ISSUE
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DECEMBER 2011 it’sFREE
hDOOW? [by the
e for a cultural magazin
the people.
d r o f d a r b ] f o e l p o pe
hDOOW?
What an adventure it has been pulling together this publication, giving me the opportunity to meet some of the most interesting characters this city has to offer. From artists to businessmen, a queer old bunch are we Bradfordians. HowDo Magazine looks to address the issue of undervalued cultural happenings by informing the people of what’s good and what’s bad, what’s on and what not to miss. By conversing with the people directly we hope to develop our place within the community and draw people back into Bradford city centre. We look to represent the unrepresented, giving a voice to the multitudious communities. Did you know about the regular meetings of poets at the New Beehive Inn? Or how about the Ukranian raves held at the Irish Idl Club? Or the Polish Hip Hop scene? Or the muslim cafe subcultures? No? Well, nor did I until very recently, but it’s there and there is stuff going on; twinkling away in dark corners of the city. This is something we look to celebrate! Confronting misrepresentations of cultural disparity, lets quash suggestions that we are a people tolerating each other as a means to an end. Rubbish! Bradford embodies an honesty and friendliness that is unique to the district. It is a melting pot of folk with different perspectives; living amongst each other, Proud Yorkshiremen and women of all colours, creeds and generations. That for me is the thing that gives Bradford its unique selling point. And as such that’s our starting point for a cultural magazine for the people of Bradford; an inclusive media owned by the people to observe, express, discuss and inform.
MR JOHNSTON
[PEOPLE] Management: Mr Johnston Artistic Director: James Kemp Editor: Haigh Simpson Design: Mr Johnston spokenWORD: Jane Steele liveREVIEW George Quinn FilmREVIEW: Mike Mckenny theatre&PERFORMANCE Pete Huntley Contributors: Sam Musgrave Dick Stone Joe Parkinson Ben Rogers Fred Shephard Steve Hanson Ben Dalby Sue Vickerman Seamus Byrom Melissa Watson Kathryn Mark Leanne Mason Dr Bhoobun Artwork by Russell Kremp
‘What do you think of our magazine? We want your comments and suggestions. We would especially like to hear from creative individuals who want to contribute. If you think we’ve left you out, then get in touch. If you have something to say about our city SAY IT HERE. We want your views. We want your news, reviews, features and previews. Cheers. HAIGH SIMPSON We are on the lookout for talented artists from the district to be featured in our future issues. If you’re interested then get in touch with James:
bradford@howdomagazine.co.uk FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @HOWDOBRADFORD
ISSUE 1 [DECEMBER 2011] [SPECIAL THANKS] Paul, Claudia & Wajid for their support & guidance. Sam, Simon, Bob & Dom for pointing us in the right direction Friends, family, loved ones who encouraged our efforts. + The following organisations:
5_[theBIGISSUE] A FIERY FAREWELL TO THE URBAN GARDEN 7_[ourHERITAGE] WHEN THE BEATLES CAME TO TOWN 10_[bratfudOUTLOOK] BRADFORD RAW [AN INTERVIEW WITH JOHN BOLLOTEN] 14_[people&ART] ITS A MEAN OLD SCENE & REPRESENTATIONS OF BRADFORD 18_[theatre&PERFORMANCE] THE HISTORY OF THEATRE IN BRADFORD 21_[theatre&PERFORMANCE] INTERVIEW WITH BILLY PEARCE 22_[spokenWORD] JANE STEEL & SUE VICKERMAN 25_[colourWRITING] HAIGH SIMPSON REPORTAGE 28_[artisticPERSPECTIVE] INTERVIEW WITH RUSSEL KREMP 31_[localLEGEND] GEORGE QUINN INTERVIEWS CAPTAIN HOTKNIVES 34_[wotsSAPNIN?] OVERVIEW OF GIGS THIS MONTH + A MUSIC DIRECTORY 38_[liveREVIEW] LIVE GIG REVIEWS FROM AROUND THE DISTRICT 40_[mediaREVIEW] MUSIC & BOOKS 42_[filmREVIEW] LEEDS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL & BRADFORD ANIMATION FESTIVAL 44_[secretBRADFORD] OUR PICK OF WHAT’S GOOD IN THE DISTRICT
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[DISCLAIMER] HowDo Magazine is an independent organisation that encourages creative expression. THE VEIWS EXPRESSED IN HowDo ARE THE OPINIONS OF THE WRITERS & DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT THE VIEWS OF THE PUBLICATION.
For details on future ArtFarmer projects contact DEAN OR SAM: art.farmer.bradford@gmail.com Photos by Š C.Scott: www.fb.com/csphotographer
theBIGISSUE [A FIERY FAREWELL TO THE URBAN GARDEN]
Bradford is an underdog. That’s one of the reasons I am at home here. I’m from underdog stock, from a generation who were hungry because their dad’s wouldn’t cross the pit picket lines. In Bradford’s history, generations before were hungry even though they did work. Oppression flavoured with a sprinkling of Titus salt. What my birth town failed to do until recently is to welcome newcomers. This is why I feel defeat took hold of my town in a way that has not and will not take hold of Bradford. As a relative newcomer I have never known Bradford without a hole in its heart, but you don’t have to be born here to see the irony in the ‘considerate construction’ sign half hanging from Westfield’s hoardings. How many years on? ‘Why would anything better happen? This is Bradford. This is the state of things.’ I heard these words spoken by a women working in the chip shop that may one day look out onto a mirror pool. The view from her window no doubt feeds the emotion that was probably anger first, at the fact that people have less money to spend in her shop even though her supplies cost more – the state of things - for individual people in Bradford. This woman sounded tired. This woman sounded resigned to being at the mercy of disconnected decisions from across the square. It feels Bradfordian to look to chip shops as the setting for social commentary. I overheard another wise woman, this one in Eccleshill, saying we should invite Hockney back to repaint the chippy there. She wants him to show the extent of how boarded up our city feels. Meanwhile, on some other hoardings in another part of town, anonymous artists going by the name of SpARTacus got poetic. When I saw what SpARTacus had done I felt that they were speaking in my name and I was grateful. Their actions confirmed to me that this city does have the will and the heart to thrive. It has a spring that keeps rising and it has fire in its belly. Within days of these words appearing Westfield responded, resulting in a small but significant victory the likes of which don’t seem to happen in other cities. The people’s voices were heard and part of the land was reclaimed. It became Bradford Urban Garden. At that time I was working with a collective of artists and dreamers just around the corner in Little Germany. We hoped to be part of the plan to make things happen on the garden. We wanted to share it with all of Bradford’s artists and dreamers. We had architects, builders, poets and believers planning structures, planting, animal tending, happenings, markets and common land activity. We learned that in history the site of the garden was once the common grazing at a junction of the city’s waterways and imagined chickens scratching, spices and fabric for sale, cultures and generations learning from one other, stories being told and made....... We had seen it written in books! Sisters and brothers had previously left Bradford but returned with stories from other underdog cities! They added more fuel to our fiery bellies. This is what we need to keep our city alive, to celebrate our spirited city creatively, to pick up the mantle of the artists and voices of the decades before. Our ideas weren’t ahead of their time but we didn’t have the garden for long enough. Still Bradford celebrated on the garden in small ways. Last Friday we danced and sang and played a farewell to our freedom to think of this small piece of land as belonging (in some way) to the people. We played with fire, ate, drank, told stories and burned a beautiful sculpture of Spartacus in his chariot. We are told that next year this symbolic land is to be returned to its fate of holding empty palaces of spend. And as always in the rest of our city pockets of hoping and dreaming will continue to thrive. The underground energy continues to grow and join up. I try to understand the argument of those who believe that shopping will change our city for the better but I’m putting my faith in the water that springs up from underground. Spirit and hope and belief in something better comes from allowing the spring to flow. Cap it with more concrete and watch another cycle begin or free it and watch life take root and thrive.
SAM MUSGRAVE
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Photo by © m.j.s: www.flickr.com/photos/m_j_s/
Saltaire Vintage Home & Fashion Fair. Victoria Hall, Saltaire Sat 10th December 9.30am - 4pm Up to 50 stalls of vintage loveliness for you & your home £3 on the door / £2 concessions
ourHERITAGE [WHEN THE BEATLES CAME TO BRADFORD] The December night was as cold as anybody could remember and the thick black smoke produced by the coal fires in the textile mills and factories hung in the air; only a fool would be stood out on the frozen, dark, dirty streets of Bradford at that time of year. A crowd of around 3000 people, anxiously queuing outside the famous Gaumont theatre hadn’t seemed to notice. They were about to witness a seminal moment in the History of British music. Two shows were being performed on the 21st of December 1963 at the Gaumont and the musicians that were performing would go on to change the world of popular music forever. The theatre was the largest music venue in the north of England boasting fantastic acoustics, beautiful architecture and packed out audiences. Bradford in 1963 may have been a dark and desolate northern mill city, but it was at the top of the list for every major touring artist in the country. It was the venue that a young rock’n’roll band from Liverpool had chosen to play a special warm up show, before their Christmas spectacular three days later in London. This was the night The Beatles came to Bradford. The 63’ Christmas shows were in fact not the first time the Beatles had played Bradford, or the Gaumont. Eleven months earlier they had been on the stage as total unknowns, playing a four song set in the first date of their debut UK tour. That tour would propel them to stardom and they returned on this cold December evening it was with three number one singles under their belt. “A bit different to when we were last here. We’ve even got a sofa in our dressing room now!” Ringo Starr, Gaumont Theatre, Bradford, 21.12.63 32 St Johns Ambulance members were on duty that night and holiday leave for two thirds of the city’s police force had been cancelled in anticipation of the forthcoming mayhem. The show was a sell-out, with the most expensive ticket costing only 75p. The Beatles headlined a bill packed full of distinguished performers. Supporting that night were The Barron Knights, Tommy Quickly, The Fourmost, Billy J Kramer and the Dakotas, Cilla Black, and Rolf Harris. The Bradford crowd was treated to a selection of chart topping hits such as I wana hold your hand, Money, and Twist and shout. It was Bradford’s turn to become part the spectacular epidemic of beatlemania.
Bradford’s Gaumont Theatre had been hosting sell out performances of everything from opera singers to showreels and movies ever since its grand opening in 1930, but it was its refurbishment in the early 50’s that really put the venue and the city on the musical map. Since then touring artists from all over the world had graced the famous stage. By the winter of 63’ Rock and Roll had well and truly established itself in the region. In the 1950’s the likes of Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran and Cliff Richard had brought the blues sound to Bradford. The sounds of America reverberated around the Pennines and at its epicentre was Bradford, the New Orleans of the North. For the first time the youth of the city, the country and even the world had an identity; rock and roll brought together teenagers from Ohio to West Yorkshire. The urgency and unabashed expressionism of this new type of music became the voice of a disaffected youth. Bradford’s textile industry was still the highest employer of local people at the time but it had now been in decline since the late thirties. Times were changing, as were attitudes. The generational shift could not have been broader and the Gaumont, a building from another time had become the establishment of the new generation. By the time the Beatles came to Bradford this generation was beginning to make noise. JOE PARKINSON
[PATRICK’S ACCOUNT] It was electric, the building was perfect for it, I was around 18-19 years old when I went there. I have very fond memories. We had tickets but we almost couldn’t get in because the crowds were too big. It was an absolutely brilliant venue. The inside was gorgeous. The Beatles and the Gaumont went together as far as I’m concerned. It was a great time, the world was ours, and everybody felt good about it. Young people never had it so good; my generation is the luckiest generation going.
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[favouriteVIEW] THE SUN IS SHINING IN BRADFORD AND IT’S PISSING IT DOWN IN KEIGHLEY. A generous offering of West Yorkshire in 360 view. A distinct vista in every direction. I prefer to look West; perched above Shipley, with the Pennines beyond. What a great spot to see the sun go down. Up the Bradforddale is Manningham Mill, yet another perspective of Bradford’s great landmark. The minaret sat in a green dale provides a grounding of West Yorkshire. Due north lies Ilkley Moor, a significant mass of colour and energy. The evergreen horizon of Otley Chevin. Then there’s Yeadon, to dream of being somewhere exotic. The spire of Horsforth Church locates the view, And you meet the haze of Leeds, buzzing in the distance. A foreground of surburbia; Eccleshill and Wrose, Then you’re back in Bradford. What a fine view. [MR JOHNSTON] “Idle Hill”
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[BRADFORD RAW - JOHN BOLLOTEN] “BRADFORD IS A RICHLY DIVERSE CITY HOME TO AN ESTIMATED ONE HUNDRED DIFFERENT NATIONALITIES. Living in harmony with each other goes beyond notions of race, religion and ethnicity. When we are confronted with the faces of our neighbours, what do we really see? Is it a friend, enemy, or even a threat?” The question is posed by John Bolloten, a photographer living and working in Bradford. His photographs explore issues of identity, representation and impressions. Mr Johnston went to meet John and his close friend Charles (a subject of the exhibition) to chat about his work and their perspectives as Bradfordians. WHERE DID THIS PROJECT COME FROM? I hadn’t taken these kind of photographs before I started this project. When I was invited to put on an exhibition at the University the suggestion of photographing people encouraged me to explore this type of intimate portrait. From there it evolved organically and the brief about neighbours and identities became integral. Raising questions of our own judgements of it’s about recognising that people have been through stuff in their lives and as such recognising people as equals. WHAT SORT OF PEOPLE DOES YOUR EXHIBITION FOCUS ON? AND HOW DID YOU GO ABOUT COMMUNICATING WITH YOUR SUBJECTS? For some people who understand what photography is about its fine, they’re pretty relaxed about it and they make it easy for you. But a lot of the people I had never met before. The ones who were refugees and asylum seekers were more difficult to explain what the project was about, if they don’t speak good English it’s hard to convince them that you’re not trying to make them look stupid or something...For me it was very challenging and quite intense at times talking to people about it. YOUR WORK SEEMS TO FOCUS ON EVERYDAY PEOPLE ON THE STREET. WHAT IS YOUR INTEREST IN THIS STYLE OF PHOTOGRAPHY? Punk had a big influence on my life as a kid. The philosophy of punk always stayed with me: doing stuff yourself, being creative and not following other people, forming your own identity and style, all this DIY kind of stuff.
bratfudOUTLOOK Even though I wasn’t into photography at the time, I was always interested in the aesthetics of punk, with its gritty working class backdrops...I also loved the aesthetic of reggae culture, you know the fading paint of Kingston Jamaica. When I became a photographer this is what I wanted to show. WHAT IS IT THAT MAKES BRADFORD GREAT? I think that we are so fortunate to have this multiculturalism, the people of Bradford are great and the city is very exciting...The new immigrants bring a new energy and this integration is touching us all in small individual ways. And that makes the future of this city a positive one.
THAT’S AN INTERESTING JUXTAPOSITION YOU’VE HIGHLIGHTED THERE BETWEEN LEEDS AND BRADFORD. Absolutely, in some respect the Leeds community gained by being a homogeneous community because there were the things they were able to pull off the ground. The community centres and the carnival are good examples. FOR ME THE THING THAT EPITOMISES BRADFORD IS ITS SOUND FOLK. WHAT IS IT FOR YOU? Ye. And the word sound is the word to use...Cos it really does epitomise what Bradford’s all about. It’s a sound place.
I OPENED THE CONVERATION TO CHARLES. I WAS INTERESTED TO HEAR THE VIEWS OF ONE OF THE SUBJECTS AND ALSO HIS PERSPECTIVE AS A WEST INDIAN BRADFORD LAD. Why do you think John approached you to take your photograph? He said I have a characterful face. So I said no problem. What was your impression of the exhibition? It was brilliant. I know a few of the people in the exhibition and I thought he managed to represent the individuals well. It is about the multiculturalism of the district. It always concerns me that people see Bradford as this mono cultured city. And in fact I was born and brought up here and I went to school with guys of all sorts of backgrounds. So for me that’s what I liked about the exhibition. THE THING THAT INTERESTED ME ABOUT THE EXHIBITION WAS THAT IT MANAGES TO CAPTURE ALL THE DIFFERENT ANGLES OF VARIOUS OUTLOOKS WITHIN THE CITY. I’M INTERESTED TO KNOW YOUR PERSPECTIVE AS A WEST INDIAN BRADFORDIAN, WHERE DO YOU SEE BRADFORD IN A BIGGER PICTURE OF WEST INDIAN CULTURE IN WEST YORKSHIRE? I would have said it stands in a better position than Leeds. Growing up as a young man I was heavily into Jazz. And we used to go to these gigs up and down the country which were known as all-dayers...and we went to a couple of events over in Leeds and we used to have some pretty good arguments with the Leeds guys. Particularly the Leeds guys because for us in Bradford we could go anywhere...For the Leeds guys it was like Chapeltown and that was it. And we couldn’t understand how you could live in a city and just limit yourself to the town centre and Chapeltown. ...We were quite proud of the fact that we were dispersed.
Our discussion of Bradford went on and we shared our stories of Bradford’s image and its integrated society. Charles noted the significance of the Bradford Riots and its impact on the city’s image. This wrapped up our conversation and affirmed our shared understanding of what Bradford was about: C - People will always say about the Bradfordians no matter what your ethnic origin is you will always find somebody in this district who will say “yer reet mate, how ya doin?” regardless...And we are proud Bradfordians. J – You know on Sunday when I left you I went to this Roti house on Manchester Road...I only had a £20 note...and he says I don’t have any change, no problem next time. MJ – That’s brilliant. I’ve had the same experiences. C – That’s Bradford. J – What was interesting was when the EDL came last summer...I was down there, I spent two hours in with the EDL photographing them... when I got kicked out of there by the cops I was with the Asian youth all on the street and they were going up to the police in riot gear and saying: “don’t worry guys we’re not here to fight you today, we’ve come for them bastards.” And when other people were rioting a couple of months ago where was the Bradford riots? C - There’s a lovely story of some of the police officers sat on Nelson Street waiting to go in [the recent EDL march], and an old asian boy came along with a whole pile of samosas and stuff, and fed the cops! That’s the real Bradford.
BRADFORD RAW IS PART OF GALLERY II AND IS IN THE ATRIUM OF BRADFORD UNIVERSITY’S RICHMOND BUILDING. IT IS OPEN TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC THROUGHOUT DECEMBER UNTIL 24 FEBRUARY.
We invite submissions of favourite views along with a 50-150 words paragraph describing what it is about this place that is special and unique. This can be descriptive or poetic.
[It’s a mean old scene] By Dick Stone Listen up ya shower of Bastards: Bradford’s Brilliant. So I poisoned my household this morning. I mistook daffodil bulbs for onions. No permanent liver damage but some convulsions and vomiting due to alkaloid poisoning. No deaths. Being the only carnivore in a house of radicalised vegetarians I find that accidents like this, which can happen all too frequently, keep me chugging along from day to day. It’s at this point I normally make myself scarce and get myself down to the Sparrow for a pint or a whisky or both. The Sparrow bar is perfect for a gentle recovery with its unfinished floors and understated chic as it quietly kicks the shit out of every other Belgian Beer Bar worth mentioning. Ask the Barkeep to wear the crooked hat... he will know what you mean. The poster wall near the entrance is possibly the best alternative tourist information point you are likely to find. Good designs in Bradford too... I’m particularly fond of the No-hands posters; last Friday of every month at the Polish on Edmund St. (the eternal rolling after party) and the “Wilful Missing,” Album Launch poster which I’m sure will be an excellent party on the 3rd at the New Beehive Inn. Last time I was in the Polish Club we arrived for the after party in a drunken parade with the Horn Dog Brass Band in tow. We were on our way back from the Inflagrante Festival brandishing burning torches looking very much like we were going to crucify Frankenstein. We’d narrowly avoided being stopped by the police (They seemed to accept our lie that this was a council sponsored lynching party) and so we gathered outside chanting: “Were burning down the polish club!” to the frightened faces of alternative youths pressed up against the steamy windows. The`gig was heaving with The Abbots aptly chosen Bands such as the amazingly talented Guitar Orchestra. Later we shook to the dark forces of the 20 piece Drum Machine Ensemble sourced by Miss Musgrave. The uncrowned princes of Bradford with their crew of misfit DJ’s were also cranking it up and up and up and up. Thankfully a friend spiked my drink soon after. I remember leading the whole crew off to the after-after party across town in the cellar of the Beehive before it got really messy. The Nohands scene has played host to the “Ways of Looking” international
photography festival after party and two turner prize winners. Galleries are not boring places, they are dens of holy iniquity with a good makeover. You get to see behind the scenes if you can find the after parties. They have a crusty cliquey surface with a jammy centre of unconditional love underneath. Turn up to the previews; just watch out for the swingers. Another poster reminds me that Gallery II has recently launched ‘Memory Theatre’ which is an accessible, interactive series of installations where anyone can add to the work in a variety of ways. It’s innovative as it plays with imagined/remembered spaces, frames and thresholds like a master semiotician yet unlike Duchamp there is an invitation into the frame, you are invited to step across the threshold and onto the stage. There is a lot of intriguing psychology and shamanism operating in that particular space. I recommend you cross the threshold and ask for Bob. It’s in the Bradford University not far from the Treehouse Cafe. This month as part of the project you are invited to come along to the gallery and help make 1000 gnomes to send out across the globe. It has been planned that the little buggers will make 12,000 journeys across the globe in an absurd chain letter project alongside an exquisite wish tree installation coordinated by an artist I know only as Yan. The Abbot (Andy) has been pushing some beautiful experimental musical adventures in the basement of the Treehouse Cafe of an evening as have others, like Seth, who cornered a coup by squeezing their mate Mary Hampton’s very special chamber music folk and 50 listeners into a room the size of my bedsit. Last time I saw her I was at Houghton Hall sitting at the same table King James named a steak Sir Loin speeding my tits off. Oh what a marvellous thing to be; a petit, petit, petit, petit, petit bourgeoisie! The Delius Arts Centre has just had its launch. An understated centre and the last great hope whilst the playhouse (may she rest in peace) is closed for community arts activity. A good rehearsal space, the church lends itself to the dramatic. The lack of event lighting and carpeted floors dictate the events but the Artworks team are determined to see the place gently open its doors to artists and
people&ART makers. I’m dragging burning coffee down my gullet and forcing some kind of kick start into my head as I write this... whisky. The gent sitting across from me doesn’t appreciate me reading aloud as I type. God damn bastard won’t see me coming next time. They wouldn’t laugh at my stories of failed micro genocide in 1 in 12. God damn hippy vegans deserve all they get... not that I’m singling out Vegans, I mean some of my best friends are Vegans, and I definitely would piss on them if they were on fire but Jesus they are so fucking right on n’ holier than thou with their born again atheism and anarchic anti politic. They have a wicked club and do the best punk alternative scene I have ever come across. An internationally famous stage at the 1 in 12 down Albion Street; PJ Harvey was turned down because she enjoys a bit of blood sports. Me too; I’ve been thinking of new types of Alternative Urban blood sports recently... like grey squirrel baiting... could do it with a very small cage and a lot of pissed off squirrels. I hear of plans to release a lorry load of cats into Centenary Square. About 5000 captured street cats, some rock salt and a sawn off shot gun should do it. This Christmas I want to achieve my dream and get a sled pulled by ferrets, about 30 angry ferrets, and go hunting for small yappy type pets. Like a deranged Santa Claus dressed with the frozen carcases of Yorkshire terriers to hand out to naughty children at the Christmas Market. Yeah 1 in 12, do great music, great food on a Saturday and have the cheapest bar this side of the eighties; they even do Buckfast on Tap. To help me deal with this scene I have created a cocktail I call the fucked-fast that demands 4 shots of cheap whiskey, 150 ml of Buckfast and Tabasco sauce to taste. Why does the best art grow on the edge of a shithole? Artistic urban permaculture: New cultural movements and scenes grow like mould. The bread makers see it as poison and disinfect it with their bleach and scrub it with their by-proxy obsessive top down structures. I prefer to see these cultures as medicines or at least a fine drug. They inoculate and recycle the worn out structures of humanity purging in an alchemic process that turns the dross to nectar. New cultural movements raise our expectations showing
us visions that allow us to take flight. Be careful though, if you get too high you’ll jump off a building, you’ll burn your wings or turn into an orange and peel yourself. Fuck that: we were born to die and I celebrate that big burn right here right now. Glow bright and fly high cause when a million years shall come to pass what does it matter if we live long or die young? Here’s the clincher... if we didn’t try to manage our creatives or hem them in or silo them or try to define them then I firmly believe they would self regulate. Definitions and measurements are empirical. We do the same to the arts as we do to our farming. Eradicate variety, find strong breeds with high yields and promote those to the exclusion of all else. I’m fed up of waxing granny smiths tits; it strictures our cultural evolution. Another group of no good outlaws into sustainable artistic permaculture are a bunch of egotistical luvvy scum known simply as the Art Farmers. They can be found on facetwit and at the Beehive or the Sparrow on occasional Wednesdays. Just ask about and you’ll run into them or one of their posters eventually; a ground up movement for the arts, music, theatre and dance that rests heavily upon the party scene. They will be installing for the Omar Souleyman Gig at the University on the 10th December. Be there.
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[PLUGGING INTO THE BRADFORD GRID] The Bradford Grid Photography Project is a long-term survey of the city and its surroundings. Each month a group of ten photographers randomly pull a map square from a hat, quite literally, and then set off, either collectively or in their own time, to respond to that area. At current estimates, it will take twelve years to cover the whole Bradford Metropolitan District. I interviewed Charlie Meecham, the group's co-ordinator, and Simon Ford, in November 2011. I began my interview with the perceived stigma of Bradford, as The Grid website describes the default image of the city as 'not a progressive one', with 'dilapidated buildings from its industrial past', its 'close proximity to Leeds' and its 'past history of "missing the boat" with regard to European funding.' Simon Ford takes up this question in order to nuance it: 'Bradford has a stigma, but it also has a set of stereotypes attached to it. We had a comment from someone recently, on a flying visit from London to Bradford, who asked, "where are all the people in Bradford Grid images, where is the cultural diversity, and where was our celebration of that?" And I felt that she was looking for a stereotypical view of Bradford, which is not part of the Bradford Grid Project at all. We are in search of something real in Bradford. We deal with it as a post-industrial city among many others in the UK, and one of the difficulties is, how does one represent post-industrial cities without using irony or stereotypes, without focussing on the stigmas, while admitting there are problems, but also possibilities as well? This calls for a diversity of approaches, which is exactly what we’ve got with our ten photographers. There is a place for conventional documentary as there is for something more conceptual - to tell the whole story, to break through the nostalgia and sentimentality, which is always attached to the post-industrial city.'
This ‘diversity of representational approaches’ - rather than a clichéd representation of diversity - is strongly evident in the bodies of work The Bradford Grid Project has already produced. For instance, Simon Ford recently used images from Bradford working men's clubs, but took them out of their status as straightforward documents, forcing us to peer into a pre-constructed and walled world, something which served as a starting point for bigger questions about places which are familiar to us, and even bigger questions about what it means to ‘know’ them in the first place. The Grid practitioners use quite complex problems as stepping-off points for new work, and they
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constantly question their own place in the city. Charlie Meecham takes up this question: 'What right do we have to make comment on what there is? How do you define your own position in a society or culture, when there are all these forces in play? I suppose from my point of view, being born in a little village in Oxfordshire, I had a very strong sense of place. But then you start wandering around in Bradford, where people are fighting their corner, because there hasn't really been that level playing field, and you can see the asian community, and perhaps what one might have traditionally thought of as “the indigenous”, and they're used to being part of something which is associated with a previous industrial model, which doesn't exist now. Just simply because I'm there, looking at all, the fact that you are there places you in a very privileged position. As security issues are used as an excuse to control people more, it gets harder to say it's "our place". You know, alright, "I'm British" or whatever, "I come from England, I live in West Yorkshire, and I work in Bradford, and I take photographs pottering about the streets in the north of England..." as you break it down into smaller and more specific areas, do you have a role that others could possibly understand, if you're walking around with a camera, at this present time? It's an odd one, really...'
people&ART
Simon Ford takes up the argument again at this point, moving away from the lone individual with a camera, to add a sense of freedom to Charlie’s thoughtful reservations about legitimacy. Ford sees the collective nature of the project as not only more flexible, in terms of practice, but as a political act, in terms of 'being truthful’, or providing ‘something which has a semblance of truth.' The relative independence the group brings is crucial to this, as he explains: 'We're not attached to an institution in The Grid, so we get free rein, because most of us are attached to some kind of institution in our day jobs, and being part of that collaborative thing, we can work in a variety of different ways. There's often an institutional line on a particular way of working, or a gallery has a particular form that they're interested in. Not here.'
I ask Charlie and Simon if they feel aligned to a tradition, and both reply that they do, but that it is multiple and opened-out, and that the collaborative group is very much the current cultural form, as far as they are concerned. Charlie gave a talk at The Cornerhouse recently, in Manchester, where those in attendance were very keen on collaboration as a future form of practice, and crucially, The Bradford Grid practitioners see visual representation as one possible source of renewal in the city. They cite the UNESCO City of Film status, the National Media Museum and Impressions Gallery, suggesting that ‘a cultural re-awakening seems possible.' For further information, and a selection of visual work and writing, go to: www.bradfordgrid.co.uk
STEVE HANSON
[RUMINATIONS] What do you mean? City of wool. City of spice. City of smog and broken promises. There are times when I leave you full of bitterness; images of the feet-dragging penniless; chipboard where there was once gilded frames and stained glass. Other times I leave, strangely thrilled, intoxicated by the mysterious cupboard-back gloom; the gleam of sprinkled treasure glittering amongst an unfurling landscape. To define you seems futile. Perhaps carelessly, the impersonal boroughs of other cities seem almost monosyllabically definable. But you are a private enigma; with your cobwebs of explored streets draped across hospitable hills. I remember when I left you, arrogantly compared you to a
carcass; a shell of elapsed grandeur. You were barely functional and others like me were misplaced by temperament. And still, a persistent memory remains of the sprawl beneath Kings Road and the mountain of Carr Lane that feels through the valley with soot smeared chimneys. A memory of awkward stone and cobbles stretching out into streets, snickets, bridleways and towpaths and perishing into woodland trails and beaten highroad tracks. You cling to the consciousness, teasing it for meaning; something holistic. Yet you’re so quiet. Almost aloof. Or are you just struggling, balloonmouthed, to hold back your secrets?
BENJAMIN DALBY
[THINGS TO GET INVOLVED IN]
PAINTING WITH LIGHT - Participatory photography project on Ilkley Moor Wednesday 7th December 7pm - 9pm, meet @ the Cow & Calf rocks carpark...very intrigue ing. MEMORY THEATRE Gallery II becomes a portal into other worlds and spaces... Showing until 24 February 2012 @ Gallery II & beyond [STEP IN STEP OUT] Responding to the church space this exhibition explores space and light through multi-media installations Throughout December @ Delius Arts & Community Centre For a more comprehensive guide to what’s on go to fabricculture.co.uk
[theatre&PERFORMANCE]
[foreWORD]
"ALL THE TOWN’S A STAGE” WROTE JB PRIESTLEY OF BRADFORD IN 1937. At the time, this was true. Back then Bradford boasted its own west end, with no less than four other theatres standing within a hundred metres of the Alhambra and at least three more within the city centre. Today of course, with the recent liquidation of the Bradford Playhouse, and the confirmation that the Odeon building is to be demolished rather than restored, those eight Bradfordian theatres are reduced to just two. The Alhambra, and the relatively young Theatre in the Mill at Bradford University. But it wasn't just the theatres that Priestley was referencing. At the time he was writing, Bradford boasted over seven hundred theatre companies. A figure that is almost beyond belief. I severely doubt that even London, well over ten times the size of the entire Bradford district, could ever have boasted as many. Again, with the passing of time, the number of theatre companies resident in Bradford has dwindled to perhaps 25 at most. So what happened? Where did the Theatrical spirit of Bradford go? There are many reasons, both local and national, social and economic, too many to fully cover here. However the end of industrialization and the break-up of the local community is one of the most important. The Impressions gallery recently held an impressive exhibition of old photographs of Bradford and its people. What was most striking were the images of social gatherings. Hundreds and hundreds of people, factory workers and their employers all, attending a concert, a picnic or the theatre. With such solidarity in the city it should come as no surprise to learn that both the trade union movement and then the Labour party were both born in Bradford. And it is from this solidarity that so many local theatre companies sprang. Art and theatre in particular, complemented the working lives of all. None were excluded. Anyone in Bradford who wished to had the opportunity of getting on stage, or of writing a play and seeing it performed. If there was any way to truly become an artist, this was it. The late Audrey Sykes who grew up in this environment was one of the finest actresses in the country, drawing comparisons with Dame Judi Dench and Dame Maggie Smith among others. She had many offers from London to go to the West End or even into the movies. She refused them all and continued to perform in the unpaid roles on the little stage of the Bradford Playhouse right up until her death. She was proud of her status as an amateur. She acted for the love of acting, not for money or fame. Today, these opportunities for all to be part of a greater whole in theatre have been lost. A distinction has been drawn between amateur and professional theatre. Amateur companies struggle to survive. Very few professional companies can get by without public subsidy of some sort. If you wish to get on stage local opportunities are now limited and attract small audiences, consequently we have the X Factor and
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Britain’s got Talent, where people throw themselves at the stage looking for fame and finding only ridicule because they can only practice in the mirror rather than getting involved with their local drama society and creating something of worth for their community. It is said that when Morecambe and Wise came to the Alhambra in the sixties, they looked outside and saw people queuing round the block for the Beatles at the Odeon. They knew that their era of theatre was over. Although this is true of the whole country it feels particularly acute here in Bradford which, it seems to me, has one of the richest theatrical histories of anywhere in Britain, including London and Stratford. But the world has moved on. Who needs theatre really when you have X factor and Jeremy Kyle? To answer I must return to Bradford’s great playwright. JB Priestley told us why theatre matters back in 1937. Today, as we face yet more economic uncertainty in a city that has suffered more than its fair share of economic woe, Priestley’s words are more relevant than ever.[I am addressing myself to] “readers who may possibly not care two-pence if every playhouse in the country should close tomorrow. The point is, that in communities that have suffered the most from industrial depression, among younger people who frequently cannot see what is to become of their jobs and their lives, these theatres have opened little windows into a world of ideas, colour, fine movement, exquisite drama, have kept going a stir of thought and imagination for actors, helpers, audiences, have acted as outposts for the army of the citizens of tomorrow, demanding to live, though they should possibly have less food on the table and shabbier clothes on their backs, a life at once more ardent and more thoughtful than their fathers and mothers ever knew.” (English Journey, 1937) We’ve just lost a Theatre in Bradford. Let’s get out and support those that are left. And not just the Theatres, but the Galleries, the Museums. And let’s get involved with them. Art is and always should be by and for the people. An accompaniment to everyone’s life, not the preserve of the rich and famous or subsidised. I believe Bradford still has that great theatrical spirit. It’s not gone away, it’s just been obscured. When Priestley says - “All the town’s a stage.” I believe him, even seventy years on. Peter E. Huntley is a Director, Writer, Actor and Teacher, former Programmer at the Bradford Playhouse, Local Arts Historian and Casting Co-ordinator at the West Yorkshire Theatre Network.
[EVENTS] LYRICAL MOVEMENTS: A MANIPURI PERFORMANCE & A TOUCH OF TAGORE FILM SCREENIING @ KALA SANGAM_ FRI 9TH DEC STIG OF THE DUMP @ MIND THE GAP STUDIOS_ FRI 9TH DEC For a more comprehensive guide to cultural events in the district visit fabricculture.co.uk
theatre&PERFORMANCE PANTO WITHOUT BILLY PEARCE IS LIKE TURKEY WITHOUT THE STUFFING. If there is one thing you are sure to see at Christmas time in Bradford it is the broad smile of the local legend plastered across the front of the Alhambra. Bradfordians love him and we could think of no better person to interview for our first issue. Rehearsals had not yet started when I spoke to him but he was nevertheless working hard. Luckily he agreed to put the vacuuming on hold for a while to share his thoughts on Bradford. YOU’RE BACK IN BRADFORD FOR THE PANTO, AM I RIGHT IN THINKING THAT THIS IS YOUR 13TH TIME? I think so, is that a bad sign do you think? I keep coming back, it’s not because I’m good, it’s because I’m cheap. YOU MUST ENJOY IT HERE, HAVE YOU BUILT UP A STRONG AFFECTION FOR THE PEOPLE OF BRADFORD OVER THE YEARS? Yes, of course I have, without a doubt…it’s become part of my life really and I’ve got to know a lot of names and faces. I get involved a little bit with what’s going on in Bradford and I’ve always felt at home here really. I am a Yorkshire man, bread and buttered. I know I’ve lost my accent since I went posh, but I’m proud of being from Yorkshire, and I’m proud to be associated with Bradford as well…I think it’s a very spirited place and I stick up for it. ABSOLUTELY, WHAT DO YOU THINK THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE ALHAMBRA THEATRE IS FOR BRADFORD? I’m obviously proud to be associated with the place…I feel at home going there. It’s a new adventure every year and I’m right proud that they keep asking me back. The theatre itself is a beautiful theatre and I think they do a good job of running the place and keeping bums on seats, which is what it’s all about. WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT DOING PANTOMIME IN BRADFORD? First and foremost it’s being part of a team... All the staff are lovely… Adam Renton (The Theatre Manager) is brilliant…My son’s in it and so is my wife, it’s a family thing and I wouldn’t be able to do that anywhere else…100,000 people went to see that pantomime last year in seven and a half weeks, it’s mind blowing really and when I’m just in ASDA or the White Rose centre there are people smiling at me, which is great. I come out better in life for it. HOW DO YOU KEEP YOUR ENERGY LEVELS UP FOR THE BEST PART OF TWO MONTHS? I love it, and if you love something it’s not work. And when it is hard work I lose a stone and a half, which I need to do by the way. It is physical and some parts can be easier to play than others, it just depends how it pans out. This one looks like it may be fairly physical; there are a couple of sword fights and things like that. WHAT OTHER PROJECTS DO YOU HAVE LINED UP? ARE YOU DOING YOUR ONE MAN SHOW IN BLACKPOOL AGAIN? They have asked me back which is fantastic. Last year it broke box office records. It was a right good do and I was delighted with it… it was great to look out and see a big queue of people outside. I’m not on
telly; I haven’t done any of that reality TV, or anything like that. I’m just a working act and fortunately people like what I do. WOULD YOU EVER CONSIDER GOING ON A REALITY TV SHOW? Yes, absolutely. In fact I should have done. They rang me a few weeks go to do ‘Come Dine with Me’, which would have been fantastic publicity but I couldn’t do it... If they wanted me to do something like ‘I’m a Celebrity’ yes of course I would have to do it… TELL US A JOKE. I got stopped by the police the other night, two o’clock in the morning. They said ‘where are you going at this time of night?’ I said ‘I’m going to a lecture on how alcohol, smoking and staying out most nights of the week affect the human body. He said ‘who’s gonna be giving you that lecture at two in the morning?’ I said ‘my wife.’ You mentioned how much you get on with everyone and how it’s very much a team effort. Has anyone ever upset the applecart? One bloke who I worked with, I won’t mention his name but he played Captain Hook. Right from day one, he hated being in the north, he hated the architecture of the buildings, he hated the accents, and he hated children…He was next door to me for two months, did my head in. What a bloody misery he was. ANY FINAL WORDS? Everybody who I’ve done pantomime with in Bradford, they want to come back. I don’t know anybody, apart from Captain Hook who wouldn’t want to come back to Bradford. Everybody who is in it this year can’t wait to come. I’ve worked with people who have gone on to do somewhere else and they’ve been texting me, ‘I wish I was coming back to Bradford’. It’s testament to Bradford and to the Alhambra that people love it so much. It all comes from the top down and credit where credits due Adam Renton does a great job of running that place, he’s not only a boss but he is a friend. INTEVIEW BY HAIGH SIMPSON
[foreWORD] Hello all. I am the editor of this section. My name is Jane Steele and I’m a Bradford-based writer, actress and spoken word performer. I can’t stand narrow-mindedness, any manner of whelk, mussel or cockle, or over-miked sibilants (that’s the S’s and T’s mainly) in TV adverts. I love love. Ultimately, don’t we all? I also love Bradford, among many other things, which is what I’m doing here and why I’m working on this magazine. Poetry is but part of what I do now, and this surprises me. For years and years I was a real inverted snob when it came to poetry. Whenever I went to a gig or festival and there was a poet on I’d think three main things: 1. Who’s this wanker speaking a half-finished song? 2. Where’s my guitars? and 3. Why hasn’t my E kicked in yet? (Not the poet’s fault, but you get the picture). A few years down the line I realised I’d lost sight of my own poetic roots and traditions, whether Anglo-Saxon, Celtic or that of the griot, a nomadic class of poetmusicians resident in West Africa whose descendants emerged in Trinidad as the calypsonians. The reason I’m saying all this is: if you secretly yearn to write, do it. To be creative is everyone’s delight, not a certain group’s privilege. if you would like to send us something for us to look at including in future issues, that would be great. There is a pool of talent as deep as the River Nile here in this beautiful-yet-misrepresented city; we want to help you literary lotus flowers emerge from it. We would also love to hear from more practiced and confident writers, in fact, anyone who wants to send in a contribution. Please send it/them to me at jane@howdomagazine.co.uk. No malicious Jedward lyrics, please. Poems.
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“STRAIGHT OUTTA WAKEFIELD” by Jane Steele Straight outta Wakefield, West Yorks UK M1, London far away:I’ve got a handbag square and firm I’ve got a tight round snow-white perm My front lawn’s like a dark green hankie All my grandkids look like Jimmy Krankie I go shopping with my trolley on wheels And stuff it to the brim with value meals. Come into my house, it’s like a museum Dust particles, you never see ‘em I clean every day with a big yellow duster ‘Til I get that Mr Sheen lustre. I like my Yorkshire Tea and my Custard Creams Margaret Thatcher’s the woman of my dreams. I moan about my daughter, I moan about my son I moan about the weather and I moan about my bum I moan about the TV and the Council Tax I moan about the Asians and I moan about the Blacks. My friends are all dying and it makes me sad I watch the news and I get right mad I sometimes write to the papers I smell like camphor vapours I’m straight outta Wakefield..... ..... Straight outta Wakefield I’m from Sandal I’m sixty five and I ain’t no vandal Big posh houses, shrivelled souls Golf and car keys chucked in bowls Nouveau-riche, drive a Beemer In my Marks and Spencer’s pashmina I’ve got three sons, they all went to QEGS I do Pilates so I’ve got great legs My husband’s about to retire from his job I’d leave him if I wasn’t such a raging snob Can’t stand slumming it, living on my own Can’t go back there, don’t wanna be alone He’s a boring git but he’s Social Security Buys me clothes, buys me Botox Bank account bulging just like Fort Knox Rich. Kind. Rubbish in bed. Two out of three - it’s taken as read Cos it’s him that’s paying.
spokenWORD I ain’t straying. I’m straight outta Wakefield..... ..... Straight outta Wakefield My name’s Tracy In the bedroom, very racy Six kids by five different men Pop pop pop like eggs off a hen. I look scruffy but my kids are neat I eat Greggs pasties in the middle of the street Then I chuck the wrapper straight down on the ground No clean pavements when I’m around. I’ve got soul, I’ve got class I’ve got pink tracky bottoms and a big fat ass I love my mam and dad and I can’t live without ‘em Babysitting skills are the best thing about ’em Out with my mates on a Saturday night Orange fake tan so I don’t look white Pints of lager, curry and chips Little short skirt and blow-job lips Queen of the dancefloor, pulling all the men Two o’clock chimes and I’m home again Sunday morning and I’m not too happy Hung over, changing nappies I love my kids to bits I’ve got stretch marks on my tits I’m straight outta Wakefield.
“RETURN TO BRADFORD” by Sue Vickerman to my new city centre flat. Mother’s gift of one-cup teabags. Letterbox with no name on. Trains pull in alone at the terminus while mail-vans back out of the sorting office. My outlook is onto ex-mills and fly-tipping, the weather of my Heimat soaking into a settee, its stomach lolling out yellow. Yellow-grey rain sluices human blood-spots from the cobbles. That single leafless tree will never dapple anyone not like those lindens did, not like the summer of our pavement table at the Café Dezember, balcony candle-lit, jazz floating out of a skylight thrown open, a mongrel in a bike basket, sunflowers in plant-pots, the sandaled Buddhist, red roses you bought me from a dark-eyed vendor, the daisy on your hat, how you held your cigarette, clinked my glass, fished in your ancient satchel to drop change in the bucket of a blind saxophonist; that play-park opposite where twins dug in a sandpit, us telling each other that’s what we wanted but these wastelands are already growing on me, this level of neglect that's so foreign.
[EVENTS]
William Radice: Prose and poetry: why was Tagore attracted to both? Fri 16th 7.30 - 9.00pm Kala Sangam, St Peter’s House, Forster Square, Bradford Tickets FREE but booking advised from: drwilliamradice.eventbrite.co.uk Beehive Poets, Bradford - Mon 5th December & every Monday @ 8.30 p.m The New Beehive, Westgate, Bradford www.beehivepoets.org. Wicked Words, Leeds - Wed 7th & the first Wednesday of every month 7Arts, Chapel Allerton www.sevenleeds.co.uk. Fictions of Every Kind, Leeds - Mon 5th December and the first Monday of every other month. Where: The Victoria Pub, Great George Street, Leeds www.facebook.com then search “fictions of every kind”. It says they’re in Leeds, Alabama , but they’re not.
[colourWRITING] The hands point to 11:24; they have done so for as long as anyone can remember. The insipid structure is a fitting monument to a town that time forgot. Dreary concrete structures flank the tower on either side, the sea of grey interrupted only by the shop fronts below. Bargain food stores, charity shops and bakeries dominate the square. The stench of rejection is subtle, yet emanates around this barren amphitheatre like a mocking stain. Nobody is in a rush yet everyone seems impatient. A man staggers from boozer to bookmaker, it’s hard to determine his age but the burst vessels in his nose suggest the alcohol has taken its toll. His path is blocked by a shouting youth, “Deano, Deano”. “Wot?” snarls Deano from across the road. “Ger over ere dick ed”. “Shur up will yer, I am doin, jus’ nee’er pick up some cigs innit”. “f’ fuck sake, urry up then”. Outside the off-license a teenage pram-pusher pauses to tie another bag to her burdened chariot. She wears the uniform of her compatriots, pink joggers and brown furry boots. An elderly couple share disapproving glances on a nearby bench. Behind them the market is empty. It is not open on Thursdays. The folded tables add to the sense of desolation in this town where aspiration packed up and went home a long time ago. Not surprisingly then the local Weatherspoon’s is doing a good trade. Several drinkers huddle in the doorway puffing on roll-ups. One of them flicks the remains at a passing pigeon. Pigeons, like pubescent parents and pensioners are everywhere, subsequently the place is literally full of shit. On the pavements, the roofs and down the side of the buses it is everywhere. Glum faces peer through the stained perspex on the 612 thankful no doubt that this is not their stop. A row of people shuffle onboard clutching their passes and the bus departs, revealing behind it a behemoth of a woman occupying the doorframe of Home Bargains. A real leviathan, 30 stone at least. She has wings the pigeons would envy, puffed up purple ankles that bulge from her shoes like raw black pudding and bright red cheeks that almost meet in the middle. A pair of dumpling-like children wobble out behind her like tweedle dee and tweedle dum. “Get a bloody move on you two” she roars.
HAIGH SIMPSON
Bradford is an incredible city; it is alive, replete with colours, sounds, sights and smells. Take the time to take in your surroundings.. Go somewhere you have never been before, somewhere that would fascinate you. Go somewhere completely normal. It does not matter as long you bring the place alive with words, we want you to capture the atmosphere of the city in a 400 word fly-onthe-wall piece of creative writing. The best entry will be published here each month. Here is my attempt, I hope you enjoy it and it gives you an idea of what we are looking for. Please send your articles to haigh@howdomagazine. co.uk Get writing!
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theARTIST THE ART THAT FILLS THESE PAGES IS ALL THE WORK OF OUR ARTISTIC DIRECTOR JAMES KEMP, OR TO USE HIS STAGE NAME, RUSSELL KREMP. Each month he will select a different artist to feature as guest to supply the artworks. I wanted to find out what inspires him and why. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE WHAT YOU DO? That’s a hard one. Surreal, abstract, playful, slightly sinister, doodley WHAT STARTED YOU DRAWING? I’ve always drawn since I can remember really. Whenever I was bored my mum would give me a pencil and tell me to draw. I stopped in my teens and only really drew in art classes, I became disillusioned with how art was being taught at school even though I had some great teachers. I then started drawing again at university in my own spare time where I wasn’t constrained by having to explain what I was drawing and why. I stumbled across a website called Presstube that had lots of animated doodles. This got me thinking again. WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR INSPIRATION FROM? My own imagination. WHAT GOES ON IN YOUR HEAD? IT MUST BE FAIRLY FUCKED UP? I guess I shouldn’t have watched all those David Lynch films and crap horror movies when I was 9. HOW HAS YOUR ART EVOLVED OVER TIME? I have always enjoyed surreal and abstract art and those influences are evident in the way I work and in how my images look. Around 2004/5, Illustration underwent a renaissance and hand drawn styles began appearing everywhere, in all forms of media from film to adverts to ‘street art’. This had a real influence on me to kick start my drawing again as I noticed lots more handmade art around instead of all the boring, generic, computer artwork. WHEN DO YOU DO MOST OF YOUR WORK? Sporadically. Like most people who require a creative outlet, they will always say that they can and should do more. I would love to say I get out and draw in the dales or on the bus or in a café while watching people but no, I sit in room and draw at night. ARE YOU A RECLUSE? No. The imagination can be rather limiting and repetitive at times if you don’t fuel it with new and different experiences.
[RUSSELL KREMP’S SAY CHECK THIS OUT!]
WHO ARE YOUR FAVOURITE ARTISTS? Egon Schiele, Kandinsky, Miro, Blu, JR, Hans Bellmer, Edward Burtynsky, Presstube, Dr Seuss YOU MENTION DR SEUSS, WOULD YOU SAY YOU ARE A CHILD AT HEART? I am quite childish. The greatest creations for children are also loved by adults. I recently bought my nephew a load of Dr Seuss books for Christmas just so I can re-read them again. WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN ART? Collaborations and working big. This is the next stage for me. Get more involved, work outdoors on anything with mixed media, and to create something impressive. Something that makes people smile and go ‘fucking hell, that’s ace’, I’m not sure there’s a great deal of that about. WHAT DO YOU DISLIKE IN ART? People who find their style and just repeat it without developing it or letting it evolve. It’s something I’ve grappled with for a while. People are too scared to experiment and try new things. WHAT IS THE BEST THING ABOUT BRADFORD? Its heritage and its potential. And I guess most of the people, some of the funniest around. INTERVIEW BY HAIGH SIMPSON
SELF PORTRAIT, 2009
[J.R] Creating gigantic photographs and exhibiting them in Rio’s favelas, Kenya’s Kibera and along the River Seine in Central Paris. I could look at these all days_ www.jr-art.net [JOHN CASEY] Wonderfully surreal and beautifully grotesque character illustration_ www.bu nnywax.com/index.html [BLU] The master of ‘street art’ (even if you hate that term, don’t hold it against him). Look out for his stop motion graffiti films!_ www.blublu.org/
localLEGEND LEGENDARY BRADFORD FOLK/COMEDY PERFORMER/ MUSICIAN CHRIS SMITH TELLS HOWDO’S GEORGE QUINN ABOUT THE BIRTH OF CAPTAIN HOTKNIVES, THIS YEAR’S BEATHERDER FESTIVAL, AND HIS FAVOURITE CRIMBO TUNE. HOW ARE YOU FEELING CHRIS? I feel a bit like a Brian Wilson or a Sid Barrett type figure but in reverse. Instead of success, music and then breakdown it seems like it’s been Trauma first, then music, minus the success. OK, SO WHERE WAS THE IDEA OF CAPTAIN HOTKNIVES BORN? Years ago, when I was living off the dole I met this girl called Rachael and we would busk together, one of us at each end of the same street. That’s were I first started to make up silly songs like ‘Cakey Pig’, so I guess that’s where it started. I could always make songs up ‘off the cuff’ and when I was a bass player in an indie band. I was the one who seemed to always get people laughing, whether it be at a house party, or in the van on a long journey home. A lot of the songs came from being skint and from the bad times really, when the need for self entertainment is high. WHAT IS THE WEIRDEST SHOW CAPTAIN HOTKNIVES HAS PLAYED RECENTLY? As you can probably imagine there has been many strange gigs for Captain Hotkives, but a recent one was a memorial/tribute for a friend of mine called Dave, who unfortunately died. He was a Mandolin player in a band called The Whisky Bastards. The gig was in a squatted church in Hume, Manchester. It was such a deep heavy gig. It showed a different side to what music is about. Instead of playing for trivial entertainment, I was playing the favourites of a beautiful man who inspired and buzzed up so many people. R.I.P Dave Bookworm, love you always. YOU PLAYED AT BEATHERDER THIS YEAR, HOW WAS THAT? The festival was and is always great, but the gig itself was actually a bit scary. There were so many people in the tent, it was completely packed to the rafters. It’s insane to think that so many people know the lyrics ‘I Skanked Mi Nana’ or ‘Shabbymuffin’, and they know them from gigs, not the radio or the telly. My friend dressed up as Jimmy Saville and introduced me as a Jim’ll Fix It ‘victim’. WHAT MUSIC ARE YOU LISTENING TO AT THE MOMENT?
Photo by © d.payne: www.dannypaynephotography.com/
At the moment I’m listening mainly to a lot of really old stuff, new music doesn’t seem to jump out at me as much these days. Yeah, just old blues records and stuff like that. I really like my open tunings and my guitar slide when I’m just playing to myself. I’ve been sat there with my bass too, listening and playing along to Willie Dixon tunes, getting that really simple tight sort of blues groove on it. A lot of soul too, I’m into that. DO YOU HAVE ANY MUSICAL SIDE PROJECTS AT THE MOMENT THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE WITH US? I’ve been playing in a band called Dooks. I met a girl a while back and I ended up playing a song in her set at Beathearder. Afterwards we were sat around getting mashed and we said ‘why don’t we form a band’? Normally after a conversation like that nothing ever happens, but we actually did. We got together with two of the guys out of Eddie & The Earthquakes, we’ve been writing a few tunes, but it’s still early days. WHAT IS THE MUSIC WITH DOOKS GOING TO BE LIKE? It’s actually turning out quite heavy rock; some of the tunes are pretty vicious. It seems a bit like patty Smith and Led Zeppelin. It’s simple rock and roll, not the twiddley stuff and it has a punk edge. WHEN ARE YOU NEXT DOING A LOCAL HOTKNIVES SHOW? My next show in Bradford is supporting an old punk band called Leather face at the 1 in 12 that’s on the 2 of December. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE CHRISTMAS SONG? (IF ANY CHRISTMAS SONG CAN BE FAVOURED)? There is only one answer to that and that is ‘The fairytale of New York’ by The Pogues. It’s the only one that isn’t about Santa or Jesus. It’s about a guy getting pissed up, blowing all his money and getting locked up. It’s probably a more true view of Christmas really, booze and the debt, a cracking song though. I don’t really deal with the red red robin bobbin along. In fact I’d love to write an evil Christmas song. You can follow Captain Hotknives on Facebook and buy his entire catalogue at www.captainhotknives.bigcartel.com INTERVIEW BY GEORGE QUINN
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[A SOUNDBITE GUIDE TO WHAT’S GOING ON IN DECEMBER]
SUN 4TH_ MON 5TH
LIVE JAZZ WITH THE WATERMELON MEN @ City Vaults, Bradford THE UNTHANKS @ Picture House, Hebdon Bridge DEATH IN VEGAS @ The Cockpit, Leeds TOPIC FOLK CLUB Miranda Sykes & Rex Preston @ The Irish Centre MASHUP; Live Music, Visuals, Beats & Breaks til 3am @ Balanga Bar OMAR SOULEYMAN + The Family Elan at Bradford University Amp Bar JUSTIN SULLIVAN & DEAN WHITE (NEW MODEL ARMY) @ The Mill, Preston Street
THU 08_ FRI 9th_ SAT 10th_
SUBDUB FT. IRATION STEPPAS @ Vox Warehouse, Leeds
THU 15th_ FRI 16th_
TOPIC FOLK CLUB Duncan McFarlane with Anne Brivonese @ Irish Centre SOMETHIN’ ELSE @ Bradford Irish Centre RANDOM HAND, CRAZY ARM + SOME @ 1 in 12 THE ROBERT SUDALL TRIO [intimate jazz] @ South Square Arts Centre ALT TRACK + Lumistories @ 1 in 12 ST.SOMEBODY & Oddbeat & Station Lane @ Bradford Rios THAT FUCKING TANK @ Puzzle Hall Inn, Sowerby Bridge
SAT 17th_
THURS 22_
THU 29th_ FRI 30th_
TOPIC FOLK CLUB with special guests The Holbeck Mummers @ Irish Centre
TOPIC FOLK CLUB @ The Irish Centre NO HANDS feat. That Fucking Tank, Dolphins + more @ The Polish Club
wotsSAPNIN?! Live Music Venues
Description
Address/Contact
1 in 12 Club Members club with 30 years of live music 1in12.com Bradford Rios Legendary Rock, Metal and Punk venue bradfordrios.com Bradford Uni Amp Bar Student Union with Live Music Saturday subuonline.co.uk City Vaults City centre real ale pub Sunday Jazz Nights city-vaults.mfbiz.com Delius Lived Next Door Indie pub with live bands deliuslivednextdoor.co.uk Gasworks Rock and Metal Club with tribute acts gasworksvenue.com St Peters House Kala Sangam’s venue with diverse events kalasangam.org Malik House Cafe, varied events program. One to watch* www.malikhouse.co.uk Piri Piri Restaurant Events in there wonderful shisha cafe Wilton Street, BD5 0AX The Black Swan Ale pub with occasional live music 150 Thornton Rd, BD1 2JH The Castle Hotel Cover bands and Jams. CAMRA approved castle-hotel-bradford.co.uk The Irish Club Hosts Topic Folk Club and more bradfordirish.com The New Beehive Inn Real Ale and two performance spaces newbeehiveinn.co.uk The Mill Expansive warehouse; live gigs/alt. parties Preston Street, BD7 1JE The Polish Parish Club ‘No Hands’ last Friday of month + more bradford-polish-club.co.uk Balanga Bar Polish pub with huge selection of vodkas 78 Godwin Street, BD1 3PT Uber The biggest LGBT pub/club in Bradford 26 Sackville Street, BD1 2AJ The Treehouse Cafe Occasional intimate/acoustic gigs treehousecafe.org
Rehearsal/Recording
Description
Address/Contact
1 in 12 Club Rehearsal for members and studio Culture Fusion Youth centre with recording studio Delius Arts Centre Rehearsal space available Voltage Studios Rehearsal, studio, tuition Factory St Rehearsal, studio, tuition Waxworks Urban music production and recording
1in12.com culturefusion.org.uk artworkscreative.org.uk voltagestudios.com factorystreet.co.uk waxworksstudios.com
Supplies/Equipment
Address/Contact
Description
Mannings Used instruments and repairs Northern Drum Centre Band equipment and tuition Proaudio Hire Pro installations and equipment hire The Musicians Centre Band equipment and tuition Voltage PA hire with engineer Amplify My Event PA hire with engineer (World Music Specialist)
manningsmusicals.co.uk northerndrumcentre.com proaudiosystems.co.uk musicianscentre.com voltagestudios.com www.amplifymyevent.co.uk
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[foreWORD] [GEORGE QUIINN] A Call To Arms...... Right then! Music! That’s what we’re here for after all. Even as little as 5 years ago, the musicians of Bradford seemed so much more unified. There were more places for bands to play and more people willing to watch. There were more places to go and hang out with people. Where did it go wrong? Not long ago at all the original Rios was still there, every month there were numerous nights at The love apple, The Beehive (home to Rockers and Rollers) was everyone’s favourite cellar dive, Grif had his magic theatre and the Mill was in full rave. I wish I could list them all, there were many more. You could go out to a gig or a club night and meet new people all the time, every week. Now I only see the same old faces (as lovely as they are). Getting people together is how any scene starts and a scene is what this city of ours is missing at the moment. I don’t mean to piss off the people who are trying to make things happen; all I’m saying is we need more people like them. Bradford has many talented musicians playing everything from Ceilidh to Metal or dance, it’s about time we shouted this out loud and together. Hopefully, this here magazine will be a huge help in that respect, but it’s still going to need a hellish amount of work. In time I want to see Blues jams in the city centre, I want to see people packing out venues and staying there instead of getting the last train to Leeds, but most of all I want to see amazing rock and roll bands back In our city. St Georges hall brought Bowie to Bradford several times, Nirvana played at the Uni and The Queens Hall hosted bands like The Manic Street Preachers and Blur. To get back to this we need a starting point and that starting point is you! I want this section of the magazine to showcase the materiel, the antics and eventually the success of the many talented musicians in Bradford. It will be impartial, it will be positive and hopefully it will help bring people closer together. I want people to go to gigs, check out bands and then write to us and tell us what they think. If we can get this moving, first on a local level, then maybe eventually we can attract the bigger artists of our time. To the musicians, I want you to do this..... Pick up your instruments, put your heads together, and make some fuckin noise!
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liveREVIEW GILAD ATZMON & THE ORIENT HOUSE ENSEMBLE, SARAH GILLESPIE, NISAR AL ISSA. @ RAISE YOUR BANNERS, KALA SANGAM CENTRE,
25TH NOV 2011 A “cowardly antisemite”, a holocaust denier, an ex-Jew, threats to picket the concert hall, Israel’s continuing insatiable appetite for Palestinian earth...These sonorous sentiments sloshed around our heads, already dazzled by the bright lights of our new favourite city, like matzo balls in a chicken soup as we scuffed our shoes up the hospital stairwell of the Kala Sangam Centre. There was no picket line to challenge our entry, although it would have been interesting to taste their vitriol... Raise Your Banners chugs like a trusty tug boat of dissent. It meanders through the swampy marsh of profiteering parasites and mass market detergents that make up much of our musical landscape. Gilad is a controversial political dynamo. He seemed to fit. He writes with eloquence about the injustice of the Zionist land grab. However, after watching him for an evening his place amidst the activists and the bards of RYB seemed farcical as he slopped his chauvinism about and offered little but spite towards the Board of Deputies of British Jews as radical nutriment. And the music? There was some jazz which squashed our eyes with lemon suckling tremors. There was Nizar’s dignified vocal dexterity and Sarah’s powerful, soulful folk which sparkled as she fended off Gilad’s letching with grace and humour. A night of learning. We learnt Bradford is awash with love, good stuff and song and, most importantly, be your OWN fabulous anti-Zionist Jew.
FRED & SARA OF SHEFFIELD
[DON’T MISS]
OBSCENE BABY AUCTION & NO HANDS PRESENTS... @ BRADFORD POLISH CLUB 25TH NOV 2011 November’s free monthly serving of No Hands promised a quartet of imaginative and experimental bands delivering a mouth/ear/eye-watering line-up of inspired, sometimes off-the-cuff musical mania. Unfortunately, due to the stimulating and rather heated goings-on down the Urban Garden courtesy of the Inflagrante event, along with many others I missed the possibly brilliant virtues of debutant indie Scandinavian-pop influenced duo The Hobbes Fanclub, the textured avant-garde guitar mash-ups of Deas and Denton, and the leftfield projection-backed electronica from Ben Moon of Sounding. However, I did stumble in on the Peter J Taylor Guitar Orchestra who, from the moment they nonchalantly scale the stage, present their audience with the provocative head-scratcher: ‘What happens when 8 people play electric guitar at the same time?’ Unsurprisingly, the answer is a mother-pummelling you’ve-got-no-chanceof-having-a-chit-chat-in-here-mate shitload of noise. In fact, it might’ve been the hexagonal mirrors that sport one of the walls of the Polish Club but the undulating semiimprovised white-noise often seemed reminiscent of scenes from 70s bee-horror The Swarm. Not that this crowd were running hysterically in terror by any means, instead transfixed by the at-times euphoric, at-times foreboding, but always hectic, cyclonic, amp-battering sounds. A pinch more variation between the first two tracks might have further seasoned the three-piece set, but, in any case, a stormer. After which, while everyone was recoiling and doing a quick status update on their ears, the unscheduled Drum Machine, a 20-odd strong drum group from Hebden Bridge (where they are apparently playing on NYE) hit the floor with the imposing presence of an All Blacks’ haka, and began tearing out another incessant, scintillating maelstrom of aural mayhem, though here less insects, more a stomping stampede of wound-up rhinoceroses. Hard to say who won between these two acts, though if anyone does make the B-movie Mutant Killer Bees vs Mad Rhino Stampede: Armageddon we arguably just heard the perfect soundtrack. BEN ROGERS OF BRIGHTON
OMAR SOULEYMAN - STUDENT CENTRAL, UNIVERSITY OF BRADFORD - 19:30 - 21:30 - £12 FULL, £10 CONCESSIONS, £8 STUDENTS Imagine phase-shifted Arabic keyboard solo s and frantic rhythms played at breakneck speed; this is rough music straight from the Arab street.
Compilation review – New Heavy Sounds Volume 2. [Reviewed by George Quinn] New Heavy sounds are a London record label whose mission it is to make music awesome again. NHS Vol 1 featured such bands as Pulled Apart By Horses, Chicken hawk and Bad For Lazarus, so I think it can be agreed that these guys know their music. They are fans of everything heavy. I find it quite uplifting. What does New Heavy Sounds mean? I’ll tell you what it means, it means mayhem, destruction, paranoia, maximum riffage and it means you’re parents probably won’t like it, all this right from the off. To me it feels that this CD was designed and built for the sole purpose of destroying the watered down crap that that litters the airways these days. It does that, and much more. From the first tune to the last, heavy yet melodic swings of arrogant swagger make you want to go out and get fucked up, every track on the release seems to feed off this theme, all the way through. It’s always hard to review a compilation because of the amount of bands, and although there isn’t a bad song on the compilation I have listed some of the bands at the bottom so you can check them out for yourself. If you’re like me and explosions of music and walls of heavy sound you will love this CD and you should buy it the second you finish this page. And If ‘Riffage’ isn’t a word then In honour of this CD I believe we should petition to have it added to the dictionary. New Heavy Sounds VOL 2 is for sale at www.HMV.com for £2.99 www.newheavysounds.com
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Bjork - Biophilia [Reviewed by Seamus Byrom] Recorded exclusively on an ipad and with specialized, custommade instruments, Biophilia is much more than your typical 10 track cd-r album. Bjork is also releasing interactive apps as companions to each song, encouraging listeners to alter the way they hear the music and consequentially replacing the traditional listening process with something entirely more involving. There is also a remarkable live show comprising of school choirs and magnificent slow or stop-motion footage of nature – waterfalls, cosmic explosions, sea beds, decomposing animals. And of course, a madcap Icelandic songstress in a baffling costume shooting fireworks from her hands. Biophilia, literally meaning 'love of life or living systems' is an accurate title for an album which dwells largely on the natural beauty surrounding us and our own interactions with it. On lead single Crystalline Bjork invokes a sense of wonder singing “Underneath our feet crystals grow like plants” to a gentle, bell-backed melody. “Listen how they grow” she intones, before the song swells unleashes a vicious, mesmerizing break-beat crescendo. It is a slightly misleading moment, the album on a whole is slightly more delicate than most of her previous output – but no less enthralling. Virus embodies a love affair between virus and host, whilst Mutual Core muses over the idea of humans sharing inherent instincts against a dead relationship (“as fast as your fingernail grows / the Atlantic ridge drifts to counteract distance”) as behind it a choruses rises and falls like the tide, propelling the song ever-forward. As with a number of Bjork projects since her startling Debut, there are things here which don't quite work, a couple of slight discordances to the mood, but the album is never less than mesmeric and engaging. And despite the technological aspect it works on a purely musical sense, largely thanks to a much more familiar ingredient – Bjork's voice – which is still ethereal as ever, pirouetting in inflected English across the tracks, resisting the temptation to be anything less than remarkable.
mediaREVIEW
You Can’t Win Jack Black Macmillan, 1926
Half Of A Yellow Sun. Chimamand Ngozi Adichie. Harper, 2007.
[Reviiewed by George Quinn] Jack Black who is an essentially anonymous figure in literature was a late 19th century/early 20th century hobo and professional burglar, living out the dying age of the Wild West. You Can’t Win is the collected memoirs of this man, describing his exploits, days on the road and life as an honourable outlaw. As a piece of life writing I found the book to be gripping and have a great flow. As a reader I felt caught up in the excitement of various heists and sensed the romance of life on the road. Black didn’t always get away however and I believe that You Can’t Win was written as an anti-crime book urging criminals to go straight, but is also his statement of belief in the futility of prisons and the criminal justice system. I also sensed that You Can’t Win and Blacks other writing’s had a profound effect on the ‘beat generation’. If you want an extremely well written autobiography that will give you riveting tales of being a cross-country stick-up man, home burglar, petty thief, and opium fiend, this is a good place to start.
[Reviewed by Leanne Mason] Set against the political instability of 1960’s Nigeria/Biafra, this excellent and utterly compelling book explores the spectrum of human emotion with flowing, beautiful ease. Told from the differing perspectives of the three main characters, the story takes the reader on an emotive journey through the perilous political turmoil of the pre war year to the devastating outbreak of the civil war that raged between 1967 – 1970. Against this backdrop, Adichie masterfully builds her plot. Ugwa, a boy servant, Odengibo his kindly and politically active master and Olanna, Odenigbo’s lover, each view the dangers of the approaching conflict from a unique viewpoint. The introduction of Olanna’s aloof and sensual twin sister and her British lover add a dimension of illicit dishonour and sibling rivalry to a story already brimming with danger, politics, class war and nationalist pride. Brilliantly written, Adichie’s knowledge of her country is brought to life and evokes superbly the fragility of the human spirit. Winner of the 2007 Orange prize, the only disappointment I felt with this book was through myself – and the fact that it took me so long to discover it.
www.saltairebookshop.com Saltaire Bookshop Bookgroup. Monday 19th December. 7pm Discussing Julian Barnes' Booker winner "A sense of an Ending". All welcome. Contact David or Vanessa for more information 01274 589144
[foreWORD] Welcome to the first edition of How Do’s Film Review. This space hopes to combine the beauty of both film and Bradford. From coverage and previews of events in the region, to reviews, commentary and analysis of any aspect of cinema, written by film enthusiasts within the region. My passion for film will become evident in these pages, but being Bradford born and bred, my passion for this city is equal. It’s not a chauvinistic, blind, drum-banging for the city; I don’t think that it’s perfect (or anywhere near), but I do see honour in sticking by your cultural heritage, knowing that it has created you and formed your cultural outlook on the world. It’s perfectly fine that people seek new experiences in other parts of the country/world, but having a young family, I am reluctant to rip us all out of our established family/friend networks to be involved in the world of film when I believe it can be done right here in Bradford, where there is the potential to create something earnest, from within. In 2009, Bradford was awarded the status of UNESCO's (the culture arm of the United Nations) first City of Film. Without taking anything away from those who worked hard to achieve this, I'm not really convinced anyone has a clue what this means. It certainly doesn't mean that Bradford is the very centre of film production and exhibition in the whole world. What does it say, though? That there is the will, as well as the potential, to create something exciting and organic in Bradford that builds upon the many related assets of the region: its film heritage, its exhibition facilities and events like the Bradford International Film Festival and the Bradford Animation Festival? There is so much film-activity within this district and there are many that live here who'd appreciate it; they just need to be better aligned. The people of Bradford need to stand up and earn the potentially prestigious moniker of City of Film. This space right here hopes to contribute to this crusade. Mike McKenny covers film festivals for Film&Festivals Magazine, contributes film content for The Culture Vulture and writes in-depth film analysis at Hopelies.com. He also runs the Leeds/Bradford based community film society Minicine (see minicine.org.uk). You can follow him on Twitter @destroyapathy
[BRADFORD ANIMATION FESTIVAL 2011] New Croatian Animation The New Croatian Animation event at this year’s Bradford Animation Festival was introduced by Aline Conti of the Cambridge Film Festival. She explained how animation has been taken very seriously in Croatia’s capital Zagreb for decades and ran through the various renowned names and moments throughout history. After the Yugoslavian political crisis in the 1980s, animation production was seriously impeded as funding vanished and many of the talented artists fled the country. Yet in the 1990s, a new wave of Croat filmmakers carried on the tradition established by previous generations as they showed no fear in utilising new technologies and new approaches to further push the boundaries of animation. The films shown reflected this variety and intensity through many styles; all of which doing something distinctly unique, not only to each other, but to what you might expect of animation in general. One example, Irena Pranjic Jukic’s ‘Ornament of the Soul’, is a magnificently expressive example of how the soul has almost a distinct character to our physical existence. The two things negotiate with each other, but the soul is much better at understanding the deeper aspects of human connection.
MIKE MCKENNY
[25TH LEEDS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL] What a time it is to prove that West Yorkshire has a seemingly insatiable craving for independent film and alternatives to the mainstream. November saw (along with BAF – see page opposite) the comprehensive Leeds International Film Festival (LIFF), which had a sumptuous mix of all kinds of cinema from all around the world. From fascinating, complex and meditative UK premieres playing in the Golden Owl competition, to the less complex, yet thoroughly entertaining UK premiere of Cuban zombie-comedy Juan of the Dead. Along with this world cinema, independent local talent has been supported and given a platform, which was evident at the sold out screening of the Yorkshire-set Inbred, a well crafted gorefest not painting the Yorkshire countryside in a particularly flattering light, but in hilarious fashion. An even better gift to Yorkshire filmmakers was the Yorkshire Short Film Competition. It was a very strong collection of films this year, including Tetley’s Documentary - Quality Pays, a touching, sophisticated and well balanced documentary on the closure of Leeds’ historic Tetley’s brewery. Many of the independent wonders seen at LIFF, that aren’t likely to secure a wide distribution - if any at all - may well end up on one of Minicine’s programmes next year.
MIKE MCKENNY
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filmREVIEW
[BAF] Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan If you haven’t heard of Ray Harryhausen and you’re reading this then ask yourself why. Go away and watch some Youtube clips... better still watch one of his films. For everybody present at the sneak preview of the new Ray Harryhausen doc at the Bradford Animation Festival, we were treated to a huge slice of nostalgia and master ‘Dynamation’. I wasn’t even around when RH made his last film, but I can still claim a sense of nostalgia, as I would avidly watch Jason and the Argonauts on a dreary Sunday afternoon, usually after Gazetta Football Italia. Dubbed the ‘Titan of Stop Motion Cinema’, RH has arguably had the greatest influence on special effects in film today. He was responsible for films such as Clash of the Titans, 100 Million Years BC and various Sinbad adventures, amongst others, all of which were staples of my childhood. His influence reached directors such as Peter Jackson, Terry Gilliam, and Guillermo Del Toro. The documentary itself, directed by Gilles Penso, is rather rough around the edges, as forewarned. This doesn’t however detract from
a great documentary which is at times rather over the top in its editing. It follows a formulaic path by going through each and every one of his main films, but it manages to weave in RH’s life, influences and influencees around this logical structure. There’s just something about the way the characters move in stopmotion which captures the imagination. We know they’re not real but through acting out the movements in his head, RH has put something of himself into them; a humanistic motion, which allows the viewer to sympathise with the creature. Through his wonderfully detailed drawings RH could create ‘his creatures’, as they were called and thus capture his own imagination much better than he would through sculpting. His models, which were painstakingly crafted by his father and himself, were then slowly brought to life over a number of months, to create some of cinema’s most magical moments. In addition to the documentary having been shown at the National Media Museum, the museum will be acquiring a large chunk - some 20,000 pieces - of Harryhausen’s work ranging from the original sketches to his beautifully grotesque models via the heavy duty Meccano-like structures that formed the skeletons of his ‘creatures’.
RUSSELL KREMP
If you know of anything, or are involved in anything, film-related in Bradford, get in touch and let us know about it.
[what’sOn] HYDE PARK PICTUREHOUSE [www.hydeparkpicturehouse.co.uk] 7TH DEC_ Screening The Mighty Uke, with performance on the evening by Ukulele Virtuoso James Hill, as well as
holding a strumalong. 14TH DEC_The annual Friends of Hyde Park Picture House Christmas showing will this year be Blithe Spirit. People are invited to join them for mince pies and warm tidings from 6pm for a 6:40 start. 31ST DEC_Seeing 2011 out in style with a one off special screening of Les Enfants Du Paradis.
MEDIA MUSEUM [www.nationalmediamuseum.org.uk/film] 10TH & 12TH DEC_Beyond Anime: The Outer Limits; challenging the images of doe-ey ed schoolgirls with magic
powers or giant mecha humanoids associated with Japanese animation. 10TH & 11TH DEC_An extremely rare screening of one of Japan’s few surviving pre-war horrors
the Mysterious Shamisen (Kaibyô [nazo no shamisen) ANIA’S FILM SALON_GALLERY II, UNIVERSITY OF BRADFORD [www.brad.ac.uk/gallery]
6TH DEC_This independently ran cinema is screening Federico Fellini’s autobiographical
8½
, The Ghost Cat and
CRICKETERS ARMS, KEIGHLEY [CONEY LANE OFF EAST PARADE] Nestled between dilapidated ghost ridden mill buildings of a more industrial era, hides a small but beautifully formed public house - The Cricketers Arms, Coney Lane, Keighley town centre. The pub’s timetable is forever action packed, playing host to live music events no less than three times a week, as well as regular quiz night’s and a sell out monthly comedy evening. This is Keighley’s best music venue, and often a Friday or Saturday in the affectionately named ‘Crix’ has the potential to turn into the wildest night out you’ve ever experienced. On weekends, they open up the cellar bar downstairs to fulfil the large crowds of happy yet thirsty beer and cider drinking folk. Constantly innovative, and always entertaining, the Mitchell family who run this pub give every punter a warm friendly welcome. The Crix sources ales and ciders from all across the UK, and there are a range of guest ales on tap at your convenience; all day, every day. Just a four minute walk from the train station, this pub is the finest gift Keighley has to offer.
[GETTING TO ZERO]
BALANGA BAR, KIRKGATE MARKET Probably one of Bradford’s best kept secrets, Balanga Bar on Godwin Street is all you could ever want in an inn. It is authentic, friendly, and comfortable with attentive staff who are always obliging in sharing their culture and introducing you to the multitudinous vodkas on offer. Schvekvi Pies (literally translating to Mad Dog) is a particular favourite: A shot of vodka with a fruit syrup base and a splash of tobasco sauce. A cracking way to start your party. The thing that sets this place apart from other city centre boozers is the food. The proprietors offer a varied selection of authentic Polish cuisine that is truly incredible. Try Kotlet Schabowey, a kind of snitzel served with wonderfully cooked potatoes and a side of grated cabbage and beetroot. Wholesome food at its best. If you’ve never paid a visit to this wee gem you’re missing out. So get yer sen down.
WORLD AIDS DAY ON DECEMBER 1st was celebrated globally. It has become one of the most recognised internatio nal days, and is a key opportunity to raise awareness, remember those who have passed on and celebrate new victories in treatment and prevention. We are now at the height of a global pandem ic: 33.3 million people are currently living with HIV, the vast majority within Sub-Saharan Africa. Here in the UK there are 90,000 people living with the virus. The good news is on, the right treatment, life expectan cy can be near to normal. Nevertheless millions of people in the develop ing world are still dying due to poverty and poor access to drugs and prevention services... an absolute disservice to mankind. This yea r’s theme for World AIDS Day 2011 was “Getting to Zero”... this means Zero new infections. Zero discrimination. Zero AIDS related deaths. Play your part in this global movement and wear your red ribbon to sym bolise your support. There is no official manufacturer, since the ribbon grew from a grass roots movement. So just some red ribbon and a safe ty pin is all you need. You can find out more about HIV/AIDS, the campaig n, global events and how you can play your part at www.worldaids day.org
DR BHOOBUN
secretBRADFORD
SHIPLEY PRIDE, SALTAIRE ROAD The Shipley Pride is traditional real ale pub. A proper local. How pubs used to be. A friendly crowd of regulars can be found gathered in a taproom lined with photographs of Shipley and Saltaire from the Victorian heydays to the 1960s. On the other side of the horseshoe bar is a cosy lounge, and one of the finest jukeboxes around. Rock and indie is the order of the day. Throw in a sunken pool and darts room, Thursday music and Tuesday general knowledge quizzes, the best beer in the area and you’ve got the perfect pub recipe.
MEDIA MUSEUM, BD1 The Pictureville and Cubby Broccoli are independent cinemas in central Bradford. Refreshingly patrons are actually interested in watching films, rather than wanting to rustle popcorn, talk drivel and use their mobiles. A variety of mainstream and smaller budget films are shown throughout the year. Prices are reasonable and you can buy alcoholic drinks to take into the screening. There are Student Wednesdays, and Senior Screenings on a Tuesday and Thursday morning. An initiative called National Theatre Live has now commenced in which you can see live viewings of productions being shown in London Theatres. To find out more visit: www.nationalmediamuseum.org.uk
INTOUCH CAFE, CHEAPSIDE, BD1 Escape the hustle and bustle of city centre Bradford @ InTouch Cafe. A comfortable environment awaits you; good for working, meeting, chilling, or better still gazing out of the window at the passers-by on Commonside. Fresh Coffee for £1.50, free internet, printing services and a choice cold and cooked meals, this is everything you need in a city centre hideaway.
A WEE CORNER OF BRADFORD You may not link the two concepts of ‘petrol station’ and ‘bliss’, but there is a certain place where this never fails to happen. Coming out of Heaton up Haworth Road, just after you’ve gone past Chellow Heights garage on your left, there is the most sublime split second (if you’re driving, that is, you can spin it out longer on foot) when suburban Bradford turns into lush, rolling countryside. It’s the suddenness of the change which marks it out and will make your heart dance. A sure-fire tonic.
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