I’ve written about Silent UK on my own blog but coming across his/their Deviant Art profile (courtesy, as ever, of D’log) made me realise I’d not brought him/them to your attention.
What’s going on here is urban exploration where folks gain entry, usually illegally, into abandoned buildings, underground tunnels and other areas not usually visited and make a record. Silent UK in particular takes the most wonderful photos and a fair few of them are in Birmingham. Like this one.
At some point I’m going to get off my arse, get a pair of waders and start doing this myself, but in the meanwhile it’s great to see others recording our hidden architectural heritage (though, unlike that above ground, it’s unlikely to suffer the trials of regeneration.)
John James was a photographer at the Birmingham Post who is now freelance. His website has the usual portfolios but is worth an extra look for work that betrays his history as a photojournalist. Firstly go check the “award winning” section for shots of riots, crashes and pig competitions in the 80s.
Then come back to the present in the “projects” section for his photo essay on the Eastside redevelopment and how it’s affecting the current residents.
Go Kart Mozart represents the further adventures of Birmingham, England, native Lawrence Hayward. He spent the ’70s and ’80s fronting the atmospheric guitar pop band Felt, who drew much inspiration from Television, releasing albums in the ’90s under the Denim moniker. Go Kart Mozart continues the pseudo-novelty direction of the latter, who produced a bubblegum strain of ’70s glam rock that often belied the biting social commentary of their lyrics. With Go Kart Mozart, a true solo project, the name adequately evokes the project’s pull between serious artistry and childish fun. 2000′s Instant Wigwam and Igloo Mixture featured such not-quite ironic tracks as “Hip Op,” which is about the Queen’s hip surgery; “Um Bongo,” which is named after a British soft drink but comments on the genocide in Rwanda; and a synth ditty about murdering a girl called “Depleted Soul.” Consider this another inscrutable twist in the long career of Lawrence Hayward, who has inspired such luminaries in their own right as Belle and Sebastian (Stuart Murdoch is a professed Felt obsessive) and Pulp (who draws obvious influence from Denim). After a five year wait during which Lawrence oversaw the re-release of the entire Felt catalogue and began work on various projects, Go Kart Mozart’s second album finally saw release. The album again was split between novelty and commentary and as a bonus for fans of Denim, contained tracks from the shelved third album titled Denim Take Over.
This retrospective exhibition curated by Rob Hewitt and Simon Redgrave draws from reactions to more than 40 years of work at mac and explores memories from audiences, artists and staff, from past and present.
What began in 1962 as the Midlands Arts Centre for Young People, pioneering access to culture for thousands of families, mac has created decades of ‘first times’ which it’s now easy to take for granted. The form of mac has always been shifting; reflecting changes in society and in arts practice. As the building faces major redevelopment we invite you to consider mac’s legacy. This exhibition creates environments drawn from different periods of mac’s pioneering work. We pay tribute to unforgettable personalities and performances with unique archive images, unseen documents and film footage. Drink in some of the most memorable mac moments from thousands of plays, films, shows, concerts and exhibitions.
They’re still welcoming contributions of memories and memorabilia. Details here.
(I think my first time there was watching Leaving Las Vegas in the cinema and then heading straight for the bar afterwards.)
Here’s a nice history lesson for the weekend. Stuart Lee talks about and to Ted Chippington who he considers the alternative father of alternative comedy.
While Ted’s from Birmingham he doesn’t live here anymore but he did do a gig at Atticus the other day as part of the Comedy Festival. The Atticus blog says it wasn’t that great but surely that was the point? Ooh, the meta-layers…
BiNS has news of a series of walks lead by Ben Waddington of Birmingham Library concentrating on the design and typography history of the city as part of the Plus festival. Here are the dates:
Type Tour of Digbeth – 17, 18, 19 October, 12.30 – 14.30pm
Baskerville’s Birmingham – 20 October 12.30 – 14.30pm
City Centre Type Tour – 21 October, 12.30 – 14.30pm
All priced at £10
Waddington has done many of these in the past – here’s more info on his Baskerville walk (from where I nicked the above image). Personally the Digbeth one looks the most fascinating. I’d imagine the letterforms will reflect the random evolution of the area over the last century rather well.
Work on the Charles Parker archive at the Central Library was recently completed and it’s being launched (as it were) at the AGM of the Friends of the Charles Parker Archive on September 28th. All are welcome.
Charles Parker was a pioneer of radio broadcasting and oral history in the 60s and 70s and did most of work in Birmingham with figures such as Ewan McColl and Peggy Seeger.
At his death in 1980 he left a huge archive illustrating all aspects of his life and work including correspondence, notebooks, transcripts of lectures, production books, articles, over 4,500 recordings of speech and music, and a library on the oral tradition, drama, music and politics. He was involved in anti-racist activity from the late 1950s and this is reflected in the collection which also includes rare and significant material on Gypsy and travelling communities. During his research he became increasingly aware of the ill-treatment of travellers and the prejudice which existed towards them. In 1969 a controversial eviction from a site in Birmingham led him to form the West Midlands Gypsy Liaison Group to campaign for travellers’ rights with his long time collaborator Phillip Donnellan.
The archive will be available on the Connecting Histories website and in the library while the AGM takes place at 6.30 pm on Friday 28 September in Conference Room 4 at Birmingham Central Library. For more details contact Pam Bishop on 0121 244 3513 or p.bishop [at] blueyonder.co.uk
