#jack fairey

[helmstone]

100 years of radio drama celebrated by BBC Radio 4

100 years of radio drama celebrated by BBC Radio 4

As part of the celebrations for the BBC’s centenary, BBC Radio 4 is providing a range of interesting programming this month. I’ve already covered the Bafflegab produced Nigel Kneale play You Must Listen, but there’s a lot more in the schedule. You can see details in the BBC’s press release — BBC Radio 4 celebrates 100 years of audio drama with raft of special programmes — from which I bring…

[experienceandobservation]

Kit Connor | Blue Cross UK | August 2023 | 📷 Jack Fairey

[pers-books]

To celebrate 100 years of audio drama, the BBC, an early pioneer of the form, and today the biggest broadcaster of audio drama globally, will broadcast a series of new dramas across September, with more to be announced later this year. The programmes will pay homage to the rich heritage of audio drama on the BBC, as well as looking towards the future.

You Must Listen is a new adaptation of a lost radio drama by science-fiction legend Nigel Kneale, starring Reece Shearsmith, in which a solicitor’s office has a new phone line connected, but the staff keep hearing a woman’s voice on the phone. When an engineer is called to fix the problem, the disturbing truth starts to emerge.

The dramas will also look towards the future of audio drama with two plays from innovative contemporary writers. Slow Air, Dan Rebellato’s play about love, memory and intergenerational secrets, explores a curious geological formation in Sicily through which sound takes 32 years to pass. Radio Waves follows a spaceship tasked with tracking extra-terrestrial audio activity, which ends up finding stories closer to home, written by new talents Magdalene Bird, Jack Fairey and Mohsen Shah.

Alison Hindell, Radio 4 Commissioning Editor for Drama and Fiction, says: “The past 100 years have seen huge changes in the world of audio drama, but the BBC’s commitment to this very special form remains the same. I’m looking forward to sharing these new dramas with Radio 4 listeners throughout September, which draw on the legacy of pioneering audio dramas from the past century, as well as showcasing some of the best work happening in the field today.”

Slow Air – 18 September, 2.15pm – 3pm

A new drama all about love, memory and sound, with a science fiction twist. A play of whispers and promises, signals from the past and to the future, Slow Air is a hymn to sending out messages, stories, secrets and sounds into the air. A curious geological formation in Sicily creates a thick funnel of slow air, through which sound takes 32 years to pass. A young couple on honeymoon in 1991, Paul and Zoe, visited the site and whispered their hopes for a future lived together, imagining themselves making a return trip in older age. But eight years later Zoe died in a car accident. In 2023, Penny, their daughter, tries to persuade Paul to return to Crete. He doesn’t want to, but with an old flame’s unexpected help, Penny persuades Paul to go back to hear Zoe’s message. But will the message reach him?

Written by Dan Rebellato, award-winning dramatist and Professor of Contemporary Theatre at Royal Holloway.

You Must Listen – 20 September, 2pm – 3pm 

A solicitor’s office has a new phone line connected, but the staff keep hearing a woman’s voice on the phone. Engineer Frank Wilson is called to fix the problem, and gradually the disturbing story of the woman starts to emerge.

Originally broadcast in September 1952, You Must Listen was written by Nigel Kneale, one of the most admired English science-fiction writers of the last century. His Quatermass trilogy of science fiction serials continues to influence generations of admirers and filmmakers, among them Russell T Davies and John Carpenter. Before The Quatermass Experiment established his television career, Kneale’s radio drama You Must Listen paved the way for what was to come. It explores many of the same themes that he later addressed in Quatermass, The Stone Tape and The Road, of the paranormal coming into collision with modern science.

No recording of the original version of You Must Listen is known to exist, but fortunately Kneale kept a copy of the script in his archives, and this new version has been recorded to mark the centenary of BBC Radio Drama. Produced and directed by Simon Barnard. A Bafflegab production for BBC Radio 4.

Radio Waves – 21 September, 2.15pm – 3pm 

It is 2065 and Captain Avery Jones is on a solo voyage into deep space. Armed with a Sonophone, her mission is to try and pick up extra-terrestrial audio activity. But the Sonophone also receives all the radio waves emanating from earth and Avery finds herself tuning in to a myriad of stories. We listen in to Rhea, who is being interviewed by an android about her life story and eavesdrop into a virtual world where talent agency manager Suzy has to deal with the fall-out from her client’s public trashing of his sponsor.

In the centenary year of audio drama, Radio Waves looks forward, exploring the human impulses to narrativise our lives and taking a sideways look at the way current media trends interact with audio drama. Executive Producer: Joby Waldman. A Reduced Listening production for BBC Radio 4.

-- Be nice if they also resurrected some of the classic BBC Radio Dramas from the archives to celebrate this centenary!

Reminder, you can listen to BBC Radio anywhere in the world without impediment.

[xaltroy]

[greatworldwar2]

• Battle of Madagascar

The Battle of Madagascar was the British campaign to capture the Vichy French-controlled island Madagascar during World War II.

Following the Japanese conquest of Southeast Asia east of Burma by the end of February 1942, submarines of the Imperial Japanese Navy were moving freely throughout the north and eastern expanses of the Indian Ocean. In March 1942, Japanese aircraft carriers conducted the Indian Ocean raid upon shipping in the Bay of Bengal and bases in Colombo and Trincomalee in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). This raid drove the British Eastern Fleet out of the area and they were forced to relocate to a new base at Kilindini, near Mombasa, in Kenya. The move made the British fleet more vulnerable to attack. The possibility of Japanese naval forces using forward bases in Madagascar had to be addressed. The potential use of these facilities particularly threatened Allied merchant shipping. If the Imperial Japanese Navy's submarines were able to utilise bases on Madagascar, Allied lines of communication would be affected across a region stretching from the Pacific and Australia, to the Middle East and as far as the South Atlantic.

On December 17th, 1941, Vice Admiral Fricke, Chief of Staff of Germany's Maritime Warfare Command (Seekriegsleitung), met Vice Admiral Naokuni Nomura, the Japanese Naval Attaché, in Berlin to discuss the delimitation of respective operational areas between the German Kriegsmarine and Imperial Japanese Navy forces. At another meeting on March 27th ,1942, Fricke stressed the importance of the Indian Ocean to the Axis powers and expressed the desire that the Japanese begin operations against the northern Indian Ocean sea routes. Fricke further emphasized that Ceylon, the Seychelles, and Madagascar should have a higher priority for the Axis navies. By April, the Japanese announced to Fricke that they intended to commit four or five submarines and two auxiliary cruisers for operations in the western Indian Ocean between Aden and the Cape of Good Hope, but they refused to disclose their plans for operations against Madagascar and Ceylon.

The Allies had heard the rumours of Japanese plans for the Indian Ocean, the British Chiefs of Staff discussed the possibility that the Vichy government might cede the whole of Madagascar to Japan, or alternatively permit the Japanese Navy to establish bases on the island. British naval advisors urged the occupation of the island as a precautionary measure. On December 16th, General Charles de Gaulle, leader of the Free French in London, sent a letter to the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, in which he also urged a Free French operation against Madagascar. Churchill recognised the risk of a Japanese-controlled Madagascar to Indian Ocean shipping, particularly to the important sea route to India and Ceylon, and considered Madagascar's ports as the strategic key to Japanese influence. By March 12th, 1942, Churchill had been convinced of the importance of such an operation and the decision was reached that the planning of the invasion of Madagascar would begin in earnest. It was agreed that the Free French would be explicitly excluded from the operation.

On the 14th, Force 121 was constituted under the command of Major-General Robert Sturges of the Royal Marines with Rear-Admiral Edward Syfret being placed in command of naval Force H and the supporting sea force. The operation was planned to commence around April 30th,1942. This was to be the first British amphibious assault since the disastrous landings in the Dardanelles twenty-seven years earlier. The task was Operation Ironclad, it would include Allied naval, land and air forces. The Allied naval contingent consisted of over 50 vessels, drawn from Force H, the British Home Fleet and the British Eastern Fleet, commanded by Syfret. The landing force included the 29th Independent Infantry Brigade Group, No 5 (Army) Commando, and two brigades of the 5th Infantry Division, the latter en route to India with the remainder of their division.

Following many reconnaissance missions by the SAAF (South African Air Force), the first wave of the British 29th Infantry Brigade and No. 5 Commando landed in assault craft on May 5th, 1942. Follow-up waves were by two brigades of the 5th Infantry Division and Royal Marines. All were carried ashore by landing craft to Courrier Bay and Ambararata Bay, just west of the major port of Diego-Suarez, at the northern tip of Madagascar. Air cover was provided mainly by Fairey Albacore and Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers which attacked Vichy shipping. They were supported by Grumman Martlets fighters from the Fleet Air Arm. The defending Vichy forces, led by Governor General Armand Léon Annet, included about 8,000 troops, of whom about 6,000 were Malagasy tirailleurs (colonial infantry). A large proportion of the rest were Senegalese. Between 1,500 and 3,000 Vichy troops were concentrated around Diego-Suarez.

The beach landings met with virtually no resistance and these troops seized Vichy coastal batteries and barracks. The 17th Infantry Brigade, after toiling through mangrove swamp and thick bush took the town of Diego-Suarez taking a hundred prisoners. The 29th Independent Brigade, headed towards the French naval base of Antisarane. With assistance from six Valentines and six Tetrarch light tanks of B Special Service Squadron they advanced 21 miles overcoming light resistance with bayonet charges. Antisarane itself was heavily defended with trenches, two redoubts, pillboxes. On the morning of May 6th, 1942 a frontal assault on the defences failed with the loss of three Valentines and two Tetrarchs. Another assault by the South Lancashires worked their way around the defences but bad terrain meant they were broken up into groups. Nevertheless, they swung behind the Vichy line and caused chaos. The radio station and a barracks were seized, in all 200 prisoners were taken.

With the French defence highly effective, the deadlock was broken when the old destroyer HMS Anthony dashed straight past harbour defences and landed fifty Royal Marines from Ramillies amidst the Vichy rear area. The marines secured the French artillery command post along with its barracks and the naval depot. At the same time troops of the 17th Infantry Brigade had broken through the defences and were soon marching in the town. The Vichy defence was broken, although substantial Vichy forces withdrew to the south. Hostilities continued at a low level for several months. After May 19th, 1942 two brigades of the 5th Infantry Division were transferred. By June 1942, the 22nd (East Africa) Brigade Group arrived on Madagascar. On September 10th, 1942 the 29th Brigade and 22nd Brigade Group made an amphibious landing at Majunga, another port on the west coast of the island. No. 5 Commando spearheaded the landing and faced machine gun fire but despite this they stormed the quayside, took control of the local post office, stormed the governor's residence and raised the Union Jack.

the Allies intended to re-launch the offensive ahead of the rainy season. Progress was slow for the Allied forces. In addition to occasional small-scale clashes with Vichy forces, they also encountered scores of obstacles erected on the main roads by Vichy soldiers. The Allies eventually captured the capital, Tananarive, without much opposition, and then the town of Ambalavao, but the devoutly Vichy Governor Annet escaped. Eight days later a British force set out to seize Tamatave. Heavy surf interfered with the operation. As HMS Birmingham's launch was heading to shore it was fired at by French shore batteries and promptly turned around. Birmingham then opened her guns up on the shores batteries and within three minutes the French hauled up the white flag. Tamatave fell into British hands. The last major action took place in October, at Andramanalina, a U-shaped valley with the meandering Mangarahara River where an ambush was planned for British forces by Vichy troops. The King's African Rifles split into two columns and marched around the 'U' of the valley and met Vichy troops in the rear and then ambushed them. The Vichy troops suffered heavy losses which resulted in 800 of them surrendering.

An armistice was signed in Ambalavao on November 6th, 1942, and Annet surrendered two days later. The Allies suffered about 500 casualties in the landing at Diego-Suarez, and 30 more killed and 90 wounded in the operations which followed September 1942. With Madagascar in Allied hands, they established military and naval installations across the island. The island was crucial for the rest of the war. Its deep water ports were vital to control the passageway to India and the Persian corridor, and this was now beyond the grasp of the Axis. This was the first large-scale operation of World War II by the Allies combining sea, land, and air forces. In the makeshift Allied planning of the war's early years, the invasion of Madagascar held a prominent strategic place. Free French General Paul Legentilhomme was appointed High Commissioner for Madagascar.

[nitewrighter]

I miss your pre-fall Gency fic D:

Writing Pre-Fall Gency to avoid writing the next chapter of OBAB? Who’s writing Pre-Fall Gency to avoid writing the next chapter of OBAB? I’m not writing Pre-Fall Gency to avoid writing the next chapter of OBAB. I’m just really inspired by Valkryie. Yeah. That’s it.

This fic takes place shortly after the “walking” fic for Genji and Mercy. I do think it means a lot that Genji pretty much never uses Mercy’s callsign of “Mercy” and instead calls her “Angela” and “Doctor Ziegler.” And Michael Chu did say they got close during his recovery so...

----

“And there’s no discomfort?” said Mercy, half walking backward and half sidestepping around Genji as he walked down the hall with his forearm crutches. She checked her tablet to try and figure out the level of painkillers they had him on now. He was being weaned to lower dosages, and Genji himself had been complaining about foggy-headedness, but the amount of cybernetics supporting his internal organs meant they couldn’t exactly go cold turkey. 

“None more than usual,” said Genji, crutching alongside her with his head held high. His spirits seemed significantly improved since roughly a week back when he had snuck out of his room to try and force himself to walk in the middle of the night, “Or I guess I’m just excited to be on my feet out of the physical therapy room.”

“Well, just let me know if you’re getting fatigued,” said Mercy.

He huffed a little. “You worry so much,” he said, with a movement of his shoulders she couldn’t tell was a shrug or just adjusting for the crutches.

“Of course I worry,” said Mercy, rubbing at her eye under her glasses, “It’s my job.”

“Another late night, Doctor?” said Genji, as they rounded a corner.

“What makes you say that?” said Mercy, glancing out the window and squinting slightly at the glare of the cloud white sky and white-peaked mountains of Zurich.

“You wear the glasses when you want to cover up the under-eye circles,” said Genji.

Mercy’s brow furrowed, “That’s rude,” she said, turning her attention to the tablet.

“I prefer ‘Observant,’” said Genji, with a slight smirk hidden beneath his hospital mask made apparent only through the expression of his eyes.

“Which doesn’t mean it’s not rude,” said Mercy, waving her tablet stylus at him scoldingly before turning her attention back to her tablet as she continued walking, “Reyes keeps stalking at my door, waiting for the second you’re combat ready, but I still think we need to--” she glanced up, realized that she had dusted Genji with her own manic hospital walk a ways back, and stopped and turned around to see Genji towards the beginning of the hall, apparently staring at the wall. “Genji?” Mercy backtracked back to him and looked at the point on the wall which had his attention and her face dropped.

It was a poster of her, or well, Mercy, Overwatch’s Mercy, anyway, in the full combat medic gear with her staff in one hand and the other open and outstretched out toward whoever was viewing the poster, as if she was motioning to help them up. The sky behind her was pink tinged with the gold of dawn, to further highlight the blue of her combat medic uniform. It looked painterly, somewhere between Norman Rockwell, a Madonna Portrait, and Shepard Fairey--the kind of propaganda a soldier like Jack or Gabriel would approve of. The lettering on the poster seemed harmless enough--emblazoning the same words Jack used to bring her into this organization:

Save Lives! Join the Overwatch Medical Research Division Today! 

There were a few other enticing text blurbs promising ‘On-Site Accredited Training!’ and ‘Full-Ride Scholarship Programs!’

The expression of her poster-self was rosy-cheeked and benevolent, with soft eyes and parted lips, an imploring expression.

“...wow,” said Genji.

“We should keep--” Mercy started.

“Is that you?” said Genji looking between her and the poster.

“...sort of,” Mercy said stiffly after a few beats.

“Or I assume, this is how you theoretically look with 10 hours of sleep,” said Genji, that same smirk in his voice. She smacked her tablet playfully against his arm and he chuckled. “I can’t believe it,” he said looking back at the poster, “You’re Mercy.”

“What? Really? I was in the full Valkyrie suit the night we brought you in,” said Mercy.

“...I didn’t know how much of that I dreamed or hallucinated after Hanzo...” Genji trailed off, “I thought I just kind of... conflated the two blondes in my head. I didn’t think Mercy was a real person.”

“She’s not,” Mercy said on reflex, flatly.

Genji broke his sight away from the poster and looked at her. Mercy caught herself.

“What I mean is--Reality is a lot more disappointing. Mercy is a--a--” Mercy scoffed and made a ‘jazz hand’ motion with her non-tablet holding hand, “’Beacon of hope,’ or whatever it is that recruits people or brings in donations. Angela Ziegler, the flesh vessel Mercy has the misfortune to reside in, is in fact a bitter nagging crab running on 3 hours of sleep, 8 cups of coffee, and pure spite.”

“I don’t think you’re disappointing,” said Genji.

“What?” said Mercy.

“Well--It’s like you say--Mercy is just an image. Angela Ziegler is the one doing all the work.” 

Mercy blinked a few times and cleared her throat before adjusting her glasses and tucking her tablet stylus behind her ear. “Yes--well...”

“But this is a good poster though,” said Genji, pointing at the poster.

Mercy huffed.

“Overwatch should make more like it,” said Genji.

“Oh this is plenty on its own,” said Mercy, dryly.

“I can see all the other posters now though,” said Genji, trying to pose as seductively and dramatically as he could with his crutches, “’Join Overwatch--It’s better than Jail!’” he struck another pose, “‘Buy Overwatch Bonds--Jack Morrison needs a new office chair!’”

Mercy snickered.

“’Vaccinate your children! Mercy’s working too hard as it--’ Kuso--” Genji got a bit overambitious with the last pose, wobbled and nearly lost his footing on his crutches but Mercy caught him and stabilized him where he stood, “Okay I deserved that,” he said.

“A little bit,” said Mercy, smirking as she made sure he was stable, “...did you really mean that? About me not being...”

“I think everyone who just knows you for the poster is missing out,” said Genji. He continued down the hall on his crutches. Mercy watched him walk. Hobbling didn’t seem the right word for his movements. There was still a bit of marionette-like jauntiness in his movement from the suspension of weight the crutches granted him, but that was balanced out by the determination of his gait. He’s a bit like Mercy too, she thought, When he’s not brooding over the Shimada clan.

Genji realized she wasn’t walking with him, paused, and looked over his shoulder at her. “Are we still going to--?”

“Oh!” Mercy briskly walked up so she was next to him again, “Yes, yes we should go.”

They continued down the hall, leaving the poster to fade in the sun.

[gigsoupmusic]

INTERVIEW - MICKO WESTMORELAND ON 'VELVET GOLDMINE' AND LIFE WITH THE MELLOTRONICS

Micko Westmoreland first came to the public's attention as the enigmatic Jack Fairey in the star-studded glam rock fake biopic 'Velvet Goldmine', and since then has done everything from making electronica as The Bowling Green to the sharp edged new wave of his current project Micko & The Mellotronics. With that band on the verge of releasing their second single, a double A-side with the timely 'Noisy Neighbours 'and 'You Killed My Father' (featuring the late Neil Innes), he spoke to Gigsoup to tell all... Starting at the beginning, you got your first break appearing in the film ‘Velvet Goldmine’…  Quite a baptism of fire! Yep, I was fresh out of film school with little acting experience. So I did a ton of research, suspended all activities other than glam rock ones; late mornings, blurry eyeliner, became a kind of ‘Our Lady of the Flowers’, to quote Jean Genet. I did appear on set however with well prepared sleeve notes. Ziggy/Hunky and early Roxy had been teenage territory. Toni Colette really helped me during filming, showing me where and how to move and stand in frame etc. which I really wasn’t aware of and she was such a wonderful person to hang out with. Ewan McGregor was enormous in the 90s but treated you like a complete equal. I’ve acted the fiction of being a sensational rock star, my embalmed alter ego is now moth balled and hermetically sealed for posterity. What do you make of the film’s recent re-appraisal – it was panned at the time but now it’s considered a cult classic A lot of the film heavyweights liked it at the time and have consistently sung its praises over the last 20 years, which has contributed to its legacy, plus Todd Haynes is now seen as a 24-carat auteur. 1998 wasn’t ready for a kaleidoscopic pansexual odyssey. Velvet Goldmine truly tapped into a teenage hormonal feeling, so the audience is responsible for its longevity I think, people have grown old with it and new fans have discovered it. You had quite a lot of success making electronic music as The Bowling Green but then switched tack to making more song-based stuff.  What’s the story there? The music I was making was becoming increasingly filmic, so I moved into movie sound tracks for a while and did two film scores and a few documentaries with my brother; acclaimed director Wash Westmoreland (Still Alice, Colette). One of them, Echo Park L.A., won best drama at Sundance in 2006! I was becoming more attuned to a literary narrative and was listening to Dylan’s Time out of Mind and Beck’s Sea Change at the time – couple that with improvements in technology that weren’t so reliant on sampler and keyboard. I started playing much more guitar again, my first love and now my primary instrument for writing. You made a couple of albums under your own name but then formed Micko & The Mellotronics – your first ‘band’ project.  What was the thinking behind that move? I was very much used to working on my own. I made a couple of solo albums, one which Terry Edwards (P.J. Harvey/Holy Holy) released on his Sartorial label called ‘Wax & Wayne’, and ‘Yours Etc Abc’, on my own Landline records imprint, which I believe was the main unconscious projection into putting a live act together. The person doing PR for it asked, ‘Who’s in the band?’ When I realized I didn’t have one, it made sense to look for folk to start pushing sounds around. How would you sum up the band to someone you hadn’t heard you before?  Can you name us a few bands that have influenced its sound? We get compared to the Buzzcocks quite a lot, I’ll take that. I’ve loved Magazine since teenage, Television too. I also dig Serge Gainsbourg majorly and bands like The Silver Apples. I’m really into Iso Tomita, the 70’s electronic musician and of course Mr. Eno too. People have commented that the double A side, soon to be released, is like early Genesis but I think it’s much closer to The Rutles. Patrick from R.O.C. said there was violence to the sound. I do pride the writing on an intricacy and eccentricity but without getting prog about it. Talk us through the Mellotronics members and their individual flavours... Nick Mackay a friend referred me to. He was playing in a two-piece called ‘Barricades’, and was clearly a very good drummer, real flare as a player/performer and had the magic ingredient for any band – he was a thoroughly decent chap you could spend a ton of time with. Jon Klein is our very own rock star hiding in plain sight. He has a CV better than the rest of us put together: Banshees, Sinead O’Connor to name a few and of course his own band Specimen. I lent Jon my amp when we were on the same bill. I gave him a copy of my previous album and he contacted me the next day, which I considered a big thumbs up. He’s very quick, obscenely talented and has revolutionized day-to-day working practice. In short a turbo charged V12 engine has been carefully placed inside a Hillman imp, with fresh brake pads added. Vicky Carroll the bassist also came through personal referral, Haydn Hades who does stand up. At the time she was playing in a band the ‘Owls of Now’, a very bright lady indeed. She really got what the band was about and had great style. The dynamic of now the band get on and its chemistry is essential to longevity. Having a woman on board was important to us, so we really lucked out by finding such a smart cookie in Vicky. So far, you’ve shared ‘The Finger’, your first single, and now two new tracks, which will (eventually) be released as a 7” single.  Talk us through ‘Noisy Neighbors’ and ’You Killed My Father’. Noisy Neighbours came about from my experience with dealing with serial complainers whilst living in a housing co-op. We shot the video with filmmaker Ashley Jones (www.thechaoesengineers.com) in the next door location the inhabitants of the song were occupying, so we had to be quiet. Of course some complaints are genuine but most were more telling of the complainant than complainee. There are control issues, which come about as a result of trying to micromanage your environment beyond your own four walls. I wanted to make a witty statement about that without being over critical or condemning. Raising a single eyebrow over that type of behavior. ‘You Killed My Father’, the double A side was inspired by Neil Innes R.I.P. (Monty Python, Bonzo Dog, The Rutles). So of course I was thrilled when he agreed to play on it. I was introduced to him through an artist friend Harry Pye. We inadvertly created a supergroup together called the Spammed and meet up once a year to record for the Teenage Cancer Trust. Last session Tony Visconti produced a cover of Bolan’s ‘Get it on’, for us. It comprises, Rat Scabies (The Damned), Horace Panter (The Specials), Neil when he was with us and actor/comedian Kevin Eldon on vocs, I play guitar. The song relates to my childhood, growing up in Leeds and has a Shakespearean quality. I checked the prose with an expert to make sure I hadn’t over egged the pudding. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5iswf8GG6o You seem to be able to attract some interesting names to collaborate with - Horace Panter of The Specials and the late Neil Innes recently, but also members of The Blockheads, Madness, Stranglers and Goldfrapp in the past.  Who would be top of your collaborative wish list? I’d love to do something with Eno again. We became friendly during the mid nineties. I was tutored by him, whilst working on an art show called ‘Self Storage’ with Laurie Anderson but never made it into the studio. A wild card like Wendy Carlos, famed for the soundtrack of ‘A Clockwork Orange’ would be great too. Likewise, your videos have featured some interesting names from British comedy…  What do they bring to the party?  Anyone else you’d like to get on board if you had free reign? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDr7nkOQN9Q All the comedy connections came from Kevin Eldon initially, a super bright and truly wonderful guy. He introduced me to Paul Putner at a Specials gig. Paul’s a brilliant bloke and really likes the band. He found the remarkable Suzy Kane for us. All three have taken excellent roles. Suzy had a lot of input in Noisy Neighbours, suggesting wardrobe and even shots to Ashley as we were making it; we really have had tremendous fun with our contributors. Obviously, Chris Morris would be fantastic but I’m a little afraid to knock. We hear the debut M&TM album is close to completion – what have you got in store for us? A psychedelic mish mash of fable, sound collage and idea. With the new single, 3 of the songs are now out there. On a musical front Horace Panter out of The Specials has guested on a couple of tracks for us and of course we have one of Neil Innes’ last performances too. I’ve written a song about Imelda Marcos, she seemed like a person who was way ahead of her time, a modern template for a highly manipulative battle-axe. I have an author friend in his 60s who’s an eminent  psychologist, (Georg Eifert - Anxiety Happens) so I wrote a song called ‘The Fear’, with a lot of his theories in mind. There’s also one too called ‘Sick and Tired’, it’s not about what I’m eed up about, but like Noisy Neighbours it’s a comment about complaint. When writing I try to look at what gets talked about by everyday people and base some of the songs around those themes. Earwig on phone conversations on buses, pick up discarded bits of paper, when you get into the habit you’ll be amazed what you find. So I get on the 38 and set my brain to record. There’s also a fair amount about growing up on the record too, which I hope all can relate to. I think you have to start with a good idea, that’s on any level otherwise you’re unlikely to get far. From my art college days I got into the habit of noting things down, if you don’t it often escapes you. It’s difficult to marry a multitude of ingredients and let’s face it the world is full of plenty, pair it down and make it resonate. Anyone who tells you otherwise is telling porkies. To make something that stands the test of time is more difficult still. But I’m not afraid of the work and I enjoy ‘the doing’, for me that’s what it’s all about. I believe that as individuals we have a natural tendency to evolve, if we choose to see it that way and trust, it’ll ‘self fulfill’. If you’ll allow yourself to tap into that expansion creatively, you’ll always find inspiration. Micko & The Mellotronics release 'Noisy Neighbours / You Killed My Father' on Landline Records on April 17 with the 7" single schedule to hit the shops on June 27. Read the full article

[planetxmusic-blog]

Planet X commissioned legendary British artist Aidan Hughes to design a vector graphic for Killer Tone Jones.

SkullGuy by Aidan Hughes

We have long been a fan of the man and his artwork which has garnered worldwide recognition for its cutting edge, dark and powerful graphics style.

You see more of Aidan’s work here: …  http://bruteprop.co.uk/

ABOUT THE MAN

AIDAN HUGHES | bruteprop@gmail.com | Facebook

Aidan Hughes was born on Merseyside, England and was formally trained by his father. His influences include Golden Age comic artists Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and Jim Steranko, the Russian Constructivists, the Italian Futurists and the work of woodcut artists Frans Masereel and Lynd Ward.

Despite having never attended art school, he entered the world of commercial art producing artwork and storyboards for clients such as Warner Bros. the BBC and The London Evening Standard. In the 80’s he began a long-term collaboration with industrial band KMFDM, created BRUTE! pulp magazine and worked extensively in radio, TV and the media.

Other work includes designing and art directing, computer games and animation.

Hughes now lives and works in the Czech Republic.

Official Wikipedia entry

EXHIBITIONS

BRUTE! Art from the Pulps. Covent Garden, London 1986. | ‘Git!’ Relief murals w/ Gordon McHarg. The Vault, London 1990. | New Paintings show, Soho Gallery, London 1992. | Exhibition. Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, London 1993. | New Art show. H-Gun Studios, Chicago 1993. | Artist-in-residence, Zombie. Seattle 1995. | ‘Berserk!’ One-man show, Seattle 1997. | ‘Apocalypse Noir’ one-man show, C-Pop, Detroit 1999. | Art Tube 01. Group show w/ Damien Hirst, Yoko Ono, Gavin Turk, Gordon McHarg, Jamie Reid etc. London 2001. | ‘Propaganda’ w/ Shepard Fairey and Winston Smith, Balmy Gallery. San Francisco 2002. | BRUTE! POPAGANDA – Prague 2009 |BRUTE! Republik – Prague 2010. |

TV/FILM – ‘Love Me Gangster’ short film for Channel 4’s Alter Image strand 1986. | ‘Brute’s Adventures of Sizzler!’ Series for Network 7 1987. | ‘Outside the Warehouse’ video for Sham 69 1987. | Dagmar Kreuze promo, Alter Image 1987. | ‘Rocky’. Animated ident for MTV 1988. | ‘Drug Against War’. Animated promo for KMFDM 1993. | ‘ZPC: No Flesh Shall Be Spared’. Animations for PC game (w/ Behemoth) 1997. | ‘Son of a Gun’. Animated promo for KMFDM 1997. | ‘Flaming Head’. Animated ident for Locomotion TV 1998.

Publications ‘Fix Comics’ 1979 | ‘Battle Poet’ w/ Bennett 1981. | ‘Rage!’ Comic 1981. | ‘The Claim’ w/ Bennett 1983. | ‘The Beast of Cszjethe’ serial w/ Bennett, The Magazine 1984. | BRUTE! # 1-7 w/ Bennett 1984-87. | BRUTE! paperback. Sphere Books 1986. | ‘Daft About Lager’ w/ Rohan Daft and Bennett 1989.

Lectures – Cartoon College, London 1986. / Washington State University 1997. / Prague College, Czech Republic 2007-2008.

Brute! force with a Killer Tone Planet X commissioned legendary British artist Aidan Hughes to design a vector graphic for Killer Tone Jones.

[darwinishungry-blog]

Assessment 2 Final Work - “Five Prime Ministers in Five Years”.

Politics is an never-ending cycle of complex interactions between people, introducing equilibrium amongst people, for the betterment of the people. Individual’s political influences are gauged by their power of persuasion and representation, as well as how they are motivated by their personal political motives. Surely, a leader of a nation is certainly bound to have possess some if not many of these great qualities. But what trust is left for the people when 5 consecutive leaders have left their post in a span of 5 years?  

My final work, “Five Prime Ministers in Five Years” consist a series of posters that was derived from Shepard Faireys’ ‘Hope’ poster for Obama’s presidential campaign, which has become a symbol in both his campaign and beyond. The patriotic colours, his facial position, and his idealism and vision symbolizes his ability to persevere through hardships; demonstrating that he can discuss challenging problems and inspire people simultaneously. Through this, I aimed to create my own appropriation of this style of poster in the context of our Prime Ministers switching so often. The aim was to place them in high regards as the face of the poster that it’s almost like telling them to live up to the expectations and observe if they deserved to be there. Like Fairey’s poster “Hope”, the colours around them are themed after our home country but the caption summarizes their time in office; criticising them in a satire way. The union jack alongside the 6 stars that make up our national flag are also present behind the former Prime Ministers, accentuating the pride they were supposed to represent and emphasising their failure as a result. The posters are set up in such a way that it tells a story when read systematically; Kevin Rudd becomes the new Prime Minister by a landslide election victory but fails to meet expectations of his party, Julia Gillard also meets the fate of her predecessor, Kevin Rudd fails again and loses to the opposition due to voter trust falling, Tony Abbott steps down as a result from controversies and bad decisions, and Malcom Turnbull loses popularity after 3 years of PM.

From the start of assessment one to the research, I was settled on critiquing political parties as a result of reflecting the topic question for ‘rebellion’ artworks canonised in the media. One style of rebellious artwork I already see all over the internet was parodies of Donald Trump, and they all incorporate a sense of satire which reflected a particular stage of his presidency. A particular look into these spoofs is an inspired appropriation of Faireys’ “Hope” poster, directly denouncing Trump by placing him on the artwork in place of Obama and with the caption “Nope”. This was my main focus of interest which led me on various experimentations towards my final work. The parody work of Trump also promptly introduces a comparison between the two presidents, depicting Obama’s power over Trump which is especially effective considering that Trump likes to take jabs at Obama and his perspective of politics. Taking in this example, I planned to appropriate similar rebellion creative artwork(s) that criticised the Australian government as opposed to the artwork made in criticism of Trump in America. My very first experiment envisioned a rotoscope animation consisting of decrying Tony Abbott’s victory speech as it was now considered contradictory in many ways in the present context. I also weaved in Abbott eating his onion every phrase, projecting the sense of satire comparable with parody artworks of Trump. It ultimately proved impossible to complete due to the lack of fluidity, but the experiment allowed me to explore the concept of aggregating media forms into a mockery.

The posters turned out as I wanted it to be, taking on similarities from Faireys’ “Hope” poster and turning them into a parody of my own. It could have gone better if I knew how to better readjust the filters and adjustment layers to give it more individual personality, but overall I am happy with the result in how evaluate certain people. Thus, in my critique of the Australian Prime Ministers, I question the individual’s conviction and confidence in Australian politics by appropriating satire imagery of the time they spent in office; comparing them to perceive them in a wider perspective.  

Bibliography

PM 2013 Tony Abbott Victory Speech, [Online video], https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZmKpKPwG58 (accessed 15/9/2018)

Prime Minister Tony Abbott explains why he ate a raw onion, [Online video], https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmPVCKnkKWA (accessed 15/9/2018)

S. Sandhu, “Tony Abbott removed: Australia has had five prime ministers in five years”, Independent, 14 September 2015, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/australasia/tony-abbott-removed-australia-has-had-five-prime-ministers-in-five-years-10500229.html (accessed 18/9/2018)

D, Conifer, “Malcom Turnbull to resign from Parliament on Friday”, ABC News, 27 August 2018, http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-27/malcolm-turnbull-to-resign-from-parliament/10170614 (accessed 18/9/2018)

S. Matt, “Obama Hope Poster – Shepard Fairey”, Medium, 2008, https://medium.com/fgd1-the-archive/obama-hope-poster-by-shepard-fairey-1307a8b6c7be (accessed 17/9/2018)

Misdememeor, NOPE Donald Trump Poster [Digital Poster], https://www.redbubble.com/people/misdememeor/works/27515556-nope-donald-trump-poster (accessed 17/9/2018)

[oko176]

426m2   The Southbank Show  in Stolenspace Gallery, London, 2018.

CURATED BY AND IN SUPPORT OF LONG LIVE SOUTHBANK

ABOUT EXHIBITION Long Live Southbank are delighted to bring you ‘426㎡’, a group show featuring the creative talents from skateboarding and beyond. ‘426㎡’ will dissect and explore the ever present relationship between skateboarding and art, giving us an intimate look at it’s DIY nature.

There is little wonder why so many skateboarders make art. Both outlets serve similar purposes, they offer the access to freedom of expression and can both be solitary activities; the onus is on you to create, nobody else. ‘426㎡’ is a reflection of the community itself. The work conveys a diverse understanding of what it means to make art and how we as skateboarders don’t limit ourselves to any medium or subject matter. From Arran Gregory’s abstract use of geometry to Jon Horner’s playful characters, the art of skateboarding is as multifaceted as the culture that inspires it. ‘426㎡’ will display this diversity of creation in a two week exhibition, showcasing some of the most well respected artists and illustrators from skateboarding and beyond.

Questions people often ask skateboarders are ‘When did you start skating?’ or ‘Have you ever broken any bones?’. Skateboarders will remember these specific moments because they are important milestones . Another frequent question is ‘What was your first skateboard?’- Memories immediately flood back to your younger self, glaring at hundreds of skateboard decks with different sizes, different artwork; endless choices. It is at this point you have to decide the chosen one, objectively looking at the art on show, syphoning through each deck or ‘artwork’, until one captures your imagination. Of course other factors do come in to play, the riders on the team or have they just released a great video? However, none of that matters if the artwork isn’t up to scratch. From the beginning it is clear that art plays a pivotal role in the identity of skateboarders and it is no surprise that it has resulted in a diverse creative community. Featured artist Arran Gregory states; ‘I feel it’s the ethos behind street skateboarding which carries with it the constant need to re appropriate what’s before you and apply your own vision- that’s like a catalyst for the creative mind.’

Southbank has been the beating heart of the London skate scene since 1973 and exists as the oldest continually skated spot in the world, frequented by people from across the UK and around the globe. It is a unique space where seasoned pros rub shoulders with local skate rats; a place where creative talent can be nurtured and allowed to thrive.

The title ‘426㎡’ takes its name from lost sections of Southbank long since hidden away from its skateboarding roots. Long Live Southbank has created a unique opportunity to breath new life into this hallowed ground; all 426㎡ of it. Artists from across the world who express themselves through different mediums and who all have a relationship with skateboarding, particularly Southbank, have contributed works to help raise the funds needed to open up historic sections of Southbank once again.

All proceeds from ‘426㎡’ will go straight to the fundraising pot and ensure Southbank continues to inspire future generations of creative individuals.

Contributing artists; Andrew Pommier, Arran Gregory, Artista, Ben Gore, Blondey McCoy, Chet Childress, D*Face, Darren John, Domas Glatkauskas, Ed Templeton, Eloise Dorr, Fos, Ged Wells, Glen Fox, Goldie, Gregory Conroy, Gaurab Thakali, Haroshi, Jack Pearce, James Jarvis, Jeremy Jones, Jon Horner, Liisa Chisholm, Lucas Beaufort, Luka Pinto, Mark Gonzales, Matthew Bromley, Nick Jensen, Oko, Pontus Alv, Rainyrainforest, Shepard Fairey, Will Sweeney, Zin V.

[sbterm1project]

Don’t  Panic analysis

Unique by  Shok 1

Here is a poster by Shok 1 which is of some neon bones that look like they are flying around in the atmosphere with some more floaty and zero gravity parts. This is all in what look like an alleyway next to a big building because of the gravel at the bottom of the piece and the brick wall in the background of the piece. This whole piece could be about the concept of x-rays and the idea that we don’t know whats down in the dark alleyways also whats right in front of us  but we can’t see it because we don’t have that technology with us all of the time. 

Mind by Jack Featherstone

Here is a poster by Jack Featherstone for a copy of the Don’t Panic packs. This piece is proof that you can get completely different styles of posters in the packs and you will never really know what you are getting because there are so many different styles of poster that you could get. I think that without the title to go along with this piece no one would really know what this piece was about but because this is called Mind it shows that he is trying to represent his mind and what it is like inside his mind as everyone mind works differently and no one will really know how someone else’s mind works or how they think. This piece shows that Featherstone’s mind although it is quite chaotic and all over the place it is still organised and not too overwhelming when you actually take time to look at it and study it fully.

Silence by Brecht Vandenbroucke 

Here is another Disney poster which is by Brecht Vandenbroucke and it is of the classic Disney Land ride of the Flying Carpets, although it doesn’t look like it is in Disney Land/ World because it looks like it is in a very green almost swamp like park. In terms of the actual ride, unlike the actual ride the carpets are actual Disney characters apart from the Pink Panther which originally wasn’t a Disney character. Also all of the characters are on fire and don’t have any people in there which is why the piece is called Silence because there wouldn’t be any joyous sounds coming from the ride vehicle like there normally would .

Obey by Shepard Fairey 

Here is a poster that is done by a very famous artist called Shepard Fairey which includes a lot of Fairey’s most famous pieces including his Obey piece and a lot of his political pieces along the inside of the exclamation mark on the right side of this poster. The main section of this piece (the two big cream coloured Obey posters) look like they are on the side of buildings with the way that they are positioned on the page, This image has been repeated throughout this poster because you can see it in the background of the top section of this poster as well as three really small copies in the bottom left of this poster this makes it obvious as to what Fairey thinks his most famous/ favourite piece is. Also the piece is called Obey which shows that, that piece was what he was basing this whole poster off of.

Evolution by Karl Kwasny

Here is another poster from a Don’t Panic pack which also looks like it is biased off of a Disney character this time it looks like Alice from Alice in Wonderland, if it is Alice then all of the random objects surrounding her would be from when she is falling down the rabbit whole and all of the things are flying around her, This would also make sense as to why there is a keyboard in it because in Alice in Wonderland there is a piano while she is falling down as well as a lot of other random objects flying around. 

[popentertainmentmusic]

CREEM: AMERICA’S ONLY ROCK ’N’ ROLL MAGAZINE (2020)

Featuring Dave Marsh, Connie Kramer, JJ Kramer, Jaan Ulheszki, Dave DiMartino, Susan Whitall, Greil Marcus, Robert Christgau, Roberta “Robbie” Cruger, Wayne Kramer, Cameron Crowe, Jeff Ament, Chad Smith, Niagara Detroit, Ted Nugent, Peter Wolf, Jeff Daniels, Ann Powers, Michael Stipe, Lamar Sorrento, Michael N. Marks, Resa Jannett, Robert Stark, Robert Duncan, Lenny Kaye, Alice Cooper, Suzi Quatro, Mitch Ryder, Bebe Buell, Thurston Moore, Chris Stein, Kirk Hammett, Joan Jett, Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Don Was, Scott Kempner, Legs McNeil, John Varvatos, Billy Altman, Johnny “Bee” Badanchek, Michael Des Barres, Dan Carlisle, Patrick Carney, Chuck Eddy, Shepard Fairey, Ben Fong-Torres, Bill Holdship, John Holmstrom, Craig S. Karpel, Jack Kronk, Toby Mamis, Neal Preston, Patti Quatro, Scott Richardson, Wayne Robins, Linda Barber Roach, John Sinclair, Scott Sterling, Gregg Turner, Sandra Stretke van Landingham, Ed Ward, James Williamson and archival footage of Barry Kramer and Lester Bangs.

Written by Scott Crawford and Jaan Ulheszki.

Directed by Scott Crawford.

Distributed by Greenwich Entertainment. 75 minutes. Not Rated.

I wrote some articles for the legendary rock magazine Creem. Not in its DIY heyday, but in the 1990s when the magazine was rebooted as a glossy music version of Andy Warhol’s then-popular Interview magazine. Still, it is an honor to this day to have played even a small part in the fabulous Creem story.

In the early days, Creem was like a National Lampoon about music. And yet, Creem was also stubbornly unique, a triumph of attitude and inexperience which became a defining totem of the rock and roll lifestyle. It was never as popular as Rolling Stone. In fact, it struggled to stay afloat for years before finally succumbing to economic and personality pressures and the loss (through quitting, or death, or both) of three of its figureheads. Then again, Creem never wanted to be another Rolling Stone. In fact, it was a rebellion against Rolling Stone.

Creem was an escape for the outsiders and unaffected. It helped expose punk, glam, metal and new wave to the world, and yet it was hip enough to only partially ironically put “John Denver is God, Bruce Springsteen is not God” on a cover. Creem was willfully anti-establishment, except for when it was more fun to wallow in pop culture. The interviews were often combative. The record reviews often barely even mentioned the music on the album they were supposedly discussing.

Creem was a triumph of attitude and style. It was an immature little boy’s club (as the female writers and editors readily acknowledge here) that became the epitome of cool for a generation of outcasts and losers. It had music. It had cars. It had alcohol. It had tits. It had life, passion and an offbeat point of view which appealed to an audience that had felt misunderstood.

Creem was so uncool that it somehow became effortlessly hip.

The crazy backstory of Creem is celebrated – mostly successfully – in the new documentary Creem: America’s Only Rock ‘N’ Roll Magazine.

This fascinating documentary takes a look at the wild west days of the magazine, when it was an amateur startup in the Detroit area which was run by such outsized personalities as owner/publisher Barry Kramer, editor Dave Marsh and legendary rock journalist and professional provocateur Lester Bangs.

The magazine was a unabashed celebration of sex, drugs and rock and roll, and the film about the world of Creem obviously has the same passions. Put together by Kramer’s widow and co-worker Connie and son JJ – who was just a child when his father died and has just recently gotten control of the magazine’s archives – this is a warts and all look at a business model which just could not work in the current world.

Creem was blissfully anti-PC – some of the writers and editors acknowledge some of the things they said could be mean, or at least insensitive – but it was also a lot of fun to read. Also, to work at, though this film doesn’t overlook the combustible personalities in charge. Kramer and Bangs had more than their share of demons, and Marsh could also go off at a moment’s notice. Still, that very unpredictability makes this much more intriguing than most workplace documentaries.

There is an entire extended section in which a bunch of people lay into Rolling Stone, calling it a staid establishment magazine while Creem was hipper and edgier. This may even actually be true. In fact, it undoubtedly was. But still, seeing about five to ten minutes of Creem people taking pot shots at their more popular, older, more mainstream competition comes off as a little petty and juvenile.

Then again, as this documentary shows, Creem was never above getting a little petty and juvenile when it suited them.  

Interestingly, the film doesn’t even mention the 1990s reboot of the magazine for which I wrote. (The film closes the door with Creem originally going under in 1989.) It barely even acknowledges the mid-late 1980s new wave continuation of the mag under different management; dismissing it with a brief statement in which former co-founder Connie Kramer philosophically says that it was fine for what it was. It is probably for the best, on both counts. The legend of Creem is in the Barry Kramer, Dave Marsh and Lester Bangs years. Everything else was fine, but just not the same.

Jay S. Jacobs

Copyright ©2020 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: August 7, 2020.

[johnkmelvin]

Earth day is coming. Join the future. Strike. Divest. Vote. Pretty awesome line up of speakers, artists, and musicians. Tune into the livestream anywhere and be part of the future. www.earthdaylive2020.org #strike #divest #vote #climatechange #earthday #extinctionrebellion #peoplepower #wecandothis #pandemic #learning #publicart copy/paste list of featured guests: Adam Gardner (Guster) • Al Gore • Alex Macnicoll • Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez • Aloe Blacc • Alyssa Milano • Amanda Palmer • Amber Valletta • Angela Rye • Angelique Kidjo • Ani DiFranco • Bill McKibben • Chef Alejandra Schrader • Chef Dominique Crenn • Chelsea Handler • Cody Simpson • Daniel Fernandez • David Wallace Wells • Devandra Barnhart • DJ Spooky • Dr Michael Greger • Dr. Sweta Chakraborty • Ed Begley Jr. • Emily Wells • Graham Riley • Ilyasah Shabazz • Jack Johnson • Jameela Jamil • Jason Mraz • Joaquin Phoenix • Kathryn Budig • Kirsten Vangsness • KT Tunstall • Lil Dicky • Lisa Edelstein • Local Natives • Louie Schwartzberg • Luke Baines • Madame Gandhi • Margaret Klein Salamon • Mark Ruffalo • Mary Heglar • Matt McGorry • Megan Boone • Michael Franti • Moby • Monica Dogra • Mumu Fresh • Mustafa Santiago Ali • Nahko Bear • Ndaba Mandela • NUKA • Other Lives • Patricia Arquette • Patrisse Cullors • Questlove • Rachel Ray • Rep. Lauren Underwood • Rep. Ted Lieu • Reverend Dr. William Barber II • Robby Romero • Rosanna Arquette • Russell Brand • Secretary John Kerry • Sharon Carpenter • Shepard Fairey • Siva • Smiles Davis • Soul Clap • Stacey Abrams • Stella McCartney • Talib Kweli • Tank and the Bangas • The Both -w- Aimee Mann and Ted Leo • Tim Heidecker • Tony Revolori • Vote Party • Will Anderson (Parachute)
And many more to be announced soon! (at Quimper)
https://www.instagram.com/p/B_J6cKYoI7l/?igshid=ns6eurd71yu4

[thesteveyates]

‘F’ is for Uffa Fox

‘F’ is for Fairey Atalanta.

Blog time : well, it’s mid April and just going into week 4 of this strange life.  As far as my own boat and sailing life are concerned the boss is keeping a good eye on WABI”’ and has had the hatches open to air the boat out for me.  Obviously i’m not out on the water and not writing any new material based on my own boat.  In blog life all i’m working on are the new posts for this series as all of the posts that i was working on in the spring are now out there.    My own life is probably about to change radically if things work out as i expect they will ; that’s because i’m now back on the temporary/emergency register and it looks as though i might get deployed to the emergency Nightingale hospital in London…that’s obviously going to be the ‘hot’ zone.  If that works out well then i’ll be working on my own next boating project while i’m away and i can take more time over the next designer in this series.

In this post for the design series i’m really just looking at one design from one prolific designer, sailor and all-round total English eccentric ; Uffa Fox.  The boat is the highly unusual and funky looking Fairey Atalanta designed by the late Uffa Fox in 1955 alongside Alan Vines ; an executive of Fairey Marine.  The boat was then mass produced using some radically new building techniques between 1956 and 1968.  Many Atalanta’s still exist today, many have been restored and there is an active owners association.

Right at the start of this post i have to point out that all of the photographs i have used come from other sources and not my own files ; most of them appear on the Atalanta owners association website or found during a general image search.  The title photograph also, is of a very modified deck/coachroof version which i think looks great and very different.

Uffa Fox…..Yachtsman and designer.

I regard the late Uffa Fox as the most important and influential small boat designer ever, at least from the narrow perspective of British designers : i place him above other brilliant designers of small sailing craft like Maurice Griffiths and William Fife for example because he took the design and construction of small craft in completely new directions.    Later on in the design series i hope to be able to show how later designers like David Thomas and  Jack Laurent Giles, and then modern designers like Keith Callaghan all owe a lot to Uffa Fox’s radical new designs.

As i re-read biographies of Uffa Fox he comes across as a brilliantly eccentric man who managed to be both at the centre of a very conservative and traditional yachting community based around Cowes on the IOW , at a time when it was an important ‘Royal’ yachting venue and centre of the English yachting world, and at the same time being a maverick and radical designer.   He was for example closely connected to the British royal family at play, regularly sailing with or crewing for HRH Prince Philip and the young Royals , often in his or their Dragon class racing yachts.

In 1938 Uffa Fox designed the first of several International 14 racing dinghy’s, the most famous of which was ‘Thunder and Lightning’, the radical feature of the new designs being their ability to plane rather than just being displacement hulls. The International 14 class was then, as it is now, a development class and that same boat not only planed downwind in a breeze but could generate a lot more power upwind because of another new device….the trapeze…..instantly banned as being ‘unsporting’ until a few years later. Now of course the International 14 is a double trapeze boat and still very quick even when compared with more modern dinghy designs.

Fairey Marine and the Atalanta.

Fairey Marine Ltd,  was a boat building company based on the River Hamble near to Southampton on the Uk’s south coast.. The company was created in the late 1940s by Sir Charles Richard Fairey and Fairey Aviation‘s managing director, Mr. Chichester-Smith. Both were avid sailing enthusiasts along with Chichester-Smith’s good friend and former Olympic yachtsman, Charles Currey.  Fairey Aviation of course was the company responsible for designing and building wartime aircraft such as the Fairey Swordfish, which, even as an ‘obsolete’ carrier based biplane managed to stick a torpedo up the backside of the Bismark which led to that ship’s eventual sinking only 8 days into her one and only wartime mission !

As the war drew to a close Fairey and Chichester-Smith both decided that they should produce sailing dinghies utilising techniques that had been employed in the construction of aircraft. Charles Currey was recruited to help run the company when he came out of the Royal Navy. The world air speed record holder Peter Twiss joined Fairey Marine Ltd from Fairey Aviation in 1960 and was responsible for development and sales of day-cruisers. In 1969, commanding the Huntsman 707 Fordsport, he took part in the Round Britain Powerboat Race, and included among his crew members, Rally champion Roger Clark. Boats were primarily designed by Alan Burnard.

In the early years, thousands of dinghies were produced by Fairey Marine including the Firefly, Albacore, Falcon (dinghy), Swordfish (dinghy), Jollyboat, Flying Fifteen, 505 and International 14‘s along with the much smaller Dinky and Duckling. Later on in the 1950s they produced the larger sailing cruisers, the Atalanta (named after Sir Richard’s wife), Titania, Fulmar and the 27-foot (8.2 m) Fisherman motor sailer (based on the Fairey Lifeboat hull) along with the 15′ Cinderella (outboard runabout)/ Carefree (inboard runabout), and the 16’6″ Faun (outboard powered family cruiser).

By way of a side-line here, Fairey were using very similar techniques to the ones developed by the De Havilland company which used the extraordinary (for then) concept of building wooden framed and skinned aircraft…and that resulted in the fastest wartime fighter/bomber cum recconaisance plane ; the famous Mosquito.

Fairey Swordfish.

Personal interest.

Many readers will be aware that while i really like my little Hunter Liberty i could really do with a bit more waterline length, more space (volume) , more sailing ‘power’ and while keeping the Liberty’s ability to sail shallow rivers and dry out level at the end of the day.  Some readers will also know, because i wrote several posts, that i did a serious search for a slightly larger and more capable boat and that one group of boats that i found were the post IOR designs of around 25 feet with lifting keels : the Dehler 25, Evolution 25 and Super-Seal 26.

Both of us went to see the Dehler and both almost instantly didn’t like the boat, the Evolution 25 that i had in mind disappeared off the market and i couldn’t afford the larger Parker Super Seal although i think it might have made a good boat.  The boat that really might have worked for me was the again slightly larger Kelt that i photographed in Wareham :

There was however one complete outsider in the mix and that was the much older Fairey Atalanta and one did come up on Ebay at about the same time ; i don’t remember now why i didn’t go and see it because it was only ‘just down the road’…ie about a hundred miles away !.     Going way back, at least 25 years, when i first started thinking about owning my own boat in my post Whitbread race era i was talking to a yacht designer about what i was looking for in a boat and he told me about an Atalanta sitting in the yard somewhere behind Proctor spars place in the Hamble.

I was greatly intrigued so i went and saw the boat and yes, it had a lot of what i wanted and it was just about inside my budget except that it was in poor condition and it smelled very nasty inside…..i’m pretty sure there was some unhealthy wood in that one.  I spent some time working up a budget for the potential rebuild and what i came up against straight away is the huge base cost of having a boat like that in a shed anywhere in the Hamble where covered space seems to be charged out by the square inch !.  On top of that i did some research about repairs to an Atalanta hull and it does seem to be a more specialist job than a ‘normal’ ie carvel, wooden boat.  The reason for that being that the whole hull is hot-glue laminated from Agba veneers in a large oven !.

I liked the basic concept and the actual boat though so i always kept it in mind for ‘maybe one day’ : today i still greatly admire the Atalanta and iv’e since seen some very nicely refitted ones.  The size would still be about right, i could live with the layout , especially by converting the aft cabin to a large double + berth and i still love the funky looking 50’s shape.  Given that these boats were first built in the 1950’s iv’e always fancied having one that was ‘born’ in the same year as me (1958)…..not the most intelligent or logical reason to own a boat but hey ….it’s me we are talking about !

The Atalanta file.

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  Here’s one for sale via the Atalanta owners website .

https://atalantaowners.org/f14-noggin-sale-2/

Funky, Foxy, Fairey. 'F' is for Uffa Fox 'F' is for Fairey Atalanta. Blog time : well, it's mid April and just going into week 4 of this strange life.