to have been writhing on the floor of the police station charge-room, and to have been dead when a police surgeon was called to attend PC Carr'.
Source: South London Observer, 22 March 1967.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Crystal Palace Baseball
Whatever happened to the Crystal Palace Baseball Team? 'at the Crystal Palace the first match of the Baseball Season was played between teams representing respectively Crystal palace and the Remingtons, and the Life-Boat Saturday Fund held its May Day Fete. Needless to say, there were plenty of people on the Sydenham heights...after nine innings had been played, the Crystal Palace team won by 8 runs'(Penny Illustrated Paper, 8 May 1897) 
The same issue reports that 10,000 people had attended the races that weekend at Catford Cycling Club . (click image to enlarge)
The same issue reports that 10,000 people had attended the races that weekend at Catford Cycling Club . (click image to enlarge)
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Anti-cuts March: South London Contingent
Huge turn-out on today's anti-cuts March for the Alternative in London, estimates of up to 500,000 people on the streets: more than one in a hundred of the entire adult population of Britain on one demonstration.
Anti-cuts banner on Camberwell College of Arts
Sticker on a Camberwell cashpointThe unofficial South London feeder march started out from Kennington Park, and by the time it had reached Westminster Bridge it was at least a couple of thousand people strong. The following pictures were all taken on the South London demo.
The giant Trojan Horse was a big hit - it was later burnt at Oxford Circus
Lewisham Pensioners Forum banner. Other local banners included Lambeth Teachers Association and South London Solidarity Federation.
The South London march crosses Westminster Bridge
More on the South London march at East London Lines.
Friday, March 25, 2011
March Against Cuts: South London Feeder
Big day tomorrow, the national demonstration against cuts in central London will be the largest of the decade so far. Could be a tell your grandchildren you were there moment, like the poll tax demo in 1990 or the anti-war march in 2003.
There's a South London feeder march meeting up at 11am at Kennington Park, in the North Field next to Kennington Park Place, with supporters including Southwark and Lambeth Save Our Services, Lewisham Anti-Cuts Alliance, Radical Workers Bloc and the Latin American Coalition Against Cuts. From there people will be marching together to the Embankment to join the main demonstration, set to start at 12 then head to Hyde Park.
If you have, or are, a puppet you could join the Puppets for Protest bloc, meeting 11 am in Jubilee Gardens on the South Ban, behind the London Eye!
Another cyclist killed in Bermondsey
Flowers at the junction of Tooley Street and Tanner Street SE1 mark where a cyclist was killed earlier this week. The 20 year old cyclist was apparently hit by a lorry. As Road.cc reports:
'That accident took place just a few hundred yards from the locations where two cyclists – university professor David Vilaseca and medical student Haris Ahmed – were killed early last year [see previous Transpontine report]. It is the latest instance of a cyclist being killed by an HGV in Southwark, which for whatever reason seems to attract a large number of fatal accidents to bike riders, particularly in the Bermondsey area.
Two possible reasons for that might be the amount of construction works in the area for projects such as The Shard, and the presence of a massive waste incinerator sandwiched between the railway lines and Millwall FC’s New Den Stadium, with few routes in or out of the site. Roads running under the viaduct carrying railway lines away from London Bridge station are also used as short cuts by HGVs'.
Last month, Goldsmiths graduate Daniel Cox was killed while cycling in East London
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Music at the Old Nun's Head
An all woman line up at this month 'Nigel and Bermondsey and Friends' at the Old Nun's Head, SE15 tomorrow night (Friday 25th March). Acts include
- Charlie Henry: 'Using a loop pedal, a cello, a ukulele, a saw and her voice, she creates rich orchestral landscapes. Fusing spoken word and song she weaves live tapestries of songs and soundscapes in front of the audience's eyes'.
- Verity Flecknell: 'Verity is an indie folk/blues artist setting out to challenge the perceptions of
- Charley Stone: 'a.k.a. the Bonham Carter of Rock, rocks. She is available for hire, for guitar/BVs/bass/keyboard-ish-ness/other random musical things e.g. hoover-thru-wah-wah-pedal. But not for anything else. Most recently she has been performing with Charlotte Hatherley, a.k.a. the Kate Winslett of Rock, at scores of venues across this land and the next, as well as being providing deft bass playing, sexiness and so on for twisted surf band the Deptford Beach Babes. She also is a member of the New Royal Family, whose debut single "Anyone Fancy A Chocolate Digestive?" is about to sell out even before it is released'
8:30 pm in Nunhead and it's all free.
- Charlie Henry: 'Using a loop pedal, a cello, a ukulele, a saw and her voice, she creates rich orchestral landscapes. Fusing spoken word and song she weaves live tapestries of songs and soundscapes in front of the audience's eyes'.
- Verity Flecknell: 'Verity is an indie folk/blues artist setting out to challenge the perceptions of
- Charley Stone: 'a.k.a. the Bonham Carter of Rock, rocks. She is available for hire, for guitar/BVs/bass/keyboard-ish-ness/other random musical things e.g. hoover-thru-wah-wah-pedal. But not for anything else. Most recently she has been performing with Charlotte Hatherley, a.k.a. the Kate Winslett of Rock, at scores of venues across this land and the next, as well as being providing deft bass playing, sexiness and so on for twisted surf band the Deptford Beach Babes. She also is a member of the New Royal Family, whose debut single "Anyone Fancy A Chocolate Digestive?" is about to sell out even before it is released'
8:30 pm in Nunhead and it's all free.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Transmission Cinema in New Cross
Pop-up cinema in New Cross coming soon, including a return to the area of Exploding Cinema DIY film night:
'The TRANSMISSION CINEMA is open for the duration of the Pullit Group Art Show from 25th March to April 9th 2011. In this fully equipped facility we will be taking opposing elements of Art, popular culture and D.I.Y. filmmaking and accelerating them into a high speed collision which we hope will generate the conditions for an underground smash up.
25 March – 9 April 2011, Every Friday and Saturday night, 6 – 11pm. Screenings start at 7.30pm. Admission £5 entry /£4 Concs
At the Bond House, 20–32 Goodwood Road, New Cross Gate, SE14 6BL (next door to New Cross Gate Station)
'The TRANSMISSION CINEMA is open for the duration of the Pullit Group Art Show from 25th March to April 9th 2011. In this fully equipped facility we will be taking opposing elements of Art, popular culture and D.I.Y. filmmaking and accelerating them into a high speed collision which we hope will generate the conditions for an underground smash up.
25 March – 9 April 2011, Every Friday and Saturday night, 6 – 11pm. Screenings start at 7.30pm. Admission £5 entry /£4 Concs
At the Bond House, 20–32 Goodwood Road, New Cross Gate, SE14 6BL (next door to New Cross Gate Station)
Programme:
Friday 25th March: PRIVATE VIEW. Short Films and performance. Free admission.
Saturday 26th March: FILMGATE. Spectacular Live video mixing mashup by Ray Beam and the Shiners.Live bands and DJs.
Friday 1st April: MYSTERY NIGHT. Surprise cult feature!
Saturday 2nd April: OPEN SCREENING. Bring your films on dvd, usb stick or mini dv tape. First come first shown. Big prizes ! Makers get in free.
Friday 8th April: MALDOROR. Rare screening of the cult D.I.Y. Super 8 feature film.
“...this is true underground cinema” Fortean Times. http://bak.spc.org/maldoror/
Saturday 9th April: EXPLODING CINEMA. The legendary D.I.Y. collective presents a night of
no-budget cinema and stunning optics. http://www.explodingcinema.org/'
Friday 25th March: PRIVATE VIEW. Short Films and performance. Free admission.
Saturday 26th March: FILMGATE. Spectacular Live video mixing mashup by Ray Beam and the Shiners.Live bands and DJs.
Friday 1st April: MYSTERY NIGHT. Surprise cult feature!
Saturday 2nd April: OPEN SCREENING. Bring your films on dvd, usb stick or mini dv tape. First come first shown. Big prizes ! Makers get in free.
Friday 8th April: MALDOROR. Rare screening of the cult D.I.Y. Super 8 feature film.
“...this is true underground cinema” Fortean Times. http://bak.spc.org/maldoror/
Saturday 9th April: EXPLODING CINEMA. The legendary D.I.Y. collective presents a night of
no-budget cinema and stunning optics. http://www.explodingcinema.org/'
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Justice for Smiley
The campaign to find out what really happened to Smiley Culture, who died during a police raid last week, takes a step forward on Thursday
The Justice for Smiley Culture campaign will be having its first Public Meeting on Thursday May 24th, 7 pm to 8:30 pm at Lambeth Town Hall in Brixton (entrance on Acre Lane). The organisers say:
'The family have asked it to be known that the meeting will start on time and that they will not want a long protracted meeting. They are still in the process of grieving they will want the meeting to be concluded early. To all those in attendence they ask for your support, prayers, patience and understanding.The meeting will provide an update and details of the next steps for the campaign. One Love - No Justice No Peace'.
Nice tribute to Smiley from Maxi Priest at his myspace site today:
'Stunned, shocked and sad! These are some of the words to describe how I felt when I heard of Smiley Culture's death and how they said he died.
Smiley, a close friend of mine, who like me grew up around sound systems died a few days ago. I shook my head in total disbelief, and for hours I refused to believe it. He was more than just a reggae icon, more than a phenomenal deejay, he was a musical pioneer, but more importantly, Smiley was a great friend to all of us. Those who knew him could tell how articulate and intelligent he was, someone who would think outside the box, had a keen eye for business, and made a significant contribution to this world through his music. Smiley is a legend and respected worldwide.
In thinking of Smiley, I couldn't help but go back in time to when we wrote songs together like Caution with Asher Senator and Paul Robinson. Paul and I also recorded the song "Festival Time", which paid tribute to the good old times and the good old days of which Smiley was a huge part of….
Things we used to do
Things we used to say
Sunday morning I rise bright and early
Getting ready for a festival time
Smiley Culture, Tippa Irie they are coming
Philip Levi, phone and say him soon come
We are gonna meet, meet the sound
We hold the mike,, crowd gather 'round
Put on the show fi please the crowd
Everybody them baul out loud
Festival Time is here....
Smiley and I had similar cultural backgrounds, similar goals and visions for innovating reggae music, and much of this played out in our early days with Saxon Sound system, which was the foundation for our musical career as young teenagers.....times I will never forget.
Smiley was popular across the country and the people loved him, I remember in the early days of our career when we made many appearances together, they loved his spirit, his captivating charm, his musical talent and the way he worked his Caribbean heritage into his music. He was a breath of fresh air, and always motivating others to do their best. I can't count the amount of times he would start and end our conversations with an inspirational quote or reciting a scripture from the Bible.
The music industry has lost a genius and I like all of you have lost a great friend. To his family and friends, I extend heartfelt condolences. May God comfort you through this difficult and challenging time. To his fans and music family….stay strong and look out for each other.
Rest in peace my friend! We miss you.
Jah Bless,
Maxi Priest'
Like Smiley Culture, Maxi Priest started out with SE London's Saxon Sound System (he went to the now closed Roger Manwood Secondary School in Brockley Rise)
The Justice for Smiley Culture campaign will be having its first Public Meeting on Thursday May 24th, 7 pm to 8:30 pm at Lambeth Town Hall in Brixton (entrance on Acre Lane). The organisers say:
'The family have asked it to be known that the meeting will start on time and that they will not want a long protracted meeting. They are still in the process of grieving they will want the meeting to be concluded early. To all those in attendence they ask for your support, prayers, patience and understanding.The meeting will provide an update and details of the next steps for the campaign. One Love - No Justice No Peace'.
Nice tribute to Smiley from Maxi Priest at his myspace site today:
'Stunned, shocked and sad! These are some of the words to describe how I felt when I heard of Smiley Culture's death and how they said he died.
Smiley, a close friend of mine, who like me grew up around sound systems died a few days ago. I shook my head in total disbelief, and for hours I refused to believe it. He was more than just a reggae icon, more than a phenomenal deejay, he was a musical pioneer, but more importantly, Smiley was a great friend to all of us. Those who knew him could tell how articulate and intelligent he was, someone who would think outside the box, had a keen eye for business, and made a significant contribution to this world through his music. Smiley is a legend and respected worldwide.
In thinking of Smiley, I couldn't help but go back in time to when we wrote songs together like Caution with Asher Senator and Paul Robinson. Paul and I also recorded the song "Festival Time", which paid tribute to the good old times and the good old days of which Smiley was a huge part of….
Things we used to do
Things we used to say
Sunday morning I rise bright and early
Getting ready for a festival time
Smiley Culture, Tippa Irie they are coming
Philip Levi, phone and say him soon come
We are gonna meet, meet the sound
We hold the mike,, crowd gather 'round
Put on the show fi please the crowd
Everybody them baul out loud
Festival Time is here....
Smiley and I had similar cultural backgrounds, similar goals and visions for innovating reggae music, and much of this played out in our early days with Saxon Sound system, which was the foundation for our musical career as young teenagers.....times I will never forget.
Smiley was popular across the country and the people loved him, I remember in the early days of our career when we made many appearances together, they loved his spirit, his captivating charm, his musical talent and the way he worked his Caribbean heritage into his music. He was a breath of fresh air, and always motivating others to do their best. I can't count the amount of times he would start and end our conversations with an inspirational quote or reciting a scripture from the Bible.
The music industry has lost a genius and I like all of you have lost a great friend. To his family and friends, I extend heartfelt condolences. May God comfort you through this difficult and challenging time. To his fans and music family….stay strong and look out for each other.
Rest in peace my friend! We miss you.
Jah Bless,
Maxi Priest'
Like Smiley Culture, Maxi Priest started out with SE London's Saxon Sound System (he went to the now closed Roger Manwood Secondary School in Brockley Rise)
Strike and occupation at Goldsmiths
Lecturers at Goldsmiths College in New Cross have been on strike today as part of a national strike against changes to their pension scheme. Last night students occupied the Deptford Town Hall building, where Goldsmiths management offices are based. The occupation is in support of the striking lecturers, as well as to build momentum for this Saturday's anti-cuts demonstration in London.
Nelson looks down on David Cameron - everyone to Trafalgar Square this Saturday!
Some lecturers who didn't joint the strike attempted to hold tutorials in the nearby Cafe Crema instead. They were asked to desist by the Cafe, who wanted to show their support for the strike.
The redecoration of Deptford Town Hall put me in mind of my late friend Paul Hendrich, who researched the links between Deptford and slavery, as represented in the Town Hall statues.
Nelson looks down on David Cameron - everyone to Trafalgar Square this Saturday!
Some lecturers who didn't joint the strike attempted to hold tutorials in the nearby Cafe Crema instead. They were asked to desist by the Cafe, who wanted to show their support for the strike.
More on the dispute, including photos of the picket line, at the Goldsmiths UCU site.
The redecoration of Deptford Town Hall put me in mind of my late friend Paul Hendrich, who researched the links between Deptford and slavery, as represented in the Town Hall statues.
Peckham Street Photography
© Emma Jane Richards
Emma Jane Richards has been undertaking a street photography project in Peckham and there are some outstanding images. This one is taken through the window of The Greyhound pub. More on Facebook and Flickr
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Meateasy
If you've been in solitary confinement or trekking in the Himalayas recently you might not have heard about Meateasy. So just so you know - it sells burgers above a pub, get over it.
The pub in question is the Goldsmiths Tavern in New Cross, currently closed for refurbishment and due to be relaunched in May as the New Cross House. Meateasy is a temporary 'pop up' restaurant run by people who usually run the Meatwagon burger van. It does sound quite buzzy and I am tempted to pop down to one of its Friday night music sessions featuring the likes of Joe Muggs and Kongo Sound System. Trouble is being a vegetarian for nearly 30 years means that I'd rather put tabasco in my eye than eat there.
The place has been glowingly reviewed in The Metro and The Standard (Sexy feast: the most popular burger joint in town). Today it made it into the Independent on Sunday with the kind of condescending opening paragraph that makes me want to shout out loud: 'It's New Cross – a part of London I can't really identify, never mind find. Is it east or south? Isn't it one of those places without a Tube station?'. Is it too much to ask that a journalist could write about something in South East London without starting with a variation on omg where is it/will I get murdered?
Anyway Meateasy is due to close on April 16th but wouldn't be surprized if it popped up again more permanently.
The pub in question is the Goldsmiths Tavern in New Cross, currently closed for refurbishment and due to be relaunched in May as the New Cross House. Meateasy is a temporary 'pop up' restaurant run by people who usually run the Meatwagon burger van. It does sound quite buzzy and I am tempted to pop down to one of its Friday night music sessions featuring the likes of Joe Muggs and Kongo Sound System. Trouble is being a vegetarian for nearly 30 years means that I'd rather put tabasco in my eye than eat there.
The place has been glowingly reviewed in The Metro and The Standard (Sexy feast: the most popular burger joint in town). Today it made it into the Independent on Sunday with the kind of condescending opening paragraph that makes me want to shout out loud: 'It's New Cross – a part of London I can't really identify, never mind find. Is it east or south? Isn't it one of those places without a Tube station?'. Is it too much to ask that a journalist could write about something in South East London without starting with a variation on omg where is it/will I get murdered?
Anyway Meateasy is due to close on April 16th but wouldn't be surprized if it popped up again more permanently.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Is it me you're looking for?
This poster on a noticeboard in Bermondsey Street made me smile - as you will see if you click and enlarge the image, the tear off slips on the bottom all feature lyrics from Lionel Richie's Is it me you're looking for?
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Smiley Culture Update
The strange death of South London MC Smiley Culture (David Emmanuel) in a police raid continues to raise concern. Today more than 200 people attended a press conference at Karibu Education Centre in Brixton, with family and supporters. There's an excellent report by John Eden at Uncarved (John also has some great old music press stories from the 1980s). Seems it was something of a sad reunion for other former Saxon sound system MCs including Papa Levi, Asher Senator and Tippa Irie, gathered together to recall their fallen comrade.
I recommend watching this press conference all the way through, there's some incredible memories and contributions from friends, family and community activists.
The police story that Smiley Culture stabbed himself through the heart when he went to make a cup of tea while police were searching his house just sounds incredible. It is theoretically possible that a vulnerable person under stress might want to harm themselves - but even if that was the case here it would suggest a shocking failure by the police to exercise their duty of care. As someone said today 'what kind of madness is this that they're trying to tell the people?'.
There is going to be a follow up public meeting on March 24th, probably in Brixton but venue to be confirmed. This is a campaign that isn't going to go away until the family get answers.
Among the speakers from the floor today was the brother of Sean Rigg, who died in the back of a police van at Brixton Police Station in 2008. Here's a short film about him and his family's campaign for justice.
I recommend watching this press conference all the way through, there's some incredible memories and contributions from friends, family and community activists.
The police story that Smiley Culture stabbed himself through the heart when he went to make a cup of tea while police were searching his house just sounds incredible. It is theoretically possible that a vulnerable person under stress might want to harm themselves - but even if that was the case here it would suggest a shocking failure by the police to exercise their duty of care. As someone said today 'what kind of madness is this that they're trying to tell the people?'.
There is going to be a follow up public meeting on March 24th, probably in Brixton but venue to be confirmed. This is a campaign that isn't going to go away until the family get answers.
Among the speakers from the floor today was the brother of Sean Rigg, who died in the back of a police van at Brixton Police Station in 2008. Here's a short film about him and his family's campaign for justice.
Social Centre Plus - Deptford Tributes
I went down last night to Social Centre Plus, the new 'community anti-cuts space' in the occupied Job Centre on Deptford High Street. I support what they're doing and thought I should go along for their first open day, but must admit I was half expecting it to be just the usual suspects from the smallish pool of Lewisham activists.
So I was delighted to walk in to a big buzzy space with a more diverse slice of the local population than I've seen in one room for ages, kids, pensioners, radical students, old Deptford faces and all. Must have been 100 or so people coming in and out while I was there. A great start with a lot of potential to create some interesting situations.
Deptford Tributes
Showing at the Centre last night was Deptford Tributes, a film by Amanda Egbe & Rastko Novaković first shown in the Deptford X festival in 2009. It follows the river Ravensbourne upstream from Deptford Creek to its source at Keston Ponds, with some great footage filmed while wading in the water. Some of the locations are very familiar to me, such as the Creek, Ladywell Fields and Keston, but it also explored some of the more hidden parts of the river, channelled between concrete round the back of industrial estates in Catford for instance. It also includes interviews with SE London historian Terry Liddle and Julian Kingston - a local boat dweller who lives and keeps bees on Deptford Creek.
So I was delighted to walk in to a big buzzy space with a more diverse slice of the local population than I've seen in one room for ages, kids, pensioners, radical students, old Deptford faces and all. Must have been 100 or so people coming in and out while I was there. A great start with a lot of potential to create some interesting situations.
Deptford Tributes
Showing at the Centre last night was Deptford Tributes, a film by Amanda Egbe & Rastko Novaković first shown in the Deptford X festival in 2009. It follows the river Ravensbourne upstream from Deptford Creek to its source at Keston Ponds, with some great footage filmed while wading in the water. Some of the locations are very familiar to me, such as the Creek, Ladywell Fields and Keston, but it also explored some of the more hidden parts of the river, channelled between concrete round the back of industrial estates in Catford for instance. It also includes interviews with SE London historian Terry Liddle and Julian Kingston - a local boat dweller who lives and keeps bees on Deptford Creek.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Smiley Culture
Reggae MC Smiley Culture (real name David Emmanuel) died yesterday in as yet unexplained circumstances during a police raid in Surrey.
The South London MC went to Tulse Hill School (as did Linton Kwesi Johnson, and indeed Ken Livingstone) and was originally known as 'Culture Smiley. So named because of his refusal to chat 'slackness' in his rhymes, but renamed Smiley Culture by his management, David Emmanuel was a popular DJ with the Deptford-based Saxon sound system run by Lloyd 'Musclehead' Francis and Dennis Rowe' (Paul Gilroy, There Ain't No Black in the Union Jack, 1987).
In 1984/5 he had two groundbreaking hits: Cockney Translation and Police Officer. Dotun Adebayo recalled yesterday:
'My pioneering generation of black Britons wanted our own MCs, just as lovers rock a few years before had given us our own reggae singers. Out of that grew a much more vibrant and entertaining expression of second-generation black Britons based around the Saxon Sound System in Smiley's end of southeast London.
It was at a Saxon dance in Deptford in 1984 or 1985 that I first saw Smiley perform his cockney anthem. And you know, for the first time in my life I relished in being black and British ... and was proud of it. And it wasn't just me. I could see the same feeling in the 500 or so other youngsters in the place'.
Schooltime Chronicle is all about his time at Tulse Hill, which is name checked a couple of times in the track:
(I have the 12" of this somewhere, will dig it out and post the lyrics later)
See more at History is Made at Night
The South London MC went to Tulse Hill School (as did Linton Kwesi Johnson, and indeed Ken Livingstone) and was originally known as 'Culture Smiley. So named because of his refusal to chat 'slackness' in his rhymes, but renamed Smiley Culture by his management, David Emmanuel was a popular DJ with the Deptford-based Saxon sound system run by Lloyd 'Musclehead' Francis and Dennis Rowe' (Paul Gilroy, There Ain't No Black in the Union Jack, 1987).
In 1984/5 he had two groundbreaking hits: Cockney Translation and Police Officer. Dotun Adebayo recalled yesterday:
'My pioneering generation of black Britons wanted our own MCs, just as lovers rock a few years before had given us our own reggae singers. Out of that grew a much more vibrant and entertaining expression of second-generation black Britons based around the Saxon Sound System in Smiley's end of southeast London.
It was at a Saxon dance in Deptford in 1984 or 1985 that I first saw Smiley perform his cockney anthem. And you know, for the first time in my life I relished in being black and British ... and was proud of it. And it wasn't just me. I could see the same feeling in the 500 or so other youngsters in the place'.
Schooltime Chronicle is all about his time at Tulse Hill, which is name checked a couple of times in the track:
(I have the 12" of this somewhere, will dig it out and post the lyrics later)
See more at History is Made at Night
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Dusty in Deptford
An article by Lois Wilson in this month's Mojo magazine (April 2011) reveals that Dusty Springfield used to spend time on Saturday's searching through the soul records at Dave Godin's Soul City record shop in Deptford High Street.
As reported at Transpontine previously, the shop at 21 Deptford High Street was the first specialist soul shop in Europe when it opened in 1966, and remained there for a year before moving to Covent Garden. This would have been at the height of Dusty's career - she was the best selling female singer in the world in 1966.
(thanks to Colin Bodiam for spotting this)
As reported at Transpontine previously, the shop at 21 Deptford High Street was the first specialist soul shop in Europe when it opened in 1966, and remained there for a year before moving to Covent Garden. This would have been at the height of Dusty's career - she was the best selling female singer in the world in 1966.
(thanks to Colin Bodiam for spotting this)
Deptford Social Centre Plus
Last weekend, the former Deptford Job Centre offices were occupied with a view to turning the building into a 'community anti-cuts space'. The occupiers say:
'We have occupied the disused Deptford Job Centre as a response to the brutal cuts to public services being carried out at both a local and national level. We aim to clean the place up and convert it into Social Centre Plus: a new public space for members of the local community here in Deptford and the surrounding area, that we can share, contribute to, and create a truly social building and a hub of local opposition to the cuts programme. This is a self-organised space, run by people from a variety of backgrounds and we are not in any political parties'.
Tomorrow (Wednesday 16th March) they will opening the doors for an open day with a programme including:
'12-2pm Lunchtime café: bring your own food or share some of ours
6-7pm Open doors: come in for a cuppa and a chat, before…
7pm Short films: a selection of short films about the recent history of Deptford and its surrounding area. There will also be an evening café with more food.
8pm Hollywood blockbuster: the cinema night will end with a fantastic, brand spankin’ new Hollywood film!
Any questions, come and knock on the door or email us at mailto:socialcentreplus@gmail.com
Check out https://socialcentreplus.wordpress.com/ for updates.
See also report at Crosswhatfields?
'We have occupied the disused Deptford Job Centre as a response to the brutal cuts to public services being carried out at both a local and national level. We aim to clean the place up and convert it into Social Centre Plus: a new public space for members of the local community here in Deptford and the surrounding area, that we can share, contribute to, and create a truly social building and a hub of local opposition to the cuts programme. This is a self-organised space, run by people from a variety of backgrounds and we are not in any political parties'.
Tomorrow (Wednesday 16th March) they will opening the doors for an open day with a programme including:
'12-2pm Lunchtime café: bring your own food or share some of ours
6-7pm Open doors: come in for a cuppa and a chat, before…
7pm Short films: a selection of short films about the recent history of Deptford and its surrounding area. There will also be an evening café with more food.
8pm Hollywood blockbuster: the cinema night will end with a fantastic, brand spankin’ new Hollywood film!
Any questions, come and knock on the door or email us at mailto:socialcentreplus@gmail.com
Check out https://socialcentreplus.wordpress.com/ for updates.
See also report at Crosswhatfields?
Friday, March 11, 2011
Music and Films at the Old Police Station
Interesting night coming up next Friday 18th March at the Old Police Station in New Cross (114 Amersham Vale, SE14), with three films, two bands and two live soundtracks.
Two of the films document 117 Lewisham Way, a Victorian villa demolished a few years ago and known in its last period as 'The Elephant House'. The films were made by David Aylward and Tom Scott-Kendrick, who will be accompanying the films live as Rabbit, the musical duo who often rehearsed at 117 Lewisham Way. The building was home to the South East London Synagogue for a period in World War Two (see earlier post).
The other film is George Lucas's 1971 movie THX1138, starring Robert Duvall. Music will be supplied by Ampersand.
The evening runs from 8 to 11 pm, with the show starting promptly at 8:45. And it's all free!
Two of the films document 117 Lewisham Way, a Victorian villa demolished a few years ago and known in its last period as 'The Elephant House'. The films were made by David Aylward and Tom Scott-Kendrick, who will be accompanying the films live as Rabbit, the musical duo who often rehearsed at 117 Lewisham Way. The building was home to the South East London Synagogue for a period in World War Two (see earlier post).
The other film is George Lucas's 1971 movie THX1138, starring Robert Duvall. Music will be supplied by Ampersand.
The evening runs from 8 to 11 pm, with the show starting promptly at 8:45. And it's all free!
Thursday, March 10, 2011
St George the Martyr x 2
Opposite the Church of St George the Martyr in Borough High Street there's a painting of the church, in a kind of Van Gogh style, on a telecoms box.
Monday, March 07, 2011
Kate Bush 1979
Kate Bush's Brockley days have been covered at Transpontine before, living at 44 Wickham Road and playing at local pubs including the Rose of Lee (now Dirty South) and the Royal Albert. Recently a great 1979 documentary surfaced on Youtube all about Kate Bush preparing for her first big tour. The 'Convent girl from Bexley', as she is described, talks (at about 3:30)about her first singing appearance in public 'about two years ago in a pub in Lewisham, and I was so scared, I really was but once you're up there it's different you just forget all about it because they're there to see you and you have to give it to them... Considering it was a pub and we were totally unknown, they were very good, they were very respectful. It was good, yeah'
She is also seen rehearsing with her band at Wood Wharf Studios in Greenwich, with some great shots of the undeveloped riverfront (at 9:45): 'Every lunchtime after leaving her dancing practice physically drained she'd drive across the Thames to Greenwich to rehearse the music, at Wharf studios - the best available place with the right facilities for just running though the songs time and time and time again'.
Dire Straits also rehearsed at the same Greenwich studio in the late 1970s - this documentary also seems to have been filmed there:
Thanks to Clive Shaw for spotting this.
She is also seen rehearsing with her band at Wood Wharf Studios in Greenwich, with some great shots of the undeveloped riverfront (at 9:45): 'Every lunchtime after leaving her dancing practice physically drained she'd drive across the Thames to Greenwich to rehearse the music, at Wharf studios - the best available place with the right facilities for just running though the songs time and time and time again'.
Dire Straits also rehearsed at the same Greenwich studio in the late 1970s - this documentary also seems to have been filmed there:
Thanks to Clive Shaw for spotting this.
Saturday, March 05, 2011
Lewisham Keep Our NHS Public - meeting this Thursday
A new group has been formed locally to campaign against changes to the National Health Service:
'We recently formed Lewisham Keep Our NHS Public as a local branch of the national campaign (see ). KONP is a broad based, non party aligned campaigning organisation that seeks to defend the NHS as a publicly owned and publicly provided service that stays true to the founding principles of the NHS as a service that is equitable, comprehensive and free. The NHS is under threat, as never before , from Andrew Lansley's Health and Social Care Bill which aims to transform the NHS into a competitive market where "any willing provider" can bid against NHS organisations to provide health services, allowing the for-profit private sector to take over large swathes of our health service'.
They are having a public meeting this Thursday, March 10 (7:30pm - 9:30pm) at the Saville Centre, 436 Lewisham High St, SE13 with speakers including John Lister of London Health Emergency; Dr Jackie Davis, co-chair NHS Consultants@ federation and Doris Smith, chair of Lewisham Pensioner's Forum. The aim of the meeting is both to inform people about the threat to the NHS and to plan actions as part of the growing campaign against the bill.
'We recently formed Lewisham Keep Our NHS Public as a local branch of the national campaign (see ). KONP is a broad based, non party aligned campaigning organisation that seeks to defend the NHS as a publicly owned and publicly provided service that stays true to the founding principles of the NHS as a service that is equitable, comprehensive and free. The NHS is under threat, as never before , from Andrew Lansley's Health and Social Care Bill which aims to transform the NHS into a competitive market where "any willing provider" can bid against NHS organisations to provide health services, allowing the for-profit private sector to take over large swathes of our health service'.
They are having a public meeting this Thursday, March 10 (7:30pm - 9:30pm) at the Saville Centre, 436 Lewisham High St, SE13 with speakers including John Lister of London Health Emergency; Dr Jackie Davis, co-chair NHS Consultants@ federation and Doris Smith, chair of Lewisham Pensioner's Forum. The aim of the meeting is both to inform people about the threat to the NHS and to plan actions as part of the growing campaign against the bill.
Friday, March 04, 2011
Deadboy - Brock Lee Riddim
Deadboy is a South East London bassnik who has put out some great tracks over the last couple of years including If U Want Me and U Cheated. As an oblique tribute to SE4 he has also made Brock Lee Riddim. Extolling the local area in an interview last year he said: 'it’s lovely here in the summer, there’s something tropical about it, probably the amount of trees and the parakeets.
Wednesday, March 02, 2011
Lewisham Drift
From Trinketization - this is on tomorrow (see also Facebook event):
Lewisham Drift: a Collective Futures Event
Lewisham Drift: a Collective Futures Event
Thursday 3 March 2011, 2:00 pm – 6:00 pm, Laurie Bath Hall CR Goldsmiths, Laurie Grove, New Cross.
'The Arts Committee from the Goldsmiths Library Occupation will facilitate a workshop on banners, placards and slogan-making for the “Lewisham Drift” to take place in conjunction with future demonstrations in London (e.g. 26 March). You are invited to bring a selection of your favourite quotations from books, films, songs, etc. We will use the technique of detournement to turn the quotations into slogans that respond to the current situation of crisis and cuts. During the workshop John Hutnyk will talk about the first two issues of The Paper and of current modes of collective knowledge production as forms of resistance.
After the workshop we will bring the slogans into the streets, visiting places that are significant for people struggling against the cuts in the area. With the Lewisham Anti Cuts Alliance we will visit the New Cross Library, which will be soon privatised, and the St James Family Learning Centre which will be closed down at the end of March. With Prof Les Back we will visit other locations in New Cross that have been sites of resistance during the past century. During the drift we’ll read some texts together, and music will be played by students from the Goldsmiths Music department, but feel free to bring your own favourite instrument.
The Lewisham Drift / Rehearsal for a Demo is intended as an attempt to open the University to its surrounding area, creating the possibility for a set of connections to take place in a collective (hopefully near) future'.
Tuesday, March 01, 2011
MC Eksman - Ruff Neck Cockney in Brockley
MC Eksman (real name Kevin Forrester, born 1980) is one of the world's foremost drum and bass MCs and he comes from Brockley (he is also a University of Greenwich graduate). Not only that but he has a great rhyme about driving through the streets of SE4 and in that familiar 'young black man in decent car' routine, getting pulled over by the police. Herbz mentioned here is another South London MC.
Too much undercover police on the streets
On the beat, stopping me, giving me bare grief
I'm a Ruffneck Cockney
Driving through Brockley
See a police car
Policeman want stop me
regular stop and search
step outside your car please
turn the ignition off
give me the car keys
police officer, woah that's harrassment
where you coming from, I said a Drum and Bass bashment
where was the bashment? Down in Stratford,
where you goin now I'm droppin Herbz back to Catford...
Too much undercover police on the streets
On the beat, stopping me, giving me bare grief
I'm a Ruffneck Cockney
Driving through Brockley
See a police car
Policeman want stop me
regular stop and search
step outside your car please
turn the ignition off
give me the car keys
police officer, woah that's harrassment
where you coming from, I said a Drum and Bass bashment
where was the bashment? Down in Stratford,
where you goin now I'm droppin Herbz back to Catford...
Friday, February 25, 2011
Elle fashion shoot in Rivoli Ballroon
This month's Elle magazine (March 2011) includes a fashion shoot from the Rivoli Ballroon in Crofton Park, highlighting it's red velvet splendour as many have before. The shot below was taken in the fabuolus train carriage style bar on one side of the dancefloor (where Rihanna once sat)
See also: Night of a Thousand Stars; various other Rivoli storiesWednesday, February 23, 2011
Telegraph Hill 100 years ago
Courtesy of Lewisham Heritage, here's some old picutres of Telegraph Hill Park in around 1910 (top) and 1905 (bottom) -click to enlarge. The views are both of the bottom park, with the bandstand where the football cage currently stands. Interesting that even then nobody could quite agree where it was (Brockley? Hatcham? - Lewisham has filed the pictures under 'New Cross').
(From the same collection, Brockley Central has highlighted a picture of haymaking in Crofton Park)
Monday, February 21, 2011
Anna Calvi- from Goldsmiths Tavern to the world?
Anna Calvi has been generating a lot of press on the back of her recent debut album release (e.g. this piece in the Guardian on the 'gothically inclined singer songwriter').
Quite liking this, so naturally would like to be able claim her for the Great Work that is South East London music making. Not entirely sure what the connection is yet, but Ceri James recalls her hanging round the old Goldsmiths Tavern in New Cross as a teenager, and she seems to have played some early gigs locally, including at at the Montague Arms in 2008. Anyone know any more?
Quite liking this, so naturally would like to be able claim her for the Great Work that is South East London music making. Not entirely sure what the connection is yet, but Ceri James recalls her hanging round the old Goldsmiths Tavern in New Cross as a teenager, and she seems to have played some early gigs locally, including at at the Montague Arms in 2008. Anyone know any more?
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Lewisham Carnival Against Cuts
Despite the cold and the rain, between 700 and 1000 people took part in yesterday's Carnival Against Cuts in Lewisham. Protests outside local services affected by cuts, such as libraries and one o'clock clubs, were followed by a march from Catford to Lewisham town centre (by the library). It wasn't exactly Rio or Trinidad weather, but there was a samba band and jugglers.
Sue Luxton has a report and more photos at Green Ladywell (from where the photo above was sourced) and there's also a decent report at the Newsshopper (see also this film clip). There's also been a debate raging at Brockley Central where I have stuck my oar in.
Here's a short report by Camila Luise Hemmestad for EastLondonLines:
Elsewhere in South London, there were a number of actions at local Barclays Bank branches as part of the UK Uncut protests including on Walworth Road (pictured) where occupiers gathered round their 'Make the banks pay for their crisis' for an impromptu read-in.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Deptford Community Forum AGM
Bit of a head of steam building up to reinvigorate Deptford community politics in the face of big changes on the horizon such as the massive planned Convoys Wharf development. Come along to the Deptford Community Forum AGM on Tuesday 22 February at the Laban centre for wine, cheese, and a discussion of what's going down in SE8. Thursday, February 17, 2011
David Katz & Suburban Pirate
A feature of the recent protests against Lewisham library closures was the presence of Suburban Pirate with Sly and Reggie touring the threatened libraries with their self-proclaimed Middle Class Sound System - a mobile dub broadcasting sound system on the back of a black Morris Minor (see picture at Blackheath Bugle). They've even recorded a We Love Libraries track.
Tomorrow night (Friday 18th Februay), Sly and Reggie will be doing a live set at the Old Nun's Head in Nunhead, as part of a night put on by reggae writer and DJ David Katz. David hosts the regular night Dub Me Always at The Ritzy, Brixton and is the author of two major reggae books: People Funny Boy: The Genius of Lee "Scratch" Perry and Solid Foundation: An Oral History of Reggae.
Friday from 9pm-1am, admission free.
Tomorrow night (Friday 18th Februay), Sly and Reggie will be doing a live set at the Old Nun's Head in Nunhead, as part of a night put on by reggae writer and DJ David Katz. David hosts the regular night Dub Me Always at The Ritzy, Brixton and is the author of two major reggae books: People Funny Boy: The Genius of Lee "Scratch" Perry and Solid Foundation: An Oral History of Reggae.
Friday from 9pm-1am, admission free.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
New South London Pubs
Bucking the trend of London pub closures, at least four new pubs are due to be opened by the summer by Antic, who currently run Jam Circus (Brockley) and the Royal Albert (Deptford) among others.
In Sydenham, they are planning to re-open the Greyhound, a pub that has been closed for several years. The story is reported in Friday's South London Press, but it is apparently not true as mentioned there that the pub will be renamed the Ravensbourne Arms. The latter is the name of another pub that Antic are reopening at 323 Lewisham High Street- formerly known as the Coach and Horses.
Antic are also preparing to open the former Post Office in Forest Hill as The Sylvan Post (24 Dartmouth Road,SE23), as well as opening a former shop in Norwood as Knowles of Norwood (13 Knights Hill, SE27).
In Sydenham, they are planning to re-open the Greyhound, a pub that has been closed for several years. The story is reported in Friday's South London Press, but it is apparently not true as mentioned there that the pub will be renamed the Ravensbourne Arms. The latter is the name of another pub that Antic are reopening at 323 Lewisham High Street- formerly known as the Coach and Horses.
Antic are also preparing to open the former Post Office in Forest Hill as The Sylvan Post (24 Dartmouth Road,SE23), as well as opening a former shop in Norwood as Knowles of Norwood (13 Knights Hill, SE27).
Monday, February 14, 2011
Paul Astles & Bobby Valentino - Realist and Poodle
Paul Astles and Bobby Valentino are playing at The Wickham Arms, Brockley, SE4 on Thursday, February 17th at 8.30 pm (admission free). The pair have been making music locally for many years - both were in the Electric Bluebirds. Before that Paul was in The Realists, a Deptford band who had a single on Stiff Records in 1978, I've Got a Heart.
Bobby was in The Fabulous Poodles , playing violin and fiddle. They came from Deptford and had some success in the USA in the late 1970s. Lead singer Tony deMeur is now comedian Ronnie Golden.
Apparently Paul and Bobby are working on an album called Friendly Street.
Bobby was in The Fabulous Poodles , playing violin and fiddle. They came from Deptford and had some success in the USA in the late 1970s. Lead singer Tony deMeur is now comedian Ronnie Golden.
Apparently Paul and Bobby are working on an album called Friendly Street.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Music at the Old Nun's Head
I enjoyed last month's Nigel of Bermondsey and Friends night at the Old Nun's Head.
- Stuart Forester played a couple of songs on the Appalachian dulcimer, including a lovely version of the Lakes of Ponchartrain. He will be playing a full set next time, so make sure you get along. Here he is at an earlier Old Nun's Head gig:
- Paul Garside had some nice indie-poppish songs, including one called Utopian Idealists inspired by this picture from the recent student protests (it shows media savvy students from Dunraven school in Streatham surrounding a damaged police van which they believed would be used to discredit their protest).
- Stuart Forester played a couple of songs on the Appalachian dulcimer, including a lovely version of the Lakes of Ponchartrain. He will be playing a full set next time, so make sure you get along. Here he is at an earlier Old Nun's Head gig:
- Paul Garside had some nice indie-poppish songs, including one called Utopian Idealists inspired by this picture from the recent student protests (it shows media savvy students from Dunraven school in Streatham surrounding a damaged police van which they believed would be used to discredit their protest).
- John Crow performed songs from his new album Goose & Crow: Spirit Songs
- Simon Bromide coped admirably from some inebriated interruptions, and sang a song about getting to like Sonic Youth.
- Karla sang some synth-accompanied numbers, joined by Nigel with some Peter Hook-style basslines.
The next session is on Friday 25th February, according to Nigel:
'Headlining this months is the wonderful Bromide: indie hailing from the distant Woolywood hills (Plumstead). Marvel at the shambolic majesty of this combo. You will ask yourself 'How do they do it.
Stewart Forester is a troubador from the plains of Mitcham who will delight with his command of the DADGAD and the dulcimer. His folk crusade is gathering momentum; see him now before he is on the telly..... I'll play an early set too....'
And it's free, so there's really no excuse for not going - check out Facebook event.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Woolwich anti-cuts demo (& Charlton win)
A guest post from Simon Pirani reports on today's anti-cuts demonstration in Woolwich and from the same end of town, on Charlton's home win:
About 150 people – mainly council workers, anti-cuts campaigners and political activists – marched through Woolwich today chanting “stop the cuts”, to the sound of drums and whistles. Leaflets were handed out to shoppers.
It was the first labour movement demonstration in Woolwich for years – 17 years after the last really big one, a march from Plumstead Common demanding the closure of the BNP headquarters at Welling.
The march was an attempt by union activists on the council to broaden their campaign against £65 million worth of cuts by Greenwich council, which for decades has been run by the Labour Party like a one-party state. The first £27 million of cuts have been identified, including:
- 240 job losses in areas including Older Peoples Services, Childrens Services and Services for the disabled. The standard of service will be wrecked, with waiting times increasing dramatically for services such as Occupational Therapy.
- There will be cuts to posts in day centres and care staff working with the elderly. The Play and Youth Service will disappear; mother-and-toddler groups will go. Charges will rise for council services such as Homecare, Day Centres and Allotments.
- There’s a threat to close the wonderful animal park at Maryon Wilson Park in Charlton, a key part of the education of generations of schoolchildren in the borough. And it will become expensive for local families to use the Boating Centre at Southmere.
- There are proposals to transfer libraries to a trust, or to have them run by volunteers.
The leadership of the union representing council workers, Unison, “prepared” (ha!) for the cuts onslaught by victimising the secretary of the local union branch, Onay “Kaz” Kasab, and then putting the branch under “regional supervision”, i.e. effectively winding it up.
“Kaz” is a member of the Socialist Party. Together with three other members who held official positions in Unison, Glenn Kelly (Bromley), Suzanne Muna (Housing Association) and Brian Debus (Hackney), he has been banned from holding office in the union. The four were witch-hunted on bizarre, trumped-up charges of racism. Their real crime was politically disagreeing with the bureaucrats now running Unison. Details of their lengthy legal case against Unison, which recently resulted in an Employment Tribunal finding in their favour, are here: http://www.stopthewitchhunt.org.uk/.
In Greenwich, the Unison bureaucrats’ desperate actions – against an activist who has a reputation for encouraging workplace organisation and capably representing individual council employees in disputes with the employer – have led to council employees (dozens at least, maybe a couple of hundred) moving over to join the Unite union.
The march was largely council workers and labour movement activists. But it was a start, in a borough where community organisation has been patchy over the years.
Charlton 3 Peterborough 2
For football supporters in the borough (including your correspondent), the day got even better in the afternoon, when Charlton Athletic beat Peterborough 3-2 in a thrilling game at the Valley. Peterborough were 1-0 up at half time, but two Charlton goals in the 57th and 59th minute turned the tables. There was another goal apiece in the last 15 minutes. This keeps up Charlton’s hopes of promotion from “league one” (the third division to you and me) to “the championship” (the second division).
The mood at the Valley has improved in recent weeks. New owners have taken over the club; Phil Parkinson (nice but not effective) was replaced as manager by Chris Powell (incredibly popular as a player at Charlton, and, taking up his first job as a manager, becomes one of the few black managers in league football). They are selling tickets for the game next Saturday (19 February), against Exeter, for a fiver, in a drive to get fans back in bigger numbers to live games.
About 150 people – mainly council workers, anti-cuts campaigners and political activists – marched through Woolwich today chanting “stop the cuts”, to the sound of drums and whistles. Leaflets were handed out to shoppers.
It was the first labour movement demonstration in Woolwich for years – 17 years after the last really big one, a march from Plumstead Common demanding the closure of the BNP headquarters at Welling.
The march was an attempt by union activists on the council to broaden their campaign against £65 million worth of cuts by Greenwich council, which for decades has been run by the Labour Party like a one-party state. The first £27 million of cuts have been identified, including:
- 240 job losses in areas including Older Peoples Services, Childrens Services and Services for the disabled. The standard of service will be wrecked, with waiting times increasing dramatically for services such as Occupational Therapy.
- There will be cuts to posts in day centres and care staff working with the elderly. The Play and Youth Service will disappear; mother-and-toddler groups will go. Charges will rise for council services such as Homecare, Day Centres and Allotments.
- There’s a threat to close the wonderful animal park at Maryon Wilson Park in Charlton, a key part of the education of generations of schoolchildren in the borough. And it will become expensive for local families to use the Boating Centre at Southmere.
- There are proposals to transfer libraries to a trust, or to have them run by volunteers.
The leadership of the union representing council workers, Unison, “prepared” (ha!) for the cuts onslaught by victimising the secretary of the local union branch, Onay “Kaz” Kasab, and then putting the branch under “regional supervision”, i.e. effectively winding it up.
“Kaz” is a member of the Socialist Party. Together with three other members who held official positions in Unison, Glenn Kelly (Bromley), Suzanne Muna (Housing Association) and Brian Debus (Hackney), he has been banned from holding office in the union. The four were witch-hunted on bizarre, trumped-up charges of racism. Their real crime was politically disagreeing with the bureaucrats now running Unison. Details of their lengthy legal case against Unison, which recently resulted in an Employment Tribunal finding in their favour, are here: http://www.stopthewitchhunt.org.uk/.
In Greenwich, the Unison bureaucrats’ desperate actions – against an activist who has a reputation for encouraging workplace organisation and capably representing individual council employees in disputes with the employer – have led to council employees (dozens at least, maybe a couple of hundred) moving over to join the Unite union.
The march was largely council workers and labour movement activists. But it was a start, in a borough where community organisation has been patchy over the years.
Charlton 3 Peterborough 2
For football supporters in the borough (including your correspondent), the day got even better in the afternoon, when Charlton Athletic beat Peterborough 3-2 in a thrilling game at the Valley. Peterborough were 1-0 up at half time, but two Charlton goals in the 57th and 59th minute turned the tables. There was another goal apiece in the last 15 minutes. This keeps up Charlton’s hopes of promotion from “league one” (the third division to you and me) to “the championship” (the second division).
The mood at the Valley has improved in recent weeks. New owners have taken over the club; Phil Parkinson (nice but not effective) was replaced as manager by Chris Powell (incredibly popular as a player at Charlton, and, taking up his first job as a manager, becomes one of the few black managers in league football). They are selling tickets for the game next Saturday (19 February), against Exeter, for a fiver, in a drive to get fans back in bigger numbers to live games.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Immigration raids in South London
Catford Central picked up late last year on the story of the immigration raid on McDonald's in Catford. In November, the UK Border Agency raided the place and 'After checking the immigration status of staff, officers found that three people were working illegally – a woman from Cameroon and a man and woman from Turkey. The Cameroonian woman and the Turkish man have been detained pending their removal. The Turkish woman has been released on immigration bail and must report regularly to the agency while steps are taken to remove her from the UK'.
There was the usual triumphalist press release from the UKBA - 'Simon Shutte, who heads up the UK Border Agency’s Lewisham and Bromley local immigration team, said:
"Any employer who takes on a foreign national without permission to work in the UK is undermining law-abiding businesses and faces a big fine. This successful operation shows that our officers will find immigration offenders wherever they are in the Lewisham and Bromley area"'.
I don't see how anyone can take such pleasure in rounding up people just trying to make a living. Behind the rhetoric about fighting crime is the reality of people going out to work in the morning, leaving behind friends and loved ones, and then ending the day in a detention centre or on a forced flight out of the country. The fact that McDonalds was involved in this case just highlights another contradiction of the age of globalisation - capital can go where it likes, but labour can't. Or as the asylum-seeker narrator puts it in Chris Cleave's fine novel 'The Other Hand': 'Most days I wish I was a British pound coin instead of an African girl... A pound is free to travel to safety and we are free to watch it go. This is the human triumph. This is called, globalisation. A girl likes me gets stopped at immigration, but a pound can leap the turnstiles, and dodge the tackles of those big men with their uniform caps, and jump straight into a waiting airport taxi'.
Another series of raids have occurred recently at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospitals in South London. Campaigners have issued the following statement:
'Where are the St Thomas’ disappeared? Where are our workmates?
Last month 72 workers disappeared from Guy’s and St Thomas’ hospitals. They were part of the hospitals’ ancillary staff. They are migrants. Where did they disappear to? The economic crisis means their cheap labour is not as useful anymore – at least for the moment. So the UK Border Agency was called in to get rid of them. The NHS trust complied. The workers were either arrested or deported.
The workers who clean the hospital and feed the patients earn around the minimum wage. And due to the UKBA the workers are not even always paid for their hard work. Isn’t this slavery?
As hospital users, workers, trade unionists, migrants’ rights activists we cannot stay silent in the face of this brutality. Exactly when cuts and privatisation are threatening our public health service the exploitation of migrant labour increases. This is an attack on all workers.
We call for solidarity with the disappeared, with all migrants, with all workers, on Friday 18th February 5pm to 7pm outside St Thomas main entrance (Westminster Bridge Road London SE1 7EH). Called by the Cleaners Defence Committee, No One Is Illegal, Hands off my Workmate, Latin American Workers’ Association.
E-mail cdclondon@gmail.com or call 07971719797 for details'.
Three of those arrested were jailed for obtaining money by fraud on the day after the raids took place in January 2011 - it's hardly fraud/theft to work and get paid for it. And what kind of legal representation did they have in this show trial - arrested one day, jailed the next?
There was the usual triumphalist press release from the UKBA - 'Simon Shutte, who heads up the UK Border Agency’s Lewisham and Bromley local immigration team, said:
"Any employer who takes on a foreign national without permission to work in the UK is undermining law-abiding businesses and faces a big fine. This successful operation shows that our officers will find immigration offenders wherever they are in the Lewisham and Bromley area"'.
I don't see how anyone can take such pleasure in rounding up people just trying to make a living. Behind the rhetoric about fighting crime is the reality of people going out to work in the morning, leaving behind friends and loved ones, and then ending the day in a detention centre or on a forced flight out of the country. The fact that McDonalds was involved in this case just highlights another contradiction of the age of globalisation - capital can go where it likes, but labour can't. Or as the asylum-seeker narrator puts it in Chris Cleave's fine novel 'The Other Hand': 'Most days I wish I was a British pound coin instead of an African girl... A pound is free to travel to safety and we are free to watch it go. This is the human triumph. This is called, globalisation. A girl likes me gets stopped at immigration, but a pound can leap the turnstiles, and dodge the tackles of those big men with their uniform caps, and jump straight into a waiting airport taxi'.
Another series of raids have occurred recently at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospitals in South London. Campaigners have issued the following statement:
'Where are the St Thomas’ disappeared? Where are our workmates?
Last month 72 workers disappeared from Guy’s and St Thomas’ hospitals. They were part of the hospitals’ ancillary staff. They are migrants. Where did they disappear to? The economic crisis means their cheap labour is not as useful anymore – at least for the moment. So the UK Border Agency was called in to get rid of them. The NHS trust complied. The workers were either arrested or deported.
The workers who clean the hospital and feed the patients earn around the minimum wage. And due to the UKBA the workers are not even always paid for their hard work. Isn’t this slavery?
As hospital users, workers, trade unionists, migrants’ rights activists we cannot stay silent in the face of this brutality. Exactly when cuts and privatisation are threatening our public health service the exploitation of migrant labour increases. This is an attack on all workers.
We call for solidarity with the disappeared, with all migrants, with all workers, on Friday 18th February 5pm to 7pm outside St Thomas main entrance (Westminster Bridge Road London SE1 7EH). Called by the Cleaners Defence Committee, No One Is Illegal, Hands off my Workmate, Latin American Workers’ Association.
E-mail cdclondon@gmail.com or call 07971719797 for details'.
Three of those arrested were jailed for obtaining money by fraud on the day after the raids took place in January 2011 - it's hardly fraud/theft to work and get paid for it. And what kind of legal representation did they have in this show trial - arrested one day, jailed the next?
Wednesday, February 09, 2011
Welcome to SE13ure
It you follow the blog roll in the right hand bar of Transpontine you'll know that there's an incredible range of local news and comment to be had in the South East London blogosphere. New on the block is SE13ure (if you see it with the right font it's a pun on Seizure). Paul used to do the Bexley blog Bexcentric, but has now moved to leafy Lewisham. We met briefly at the weekend in the occupation of New Cross Library, about which he posted some great detailed reports along with a review of a night out at the Amersham Arms for comedy night Happy Mondays.
Tuesday, February 08, 2011
Lucky Soul on Hilly Fields
Lucky Soul are SE London's finest purveyors of indie-pop-soul, and their new single honours the green heights of Ladywell - Upon Hilly Fields.
Following the earlier post on the closure of the Ivy House (SE15), Darryl at 853 has reminded me that Lucky Soul's 2007 video for 'Add your light to mine, Baby' was filmed in that very pub, and even features a shot of Darryl's arm.
Following the earlier post on the closure of the Ivy House (SE15), Darryl at 853 has reminded me that Lucky Soul's 2007 video for 'Add your light to mine, Baby' was filmed in that very pub, and even features a shot of Darryl's arm.
Monday, February 07, 2011
Chris Wood - Hollow Point
At tonight's Radio 2 Folk Awards, the best song award was given to Chris Wood for 'Hollow Point', a sad song about the killing of Jean Charles de Menezes by police at Stockwell underground station in 2005. The song mentions his last fateful journey from Tulse Hill and on through Brixton to his death in the tube station.
Pubs closing and opening
More bad news (and a little bit of good) on the SE London pub front.
Southwark - one of the areas worst hit by pub closures in recent years - has suffered some more losses. On the Walworth Road both the Beaten Path (formerly Prince Alfred) and the Temple Bar have closed recently. The latter was one of the pubs where the artist Austin Osman Spare exhibited his work in the 1940s.
In Nunhead (Lausanne Road), the Swiss Tavern is seemingly being converted to flats. Until the death of its landlady Miss P (Patricia Walters) last year this was a popular African Caribbean pub. So many people turned up there when Miss P died that the police had to close Lausanne Road.
Up on Stuart Road SE15, the famous Ivy House has closed with its future uncertain. This is an iconic venue with a long musical history, including in its previous incarnation as the Newlands Tavern. The most recent managers pursued a policy of discouraging the previous locals with the aim of making it more of an event venue pulling in people from further afield. Some of the events have been very successful, such as comedy nights and the Brockley Jack Film Club Piccadilly showing. But I imagine that the pub's location, a long way from the nearest rail or tube station, makes it hard to keep it really busy like that on a regular basis.
In Brixton, popular pub/music venue Rest is Noise is closing (maybe already has) - a busy place so doesn't look like revenue was the major issue. For discussion of possible reasons to do with the building's landlord see Urban75.
Better news from the Old Kent Road, where the even more iconic Thomas a Becket looks set to reopen as a cafe/bar soon after being closed for a few years (other than being partially used as an art gallery). Not sure if they will keep the name, I would like them to because of the whole link to the Kent Road pilgrimage route. The pub stands on the site of St Thomas a Watering, mentioned in the Canterbury Tales as the place where the pilgrims stopped for refreshment on the road to Becket's shrine in Canterbury Cathedral. But if they do go for a name change can I propose Ziggy's or Stardust?
The relaunch of the Goldsmiths Tavern as the New Cross House is on track - new owners Captial Pub Company took possession today (see more about their plans at Food Stories). And Brockley Central reports a new bar may be opening soon in New Cross - but nobody seems to know where or when?
(any other news, updates or corrections, please comment)
Southwark - one of the areas worst hit by pub closures in recent years - has suffered some more losses. On the Walworth Road both the Beaten Path (formerly Prince Alfred) and the Temple Bar have closed recently. The latter was one of the pubs where the artist Austin Osman Spare exhibited his work in the 1940s.
In Nunhead (Lausanne Road), the Swiss Tavern is seemingly being converted to flats. Until the death of its landlady Miss P (Patricia Walters) last year this was a popular African Caribbean pub. So many people turned up there when Miss P died that the police had to close Lausanne Road.
Up on Stuart Road SE15, the famous Ivy House has closed with its future uncertain. This is an iconic venue with a long musical history, including in its previous incarnation as the Newlands Tavern. The most recent managers pursued a policy of discouraging the previous locals with the aim of making it more of an event venue pulling in people from further afield. Some of the events have been very successful, such as comedy nights and the Brockley Jack Film Club Piccadilly showing. But I imagine that the pub's location, a long way from the nearest rail or tube station, makes it hard to keep it really busy like that on a regular basis.
In Brixton, popular pub/music venue Rest is Noise is closing (maybe already has) - a busy place so doesn't look like revenue was the major issue. For discussion of possible reasons to do with the building's landlord see Urban75.
Better news from the Old Kent Road, where the even more iconic Thomas a Becket looks set to reopen as a cafe/bar soon after being closed for a few years (other than being partially used as an art gallery). Not sure if they will keep the name, I would like them to because of the whole link to the Kent Road pilgrimage route. The pub stands on the site of St Thomas a Watering, mentioned in the Canterbury Tales as the place where the pilgrims stopped for refreshment on the road to Becket's shrine in Canterbury Cathedral. But if they do go for a name change can I propose Ziggy's or Stardust?
The relaunch of the Goldsmiths Tavern as the New Cross House is on track - new owners Captial Pub Company took possession today (see more about their plans at Food Stories). And Brockley Central reports a new bar may be opening soon in New Cross - but nobody seems to know where or when?
(any other news, updates or corrections, please comment)
Sunday, February 06, 2011
Library Protests
Good support in South London for the national 'read in' protest against library closures yesterday.
At Blackheath Library authors giving readings and speeches included Blake Morrison, Lucy Mangan and local historian Neil Rhind (see report at Blackheath Bugle).
At Crofton Park Library there was a good crowd, with crime writer Lindsey Davis amongst those giving readings (see report at Brockley Central).
At New Cross Library, the read-in developed into an overnight occupation. I joined them this morning when there were about 20 people present. It was all very friendly - I even spotted a (non-Lewisham) librarian doing a bit of shelving! The last hour before the planned noon departure featured some silliness with the police blocking the entrance to stop anybody else coming in and ordering the security guard to lock the toilet (though he couldn't find the key). Actually the police seemed very embarrassed to be acting as messengers and security guards for the Council's Chief Excutive's office and were clear that as no laws were being broken it wasn't really a policing matter (see more reports at Lewisham Anti-Cuts Alliance and SE13ure).
It isn't just about the books - libraries are one of the few public spaces on our high streets where people can wander in to a warm, safe place without any pressure to spend money, maybe just to browse or read the paper.
Nor are libraries just some 'middle class leisure' pursuit, as some have disparaged them. I first moved to South London to work in libraries (including one now apparently on Lambeth's possible closure list), and then as now libraries attracted childminders, pensioners, students, stressed parents taking their kids out on rainy days, autodidacts and aspiring writers from all walks of life.
I would also urge people to remember that libraries are not just about books and buildings, but about the staff who work there. Good libraries have passionate, informed staff who know where to find information, and how to respond to the needs of a variety of users . The various 'Big Society' options being floated to transfer libraries to the 'community' (actually usually to self-appointed and unaccountable organisations who nobody asked to speak for them) don't seem to recognise this dimension at all. One of the bids put forward to take over four of Lewisham's libraries (by people associated with the Pepys Resource Centre) apparently envisages running them with one paid member of staff each and volunteers doing the rest. How is the one worker going to keep the library open while doing all the other essential tasks of running a decent library - selecting and ordering stock, chasing up inter-library loans for books not in stock, running reading groups etc.? Quite apart from the lone working health and safety aspects of this, I can't really see this being a real library service at all.
At Blackheath Library authors giving readings and speeches included Blake Morrison, Lucy Mangan and local historian Neil Rhind (see report at Blackheath Bugle).
At Crofton Park Library there was a good crowd, with crime writer Lindsey Davis amongst those giving readings (see report at Brockley Central).
At New Cross Library, the read-in developed into an overnight occupation. I joined them this morning when there were about 20 people present. It was all very friendly - I even spotted a (non-Lewisham) librarian doing a bit of shelving! The last hour before the planned noon departure featured some silliness with the police blocking the entrance to stop anybody else coming in and ordering the security guard to lock the toilet (though he couldn't find the key). Actually the police seemed very embarrassed to be acting as messengers and security guards for the Council's Chief Excutive's office and were clear that as no laws were being broken it wasn't really a policing matter (see more reports at Lewisham Anti-Cuts Alliance and SE13ure).
The selection of messages left by library users makes it clear that New Cross, like the other libraries, is highly valued.
It isn't just about the books - libraries are one of the few public spaces on our high streets where people can wander in to a warm, safe place without any pressure to spend money, maybe just to browse or read the paper.
Nor are libraries just some 'middle class leisure' pursuit, as some have disparaged them. I first moved to South London to work in libraries (including one now apparently on Lambeth's possible closure list), and then as now libraries attracted childminders, pensioners, students, stressed parents taking their kids out on rainy days, autodidacts and aspiring writers from all walks of life.
I would also urge people to remember that libraries are not just about books and buildings, but about the staff who work there. Good libraries have passionate, informed staff who know where to find information, and how to respond to the needs of a variety of users . The various 'Big Society' options being floated to transfer libraries to the 'community' (actually usually to self-appointed and unaccountable organisations who nobody asked to speak for them) don't seem to recognise this dimension at all. One of the bids put forward to take over four of Lewisham's libraries (by people associated with the Pepys Resource Centre) apparently envisages running them with one paid member of staff each and volunteers doing the rest. How is the one worker going to keep the library open while doing all the other essential tasks of running a decent library - selecting and ordering stock, chasing up inter-library loans for books not in stock, running reading groups etc.? Quite apart from the lone working health and safety aspects of this, I can't really see this being a real library service at all.
Thursday, February 03, 2011
Convention of Hysteria (1985)
February 1985 and a pretty radical weekend of music at the Albany Empire in Deptford - The Convention of Hysteria with New Cross's own Band of Holy Joy and Test Department joined by Diamanda Galas, Evan Parker and others. Somewhere out there there's a bootleg of this gig, of which Galas has recalled:
'Well, the Convention of Hysteria was me solo one night. Me with Test Dept the next, Evan Parker -who I had played with once in San Diego - and ... I don't really know who else was on it. Probably one or two other Some Bizarre artists. The performance with Test Dept was alright. I can't criticize them if the electronics broke down.
'Well, the Convention of Hysteria was me solo one night. Me with Test Dept the next, Evan Parker -who I had played with once in San Diego - and ... I don't really know who else was on it. Probably one or two other Some Bizarre artists. The performance with Test Dept was alright. I can't criticize them if the electronics broke down.
FE: Was that a written piece?
Diamanda: No. I structured a piece for all of us. So we did something and in certain ways it was pretty interesting. It received a very horrified response because the vocal levels were already incinerating the place, then Test Dept came out with these gigantic, I mean GIGANTIC, steel things, with no shirts, sweating and playing these things that were put through processing by my engineer. So it was even more monstrous. Then I was on the top, so it was some sort of weird S&M ritual. It was fun. I liked it and they're good guys.
"Diamanda Galas: Tura Satana Without Cleavage", Interview in Forced Exposure #15 (Summer 1989)
Anyone out there remember this? Doesn't sound like you'd have forgotten it if you were there.
Wednesday, February 02, 2011
Metros - Talk About It (Another Peckham Video)
The Metros were hotly-tipped indie hopefuls a couple of years ago, with three singles under their belt in 2008. The following year though the band split up. The Metros lived in Peckham with members meeting each other at Dog Kennel Hill Primary School and the Charter School in East Dulwich (Southwark Weekender, June 2008).
The video for their final single, Talk About It, was filmed in Peckham, featuring among other locations Rye Lane, Peckham Library and the multi-storey car park (also used by Roll Deep last year).
l
There's actually another film documenting how this video was made with even more Peckhamness if you're interested.
The video for their final single, Talk About It, was filmed in Peckham, featuring among other locations Rye Lane, Peckham Library and the multi-storey car park (also used by Roll Deep last year).
l
There's actually another film documenting how this video was made with even more Peckhamness if you're interested.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)