It’s been pointed out to me by a certain Mr STN that Max Schaefer, author of “Children of the Sun” is doing a reading in my neck of the woods as part of Stoke Newington Literary Festival.
Other topics include the life of Alexander Baron and Ska in Hackney.
The festival takes place from 3-5 June in a number of venues.
Max Schaefer – Children of the Sun (Granta, 2010)
I first read about this book the year before last over at Stewart Home’s blog. My interest was piqued as the subject matter was notorious gay neo-nazi skinhead Nicky Crane, who I’d previously written about here when his appearance in a Psychic TV video came to light. There wasn’t that much material available about Crane online (or anywhere) at the time and I’m still slightly concerned to see my site is the third thing that comes up in a google search for him.
I’ve been meaning to review the book for ages – it was my holiday read last year. This is based on my notes from a while back and what I can remember now.
“Children of the Sun” is fictionalised but accurate – Schaefer has certainly put the necessary research into this and there were no cringeworthy bits that usually crop up with depictions of the far right (from posh plays to The Bill). Various aspects of the British fascism are portrayed accurately but without descent into unnecessary trainspotterish detail. Some brushes with anti-fascists are described in similar ways to how they have been told to me as well.
The heart of the story is the interplay between two protagonists – one a contemporary of Crane’s on the far right, another a young researcher who is obsessed with Crane after his death. Although violence and sex are certainly part of the narrative it’s not a football hoolie book which is hagiographic and uncritical.
There is also a good depiction of the paranoia that an obsessive immersion in this material can induce…
The book is not something to read on the train as lurid news clippings and far right agit prop are reproduced throughout. Crane still exerts a morbid fascination on many from beyond the grave – both on the far right and in aspects of gay subculture. I saw him around on a few occasions whilst studying in central London in the early nineties and can confirm he seemed like someone best avoided. The fact that he was living something of a double life doesn’t really detract from this. Clearly a novel about his life will raise more questions than it answers, but it is a good read and I’d definitely recommend it if you have an interest in this sort of subject matter.
Awesome fanzine seeks bass-head designers for mutual layout fun
Can you help?
Woofah is an independently produced magazine covering reggae, grime, dubstep and all points in between.
Last year we published our 4th issue featuring Untold, The Newham Generals, the last days of Studio One, London dubplate cutting houses, Hessle Audio, YT and a whole lot more – see website for details: http://www.woofahmag.com
Our fifth and final issue is now written and ready to be designed but we need help with this!
If you:
then, please get in touch!
If you have any examples of your work to show us, send some links or samples.
Nobody gets paid to produce Woofah, but working on the mag will get your work published and help get the word out about the artists and their music. Everyone who contributes receives a full credit in the magazine and on our website.
We are hoping to get a few designers on board to work on a spread each (2-5 pages) – or more, so that the magazine can go out with a bang.
Get in touch and we’ll find you something to your taste to work on.
All enquiries to info at woofahmag dot com, via our website – or to us directly.
John Eden / Droid
General Impressions on the March
The Smiley Culture March for Justice took place the weekend before last and was a resounding success. About 1,500-2,000 people marched from Wandsworth Road to New Scotland Yard in militant but peaceful formation. My marching partner History Is Made At Night has already written his account of the day, so check that out. As he points out the marchers included families of other people who have died in police custody and also a good few portable soundsystems, giving the event both a poignant and carnival air.
The day also marked the appearance of various socialist groups, with the Socialist Workers Party manufacturing their own placards and the Socialist Party producing a special leaflet for the occasion.
The Rally and Campaign
Standing outside New Scotland Yard with a couple of thousand people whilst Buju Banton’s “Murderer” and Barrington Levy’s tune of the same name boomed out is something I will never forget.
Speakers at the rally included Merlin Emmanuel, Lee Jasper, Asher Senator, Blacker Dread, journalist and victim of police violence Jody McIntyre (links are to transcripts of speeches or thoughts on the day). Relatives of the late Sean Rigg, Julian Webster and Kingsley Burrell spoke about their campaigns for justice.
Lorna G also took to the platform. Lorna is probably best known for her Mad Professor produced hits “3 Weeks Gone” and “Gotta Find A Way” – both classics of UK dancehall MC-ing and lovers rock respectively. What I didn’t know until recently was that Lorna was the sister of Cherry Groce, who was shot by police in her home in Brixton in 1985. This was one of the contributory factors to the ’85 Brixton riots. The police officer was later cleared of all charges. Groce was paralysed from the waist down and suffered numerous other health complications. She died last Sunday.
The Justice For Smiley Culture campaign announced the following demands for reform:
Asher Senator finished the rally on a more upbeat note with a performance of his Smiley Culture tribute “Character Reference”. This story of Smiley’s career includes some of his routines and some great info on UK reggae and soundsystem history:
(Video filmed and uploaded by the Heatwave crew )
Official Campaign t-shirts are now available from THTC’s webshop.
Photo by Duncan on Flickr. Graff by unknown.
More recent developments
The Sun has once again reported one of the police officers’ version of events completely uncritically:
A Met officer said he watched in horror as Smiley, 48, plunged the blade into his own heart during a drugs bust at his home.
The singer, real name David Emmanuel, had gone into the kitchen of the mansion to make a cup of tea.
One source said of the Independent Police Complaints Commission inquiry: “The officer said he was monitoring Mr Emmanuel who picked up a knife, waved it in his direction and said, ‘Do you want some?’
“A split second later Mr Emmanuel turned the blade towards himself, said ‘I do’ and stabbed himself in the chest.”
Once again an anonymous source, who seems to be privy to police evidence to the IPCC which the public is not, has briefed The Sun. The journalist responsible is an ex-police officer.
Socialist Worker (to give them full credit for a change) printed a riposte, including a response from Merlin Emmanuel:
Smiley’s nephew, Merlin Emmanuel, said he was “disgusted” by the story and condemned police leaks about his uncle’s death as “damage limitation”.
“I am perplexed by the police’s continual release of information without making a statement themselves,” he told Socialist Worker.
“The Sun has shown its true colours. It wants to impose the interests of the elite.”
Forthcoming events
There is to be a Youth For Smiley Culture event on May 7th at ULU Malet Street, London WC1 featuring grime artist (and Woofah cover star) Durrty Goodz amongst others.
There is also a talk of a major concert to raise awareness of the campaign, with venues like Wembley Arena and artists like David Bowie, Sade, Nas and Damian Marley being mentioned as possibles.
Smiley’s hit “Police Officer” has been remixed for re-issue and a compilation of tributes is being prepared featuring Maxi Priest, Sade and Asher Senator.
A march on Downing Street is also being organised.
Campaign Links
ONE LOVE ONE AIM
Southbank Club 124 -130 Wandsworth Road SW8 2DL
proceeding to New Scotland Yard
SMILEY CULTURE MARCH FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.
Saturday 16th April 2011 – Assemble at 12 noon
Its time to bring an end to all deaths in custody.
Please do now allow your emotions to compromise the objectives of the masses and give the media ammunition to discredit our campaign.
Speakers: Merlin Emanuel, Lee Jasper other speakers to be announced.
No Justice No Peace!
Called by the Campaign for Justice for Smiley Culture.
A slightly odd article by Dr Perry Stanislas has appeared in The Voice entitled “Why We Must Not Rush To Judgement Over Smiley Culture’s Knife Death”.
It’s odd because it wastes no time in arguing for the case that David Emmanuel may have killed himself and pouring scorn on others who say he may have been killed by the police. Which seems to be in direct contradiction of its title.
Let me be clear here in saying that I do not know how David Emmanuel (aka Smiley Culture) died. I wasn’t there – only the police and David Emmanuel were.
Dr Stanislas also mentions his involvement with the campaign following the death of Colin Roach by a gunshot wound in Stoke Newington police station in 1983. I’ve not been able to establish the extent of his involvement because he isn’t mentioned in my main source about the case: “Policing in Hackney 1945-1983” commissioned by The Roach Family Support Committee.
The book does not conclude that the police killed Colin Roach:
The Inquiry does not commit itself to an alternative explanation of how Colin Roach died. What it clearly and incontrovertibly shows is that he could not have died in the way the police and the inquest say he did. The Report does not say or suggest, for example, that Colin Roach was shot by the police in their own station. But it does show convincingly that he did not shoot himself with a gun which he carried into the station: which is what the police and the inquest asked us to believe.
Was Colin Roach shot by someone else, in or outside the foyer of the station? The Report does not say definitively that he was because it does not know. However, it does remind us — as the inquest did not — that this is not quite so implausible a story as it appears at first.
[…] The police are not in a position to challenge this argument, says the Report, because they never investigated it. From the first to last, the police behaved as if the ‘fact’ that Colin Roach’s death was a suicide was a foregone conclusion. The police certainly advanced an account of what they said or thought happened. But they conducted no investigation.
It seems strange to me that Dr Stanislas has come to a conclusion about the Colin Roach case which are at odds with the campaign he was involved in.
The “Policing in Hackney” book also includes details of how Colin Roach was attacked by the press dept of the Metropolitan Police and the media after his death and how people protesting about his tragic demise were persecuted by the police when marching peacefully through Hackney. That is the context in which the investigation of Colin Roach’s death took place.
Smiley Culture’s family have stated that they were not aware of any reason for him to commit suicide.
They have asked that his mysterious death be investigated properly and promptly so that the truth about it can be revealed. That is all they have asked for, and I think most people would agree that their request reasonable and proportionate.
The family of Colin Roach did not get the benefit of a proper and prompt investigation and neither have the family of Ian Tomlinson. So the Emmanuel family can hardly be blamed for being suspicious about the process, or seeking to draw attention to it so that it is subject to a high level of scrutiny.
Speculations about the cause of David Emmanuel’s death are understandable, but they – and Dr Stanislas’ article – are a sideshow.
I don’t read a lot of fiction, but I’ve had time for Tony White ever since I saw him read from his novel “Charlieunclenorfolktango” above a pub somewhere in Farringdon in the mid 90s. He would have been on the same bill as either Stewart Home or some of the Attack! Books writers, or both – because those are the only literary events I was going to at that time.
I guess one of the reasons I like his work is that it covers similar ground to many of my obsessions – the London of squats and raves, industrial culture, reggae, slang. Tony’s Piece of Paper Press site is great place to get lost as part of your procrastination strategies.
He has just published “A Porky Prime Cut” – an ebook which covers a fictional teenager growing up and getting into 70s reggae, William Burroughs, and Throbbing Gristle – the latter’s logo becoming an unlikely totem…
The text conjurs up some heady memories for me – growing up in the south (St Albans for me, a lash up of Bournemouth and Poole for the fictional protagonist) and getting into all sorts of weirdness, as well as the violence from others this entails in small town England.
You can download A Porky Prime Cut for free here. It’s in “epub” format so you might need to download a (free) utility to read it – but that’s pretty straightforward and is all explained here.
Tony has performed a reading of “A Porky Prime Cut” recently at the National Portrait Gallery, and has posted an mp3 on his blog.
I would also thoroughly recommend Tony’s blog post on “street talk” scare stories from last year. And his other books, of course.
Tero Kaski and & Pekka Vuorinen – Volcano Revisted: Kingston Dancehall Scene 1983
“208 pages, paperback, full of colours! paypal accepted”
This is a new edition of a legendary book that was originally published in the eighties. I’ve never seen a copy despite being on the hunt for ages. So I’ve ordered my copy already and am very much looking forward to getting my mitts on it…
Hit Me With Music (dir Miquel Galofre, 2011)
A new film covering more contemporary dancehall. World Premiere is at the East End Film Festival on April 30th.
More info here (and another 19 trailers on youtube!)
The festival also includes a film about Norman Jay that could be interesting.
“I’m not surprised people are suspicious”
London Mayor Boris Johnson on David Emmanuel’s death.
“Cops must be filmed to prevent deaths in custody”
Patrick Augustus
(Patrick is best known for writing the novel “Baby Father” (X-Press, 1994) which was then turned into a TV series. But he also served time in the British reggae scene.)
The campaign for Justice for Smiley Culture (aka David Emmanuel) continues apace. It has been heartening to see the family make links with other deaths related to police activity such as that of Ian Tomlinson (who was killed by police two years ago whilst walking home during the G20 protests), and the more recent case of Kingsley Brown.
Kingsley died just two weeks after the mysterious death of Smiley Culture. He called the police to protect him and his young son. The police took him into custody instead, and admitted him to hospital in a critical condition. Kingsley Brown died on the 31st of March. His family are alleging that the police beat him prior to his arrival in hospital.
Justice 4 Kingsley Brown & Smiley Culture (AKA David Emanuel) Meeting in Birmingham
Location: The African Caribbean Millennium Centre
339 Dudley Road, Winson Green, Birmingham.B18 4HB
Email: info@acmccentre.co.uk or phone 0121 455 6382
Time: 6:30PM on Friday, April 8th
“The family of Kingsley Brown will now join the family of David Emanuel at the meeting this Friday in Birmingham. Two families united in grief . One people committed to securing justice.”
London March: 16th April, 12pm
Assemble: Southbank Club 124-130 Wandsworth Rd SW8 2DL
JUSTICE MARCH to SCOTLAND YARD, VICTORIA
Interview with Merlin Emmanuel in Socialist Worker
More tributes
“Smiley was one of the true originators of British rap-ology and will always be remembered for his unique lyrical skills.”
– David Rodigan
An interview with lovers rock singer and UK MC Lorna G has been placed on youtube.
Lorna also performed at Smiley’s nine night alongside Asher Senator:
(Part 4 of 4 – check the rest as well!)
Resources
downloadable flyers and radio advert (mp3 and wav)
Dubstep advert for the April 16th march:
Smiley Dubstep ad for justice march by Merlin Emanuel