hullo hataz on june 9 i will be HERE and you can be too --
disclaimer: i am responsible for NOTHING WHICH FOLLOWS except my being there
Anarchy in the UK @ the British Film Institute
“Thirty years ago punk rock conquered the nation. Far beyond the King’s Road, punk became part of life on every high street. It was the anarchic voice of Britain’s rebellious youth and a thorn in the side of those busy enjoying the Queen’s Silver Jubilee celebrations.”
The Mediatheque revives the spirit of punk with a collection that tells the story of the music, its fans and its effect on the UK. These films and television programmes are not just about the familiar scene in London. Away from the capital the scene was vital and exciting too, and lasted a lot longer. So, sit back and enjoy the sounds of London, Manchester, Belfast, Derry and Huddersfield…
The British punk scene first started to emerge in late 1975 with the appearance of a few London based bands. Like a cultural Atom bomb, punk caused a huge impact on society; burning white hot for a minimal amount of time at Ground Zero (aka London) until it dispersed in waves across the country and eventually throughout the world.
In her article Documenting Punk: A Subcultural Investigation, Gina Marchetti defines punk in three ways; as a subculture, a style of music and as “a way of using cultural objects…in new and startling ways” , and it is this definition of Punk that has influenced my thinking for the whole programme of events that will take place on Saturday 9th June ’07.
Music:
Long before he spent his time inhabiting the Celebrity… jungle, John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten) uttered the now immortal phrase: “God save the Queen…” which kick-started a cultural shift which would eventually envelop the whole of the Great Britain and Ireland. Music was the foundation of punk!! The need to make something new, something fresh, something young, was the driving force behind punk, rather than the elaborate, complicated and disconnected music of the previous generation and of Progressive Rock. Music is what brought Catholic and Protestant together in the clubs of Belfast; music is what brought black and white youths together in London’s Roxy nightclub.
The DIY Aesthetic:
The use of existing cultural objects in new, often subversive, ways is one of the key ideological as well as aesthetic elements of the Punk movement. This culture of Do It Yourself can be seen in so many different areas of the Punk movement; from the independent record companies, like Riot City, set up to record and release the first single of a local up and coming band (In Riot City’s case, the debute EP of Bristol group Vice Squad), to the hand-made and self illustrated record sleeves made by the bands themselves (Das Schnitz’s I’m Silly, and so are… is a perfect example of this, re-using old Chaka Khan record sleeves as a home for their single- with appropriate customising touches of course). From the hand-made, hand-written and self-published (or photocopied) Fanzines, to the added chains, holes, studs and rips that was the Punk dress code, as well as the amateur observational films epitomised by the Captain Zip Video Trip series that document the Punk movement of London’s King’s Road.
A Subculture:
The Punk movement celebrated the riotous, the revolutionary and the fall of the Establishment. Whether it was through the Clash’s lyrics or LP sleeves, the Sex Pistol’s anti-monarchy tirades or the images of a post-apocalyptic Punk England in Derek Jarman’s Jubilee (1977). The ‘…aestheticised apocalypse…’ Punk envisioned soon forced its way up out of a subculture and into the mainstream, when in August 1977
‘the National Front planned to hold a march through the predominantly working-class, black borough of Lewisham- in a deliberate act of provocation…Despite the fact that trouble was inevitable, the march was allowed to go ahead…The result was riot “live” on the streets of South London, as over 5,000 protestors battled with 4,000 police and 1,000 NF marchers.’
After the riots in Lewisham, Punk became politicised! With both political allegiances represented, through either the Left wing Rock Against Racism movement or the Right wing sympathetic lyrics of the Oi sub-genre of Punk (Cock Sparrer and Cockney Rejects).
Along with the issues discussed above, the provincial nature of the Punk movement has also affected the planning of this season for the Mediatheque, as well as the programme of extra events running to coincide with the season. Punk was not just restricted to the major metropolitan areas of London and Manchester! In fact the Punk movement quickly gave way to New Romanticism and the New Wave in the major metropolitan areas, it was in the ‘Faraway Towns’ that Punk remained an influential subculture, and where the majority of Second Wave Punk bands hailed from.
These are the key topics that the film and television material in the Mediatheque season address, and therefore these are the themes that the programme of extra events have been planned around. Obviously, any other subjects of particular personal interest or areas of specialist knowledge will not be neglected in the day’s events.
Schedule of Events for Saturday 9th June 2007
This programme of events has been designed to run in conjunction with the Anarchy in the UK season that will run in the Mediatheque throughout June ’07. The events will expand upon and develop the ideas and themes that the Mediatheque material addresses.
This day of events has also been scheduled to coincide with the Southbank Centre’s Overture Weekend; a weekend of events to re-launch the Southbank Centre with the theme of mass participation in the arts. Punk’s Do-It-Yourself ethos and use of cultural objects in new, often shocking ways, seems to offer a perfect way to encourage mass participation in the more subversive and counter-culture elements of the arts.
The Studio:
1530hrs:
Punk Home Movies: The Captain Zip Video Trip with an introduction from Captain Zip himself.
Following the screening there will be a panel discussion that asks the question Is Punk Dead?
Phil Munnoch, also known as Captain Zip, is a veteran amateur filmmaker. His unique films captured the grass roots Punk scene of London’s King’s Road between 1978 and 1981. Two of these films are silent and will be accompanied by punk vinyl from Zip’s own collection- almost as if he was screening them for you in his front room!
Death is Their Destiny | UK 1978 |14 mins | Dir Phil Munnoch [with soundtrack]
Don’t Dream it- See it | UK 1978 | 15 mins | Dir Phil Munnoch [silent] Squat Party | UK 1981 |17 mins | Dir Phil Munnoch [with soundtrack] Citizen Banned | UK 1981 | 12 mins | Dir Phil Munnoch [silent]
Running Time: 58 minutes.
Panel Discussion: Is Punk Dead?
If you listen to conventional Punk histories they will tell you Punk died in 1978, when the Sex Pistols’ disastrous tour of America came to an end and Johnny Rotten left the band. The final safety pin in the coffin came a year later when Sid Vicious died of a heroin overdose. However, Punk’s influence was felt throughout Britain for many years after and some suggest that its influence can still be felt today. This discussion will investigate Punk’s affect on British society since 1976 and try to pinpoint when, if at all, Punk died.
Panel Chair: Mark Simpson
Panel Delegates:
• Phil Munnoch – also known as Captain Zip, is a veteran amateur filmmaker, who captured the grass roots Punk scene of London’s King’s Road between 1978 and 1981 through his Captain Zip Video Trip series of short films.
•
dubdobdee – journalist and academic [???],
dubdobdee has written for New Music Express, Melody Maker and The Wire. More recently he has contributed to Sight and Sound as well as the BFI Film Classics series, on Lindsay Anderson’s 1968 film If…
• Lucy Robinson - lecturer in History at the University of Sussex. Lucy specializes in the history of sexuality, identity politics and the Left throughout the twentieth century. As well as the history of youth and youth culture (particularly counter-culture) with specific reference to Punk, Anti-Nazism and Rock against Racism.
• Teal Triggs - is Professor of Graphic Design at the London College of Communication. Teal is co-editor, with Roger Sabin, of Below Critical Radar: Fanzines and Alternative Comics From 1976 to Now; her PhD thesis was also on DIY Punk and the Riot Grrrl fanzines. (Total Event Time: 120 minutes)
1800hrs: Panel Discussion: London vs The Faraway Town
Take a look at most punk histories and you’d be forgiven for thinking that the King’s Road, the 100 Club, Malcolm McLaren and the Sex Pistols were the only significant elements of the punk movement. Combined with the material in the Mediatheque, this discussion will investigate the affect Punk had on the provintial towns and cities of Britain as well as the capital.
Panel Chair: Mark Simpson
Panel Delegates:
• Phil Strongman- was at the 100 Club in 1976 when the Sex Pistols first performed there, was an extra in The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle (Julien Temple, 1980), and has known many of punk's greatest figures for many years. He is the author of Pretty Vacant: A History of Punk.
• Russell Bestley- is a senior lecturer at the London College of Communication. The art/graphic design exhibition, Hitsville UK: Punk in the Faraway Towns is the culmination of Russell’s ongoing PhD study into Punk rock, graphic design and regionality.
• Alex Ogg- is a Freelance writer who works includes The Hip Hop Years (with David Upshal) as well as contributions to a number of magazine and newspaper features and Compact Disk sleeve notes. Alex’s most recent book is No More Heroes: A Complete History of Punk From 1976 to 1980.(Total Event Time: 60 minutes)
1930hrs:
Screening of the ‘Directors Cut’ of Chaos! ‘Ex Pistols Secret History: The Dave Goodman Story, with introduction from Phil Strongman.
(Dir. Phil Strongmam- Cert. 15- 96 minutes)
A documentary about the history of one of the most influential and notorious punk bands ever, the Sex Pistols. The Pistols’ first producer, Dave Goodman, gives his views on the band and their impact. The documentary features what is arguably the ‘definitive’ Malcolm McLaren interview as well as appearances from Punk icons like Don Letts, Viviene Westwood and Glen Matlock. (Total Event Time: 105 minutes)
BFI Southbank:
June 2007:
Hitsville UK: Punk in the Faraway Town
The Graphic Language of Punk 1976-1984
Russell Bestley
‘This exhibition is both a celebration of the wide range of graphic approaches adopted by punk sleeve designers, and an attempt to redress the balance of recent punk ‘histories’ which focus purely on a short-lived series of events based around the King’s Road and Oxford Street. It is based on the mapping and grouping of a wide range of punk-related seven inch single sleeves across the period 1976 to 1984, and seeks to tell a wider, more inclusive story of the punk years.’
(Russell Bestley, Hitsville UK: Punk in the Faraway Towns, catalogue, p.3)
Exhibition Status: Confirmed
Location: Exhibition space
Participatory Events: The Do-It-Yourself Aesthetic
1300hrs:
Graffiti Demonstration:
See how the Punk aesthetic of customisation has continued into the new millennium through Graffiti. Graffiti artists like Banksy have used stencils to subvert and change culturally recognisable images, often as a political comment on today’s modern consumer society.
Watch a group of local art students and Graffiti artists demonstrate the subversive nature of the art form as they manipulate existing images into new artworks and statements.
Participants: tbc
Location: Outside BFI Southbank (depending on weather [!!!!111eleven]) tbc (Total Event Time: 150 minutes)
1330hrs:
Fanzine Workshop: The Do-It-Yourself Aesthetic and Riot Grrrl
The D.I.Y. aesthetic of the Punk movement extended beyond the music itself and the design of the record sleeve artwork. The Punk movement found its first cultural voice through the proliferation of music Fanzines; magazines written, illustrated, ‘printed’ and distributed by the fans of Punk rock themselves. These ‘zines spread the ethics and aesthetic of Punk much further than the mainstream media ever could. This workshop will allow participants the chance to contribute a page to the BFI’s Film Fanzine; which will build throughout the day into a unique piece of social history, which will eventually be moved into the BFI National Archive, documenting British film culture in 2007.
Workshop Chair: Teal Triggs
Location: Project Space
(Total Event Time: 90 minutes)
Live Music Events:
1600hrs: Acoustic Punk: A selection of classic punk tracks along with more contemporary material with a punk influence. Hear songs from a mixture of bands as divers as the Clash and the Buzzcocks to Blink 182 and The Libertines.
Participants: Paul England (ex-lead guitarist and backing vocalist from Peterborough based MySpace.Com sensations State of Freedom)
More Acts to be Confirmed
Location: the Soft Seating area in the main Foyer
(Total Event Time: 45 minutes)
2030hrs: Punk DJ Set: Finish off the day’s events with a relaxing drink in Benugo’s bar and enjoy the very best that Punk Rock has to offer.
Participants: tbc
Location: the Soft Seating area in the main Foyer
(Total Event Time: 90 minutes)
disclaimer: i am responsible for NOTHING WHICH FOLLOWS except my being there
Anarchy in the UK @ the British Film Institute
“Thirty years ago punk rock conquered the nation. Far beyond the King’s Road, punk became part of life on every high street. It was the anarchic voice of Britain’s rebellious youth and a thorn in the side of those busy enjoying the Queen’s Silver Jubilee celebrations.”
The Mediatheque revives the spirit of punk with a collection that tells the story of the music, its fans and its effect on the UK. These films and television programmes are not just about the familiar scene in London. Away from the capital the scene was vital and exciting too, and lasted a lot longer. So, sit back and enjoy the sounds of London, Manchester, Belfast, Derry and Huddersfield…
The British punk scene first started to emerge in late 1975 with the appearance of a few London based bands. Like a cultural Atom bomb, punk caused a huge impact on society; burning white hot for a minimal amount of time at Ground Zero (aka London) until it dispersed in waves across the country and eventually throughout the world.
In her article Documenting Punk: A Subcultural Investigation, Gina Marchetti defines punk in three ways; as a subculture, a style of music and as “a way of using cultural objects…in new and startling ways” , and it is this definition of Punk that has influenced my thinking for the whole programme of events that will take place on Saturday 9th June ’07.
Music:
Long before he spent his time inhabiting the Celebrity… jungle, John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten) uttered the now immortal phrase: “God save the Queen…” which kick-started a cultural shift which would eventually envelop the whole of the Great Britain and Ireland. Music was the foundation of punk!! The need to make something new, something fresh, something young, was the driving force behind punk, rather than the elaborate, complicated and disconnected music of the previous generation and of Progressive Rock. Music is what brought Catholic and Protestant together in the clubs of Belfast; music is what brought black and white youths together in London’s Roxy nightclub.
The DIY Aesthetic:
The use of existing cultural objects in new, often subversive, ways is one of the key ideological as well as aesthetic elements of the Punk movement. This culture of Do It Yourself can be seen in so many different areas of the Punk movement; from the independent record companies, like Riot City, set up to record and release the first single of a local up and coming band (In Riot City’s case, the debute EP of Bristol group Vice Squad), to the hand-made and self illustrated record sleeves made by the bands themselves (Das Schnitz’s I’m Silly, and so are… is a perfect example of this, re-using old Chaka Khan record sleeves as a home for their single- with appropriate customising touches of course). From the hand-made, hand-written and self-published (or photocopied) Fanzines, to the added chains, holes, studs and rips that was the Punk dress code, as well as the amateur observational films epitomised by the Captain Zip Video Trip series that document the Punk movement of London’s King’s Road.
A Subculture:
The Punk movement celebrated the riotous, the revolutionary and the fall of the Establishment. Whether it was through the Clash’s lyrics or LP sleeves, the Sex Pistol’s anti-monarchy tirades or the images of a post-apocalyptic Punk England in Derek Jarman’s Jubilee (1977). The ‘…aestheticised apocalypse…’ Punk envisioned soon forced its way up out of a subculture and into the mainstream, when in August 1977
‘the National Front planned to hold a march through the predominantly working-class, black borough of Lewisham- in a deliberate act of provocation…Despite the fact that trouble was inevitable, the march was allowed to go ahead…The result was riot “live” on the streets of South London, as over 5,000 protestors battled with 4,000 police and 1,000 NF marchers.’
After the riots in Lewisham, Punk became politicised! With both political allegiances represented, through either the Left wing Rock Against Racism movement or the Right wing sympathetic lyrics of the Oi sub-genre of Punk (Cock Sparrer and Cockney Rejects).
Along with the issues discussed above, the provincial nature of the Punk movement has also affected the planning of this season for the Mediatheque, as well as the programme of extra events running to coincide with the season. Punk was not just restricted to the major metropolitan areas of London and Manchester! In fact the Punk movement quickly gave way to New Romanticism and the New Wave in the major metropolitan areas, it was in the ‘Faraway Towns’ that Punk remained an influential subculture, and where the majority of Second Wave Punk bands hailed from.
These are the key topics that the film and television material in the Mediatheque season address, and therefore these are the themes that the programme of extra events have been planned around. Obviously, any other subjects of particular personal interest or areas of specialist knowledge will not be neglected in the day’s events.
Schedule of Events for Saturday 9th June 2007
This programme of events has been designed to run in conjunction with the Anarchy in the UK season that will run in the Mediatheque throughout June ’07. The events will expand upon and develop the ideas and themes that the Mediatheque material addresses.
This day of events has also been scheduled to coincide with the Southbank Centre’s Overture Weekend; a weekend of events to re-launch the Southbank Centre with the theme of mass participation in the arts. Punk’s Do-It-Yourself ethos and use of cultural objects in new, often shocking ways, seems to offer a perfect way to encourage mass participation in the more subversive and counter-culture elements of the arts.
The Studio:
1530hrs:
Punk Home Movies: The Captain Zip Video Trip with an introduction from Captain Zip himself.
Following the screening there will be a panel discussion that asks the question Is Punk Dead?
Phil Munnoch, also known as Captain Zip, is a veteran amateur filmmaker. His unique films captured the grass roots Punk scene of London’s King’s Road between 1978 and 1981. Two of these films are silent and will be accompanied by punk vinyl from Zip’s own collection- almost as if he was screening them for you in his front room!
Death is Their Destiny | UK 1978 |14 mins | Dir Phil Munnoch [with soundtrack]
Don’t Dream it- See it | UK 1978 | 15 mins | Dir Phil Munnoch [silent] Squat Party | UK 1981 |17 mins | Dir Phil Munnoch [with soundtrack] Citizen Banned | UK 1981 | 12 mins | Dir Phil Munnoch [silent]
Running Time: 58 minutes.
Panel Discussion: Is Punk Dead?
If you listen to conventional Punk histories they will tell you Punk died in 1978, when the Sex Pistols’ disastrous tour of America came to an end and Johnny Rotten left the band. The final safety pin in the coffin came a year later when Sid Vicious died of a heroin overdose. However, Punk’s influence was felt throughout Britain for many years after and some suggest that its influence can still be felt today. This discussion will investigate Punk’s affect on British society since 1976 and try to pinpoint when, if at all, Punk died.
Panel Chair: Mark Simpson
Panel Delegates:
• Phil Munnoch – also known as Captain Zip, is a veteran amateur filmmaker, who captured the grass roots Punk scene of London’s King’s Road between 1978 and 1981 through his Captain Zip Video Trip series of short films.
•
• Lucy Robinson - lecturer in History at the University of Sussex. Lucy specializes in the history of sexuality, identity politics and the Left throughout the twentieth century. As well as the history of youth and youth culture (particularly counter-culture) with specific reference to Punk, Anti-Nazism and Rock against Racism.
• Teal Triggs - is Professor of Graphic Design at the London College of Communication. Teal is co-editor, with Roger Sabin, of Below Critical Radar: Fanzines and Alternative Comics From 1976 to Now; her PhD thesis was also on DIY Punk and the Riot Grrrl fanzines. (Total Event Time: 120 minutes)
1800hrs: Panel Discussion: London vs The Faraway Town
Take a look at most punk histories and you’d be forgiven for thinking that the King’s Road, the 100 Club, Malcolm McLaren and the Sex Pistols were the only significant elements of the punk movement. Combined with the material in the Mediatheque, this discussion will investigate the affect Punk had on the provintial towns and cities of Britain as well as the capital.
Panel Chair: Mark Simpson
Panel Delegates:
• Phil Strongman- was at the 100 Club in 1976 when the Sex Pistols first performed there, was an extra in The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle (Julien Temple, 1980), and has known many of punk's greatest figures for many years. He is the author of Pretty Vacant: A History of Punk.
• Russell Bestley- is a senior lecturer at the London College of Communication. The art/graphic design exhibition, Hitsville UK: Punk in the Faraway Towns is the culmination of Russell’s ongoing PhD study into Punk rock, graphic design and regionality.
• Alex Ogg- is a Freelance writer who works includes The Hip Hop Years (with David Upshal) as well as contributions to a number of magazine and newspaper features and Compact Disk sleeve notes. Alex’s most recent book is No More Heroes: A Complete History of Punk From 1976 to 1980.(Total Event Time: 60 minutes)
1930hrs:
Screening of the ‘Directors Cut’ of Chaos! ‘Ex Pistols Secret History: The Dave Goodman Story, with introduction from Phil Strongman.
(Dir. Phil Strongmam- Cert. 15- 96 minutes)
A documentary about the history of one of the most influential and notorious punk bands ever, the Sex Pistols. The Pistols’ first producer, Dave Goodman, gives his views on the band and their impact. The documentary features what is arguably the ‘definitive’ Malcolm McLaren interview as well as appearances from Punk icons like Don Letts, Viviene Westwood and Glen Matlock. (Total Event Time: 105 minutes)
BFI Southbank:
June 2007:
Hitsville UK: Punk in the Faraway Town
The Graphic Language of Punk 1976-1984
Russell Bestley
‘This exhibition is both a celebration of the wide range of graphic approaches adopted by punk sleeve designers, and an attempt to redress the balance of recent punk ‘histories’ which focus purely on a short-lived series of events based around the King’s Road and Oxford Street. It is based on the mapping and grouping of a wide range of punk-related seven inch single sleeves across the period 1976 to 1984, and seeks to tell a wider, more inclusive story of the punk years.’
(Russell Bestley, Hitsville UK: Punk in the Faraway Towns, catalogue, p.3)
Exhibition Status: Confirmed
Location: Exhibition space
Participatory Events: The Do-It-Yourself Aesthetic
1300hrs:
Graffiti Demonstration:
See how the Punk aesthetic of customisation has continued into the new millennium through Graffiti. Graffiti artists like Banksy have used stencils to subvert and change culturally recognisable images, often as a political comment on today’s modern consumer society.
Watch a group of local art students and Graffiti artists demonstrate the subversive nature of the art form as they manipulate existing images into new artworks and statements.
Participants: tbc
Location: Outside BFI Southbank (depending on weather [!!!!111eleven]) tbc (Total Event Time: 150 minutes)
1330hrs:
Fanzine Workshop: The Do-It-Yourself Aesthetic and Riot Grrrl
The D.I.Y. aesthetic of the Punk movement extended beyond the music itself and the design of the record sleeve artwork. The Punk movement found its first cultural voice through the proliferation of music Fanzines; magazines written, illustrated, ‘printed’ and distributed by the fans of Punk rock themselves. These ‘zines spread the ethics and aesthetic of Punk much further than the mainstream media ever could. This workshop will allow participants the chance to contribute a page to the BFI’s Film Fanzine; which will build throughout the day into a unique piece of social history, which will eventually be moved into the BFI National Archive, documenting British film culture in 2007.
Workshop Chair: Teal Triggs
Location: Project Space
(Total Event Time: 90 minutes)
Live Music Events:
1600hrs: Acoustic Punk: A selection of classic punk tracks along with more contemporary material with a punk influence. Hear songs from a mixture of bands as divers as the Clash and the Buzzcocks to Blink 182 and The Libertines.
Participants: Paul England (ex-lead guitarist and backing vocalist from Peterborough based MySpace.Com sensations State of Freedom)
More Acts to be Confirmed
Location: the Soft Seating area in the main Foyer
(Total Event Time: 45 minutes)
2030hrs: Punk DJ Set: Finish off the day’s events with a relaxing drink in Benugo’s bar and enjoy the very best that Punk Rock has to offer.
Participants: tbc
Location: the Soft Seating area in the main Foyer
(Total Event Time: 90 minutes)
no subject
Date: 2007-06-04 02:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-06-04 02:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-06-04 03:14 pm (UTC)1600hrs: Acoustic Punk: A selection of classic punk tracks along with more contemporary material with a punk influence. Hear songs from a mixture of bands as divers as the Clash and the Buzzcocks to Blink 182 and The Libertines.
JEBUS AND MARY CHAIN, MUNGO AND MIDGE, ban this sick filth!!!!
no subject
Date: 2007-06-04 03:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-06-05 12:56 pm (UTC)Soft Seating
Date: 2007-06-04 04:38 pm (UTC)"It's me piles, they're playin' up somethin' awful" (A. N. Punk)
also: "influence" haha
no subject
Date: 2007-06-04 06:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-06-04 06:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-06-05 01:50 pm (UTC)BFI the Silver Jubilee Slayer.