No Maps For What We Know exhibition reviewed by Harry Pye

The Urban Photo Fest 2017 featured a variety of exhibitions, events and activities across Deptford, New Cross and Greenwich as well as a talk by Roger Ballen and conference at Tate Britain. One of the highlights of the festival for me was No Maps For What We Know which is on at 310 NXRD Galley, New Cross Road SE14 6AF (12pm-8pm) until the 17th of November.

This exhibition was curated by Sarah Ainsle and features artists from The Gate Room Members. "Who are the Gate Room Members?" you ask. Well...The Gate Darkroom are a a group of emerging artists who, for the last 6 years, have been running a not-for-profit photographic darkroom as a community interest company. They hang their hats at Thames-Side Studios, Harrington Way, Warspite Road, SE18, 5NR.

The photo above is by Henry Palmer entitled Part-Time Geography (2013) it's a silver Gelatin print. It's one of a series of photographs on temporary landscapes and topography along the South bank of the Thames, tracking the physical apparition of redevelopment. To be honest I liked all the artists in the show and wish I had j-pegs of everyone's work. Ioana Marinca's Map of pain and recovery was made in response to the recent attack in London Bridge. David Whiting's "You Are Here" series of photos of Park Maps was impressive. 

I also liked the work inspired by the Thames such as Pathways by Tony Jacobs and a series of collaged images called Low Tide by Molly Behagg. 

The press release features the following quote:

"When does one need a map, if not when in unfamiliar territory or a foreign land? The photographers of the Gate Darkroom are going through a buoyant transition, having recently moved into their new home by the river, in Woolwich. Between the Iris shipwreck and the plastic moulding factory they are navigating a new territory, listening to the river, and searching for light. Memories will help them remember where they came from, and clues found on the way will lead them into an unknown landscape. Elements of information appear and disappear; names are edited out, new lines are marked and realities shift They will explore processes of mapping, shared experience, contours, boundaries, pathways, and inhabiting the urban edgelands."

For more info visit:

www.urbanphotofest.org/no-maps-what-we-know

Text by Harry Pye 2017

Ten Things We Learnt Watching Morrissey’s Berlin ARTE concert…

To buy or not to buy.  That is the question facing Morrissey fans as tickets go on sale for his next UK dates in March, despite the fact that at the end of his last British jaunt he said it was unlikely he’d ever tour this country ever again.  Would you expect anything less from the man who once sang, in the song ‘Disappointed’, “this is the last song I will ever sing / I changed my mind again.”

There are arguments on both sides, of course.  The Moz has been making some fairly questionable statements of late about UKIP, Jean Marie Le Penn and other dangerous undesirables, not to mention his seeing obsession with attacking London mayor Sadiq Khan.  But on the upside, his last long player ‘World Peace Is None of Your Business’ is probably his most interesting, varied and lyrically gifted album since ‘Vauxhall and I’, his current band has added a touch of South American gringo attitude that has pepped up his sound and the recent single ‘Spent The Day In Bed’ was a corker.

So, to help you at least make an educated guess before parting with not inconsiderable sums of cash required to get in, here are ten clues from the televised Berlin concert on German TV last week to help you make up your mind.

1. It might take his band a little while to warm up

It’s early days of course, but the band sound a bit rusty and rough around the edges in this gig, before they suddenly burst into life on ‘My Love I’d Do Anything For You’ and maintaining a higher intensity until the end.

1. The Smiths songs are taking a bit of a back seat again

There’s only one included in the whole of this hour-plus set, the seemingly here-to-stay and really very powerful rendition of ‘Meat Is Murder’ that regular fans will already know.  His normal sets are considerably longer, but you’re probably wise to assume there won’t be a deluge of previously unaired Smiths classics in the setlist.

1. ‘Low In High School’ has some corking tracks on it…

As well as the inspirational ‘Spent The Day’ in bed, with its Stevie Wonder-esque keyboard plonking, there are a couple of great new songs in the set.  ‘My Love I’d Do Anything For You’ is an apocalyptic sounding revelation, and ‘All The Young People Must Fall In Love’ taps into the rich vein of glam rock that informed ‘Panic’, ‘Glamorous Glue’ and ‘Certain People I Know’. ‘When You Open Your Legs’ isn’t half bad either.

1. …and a few also-rans too.

The current single ‘I Wish You Lonely’ doesn’t have much going for it – he’s always been terrible at choosing the right tracks for singles – and neither does ‘Home Is A Question Mark’.

1. There’s a new song in the obligatory cover version spot

He’s done Sparks, Buzzcocks and Ramones in this traditionally near-the-end slot in the set recent years, but this time it’s ‘Back on the Chain Gang’ by The Pretenders, which is no surprise in one sense, namely that Chrissie Hynde is a friend and fellow animal rights campaigner.  But it’s certainly the first time he’s covered a song by an act that Johnny Marr played with post-Smiths, which might suggest a bit of a thawing of the icy relations between the pair.

1. He’s still playing a few solo tracks he should have dropped ages ago?

‘Alma Matters’ and ‘Speedway’?  What, again?!! Really? Why?!!

1. He can’t resist a swipe at Trump

“Presidents come, and presidents go,” he sings in ‘All The Young People…’, clearly a subtle swipe at Donald Trump, without mentioning names.  The song, which at times bears an uncanny resemblance to ‘All The Young Dudes’ by Mott The Hoople, also contains the fantastic opening lines “Spend more on nuclear war if that’s your chosen illusion / Incinerate innocent men and women and children…”

1. He’s still obsessed with chart positions

Anyone who’s read his ‘Autobiography’ will know that a disproportionate amount of time was spent moaning about how certain tracks only made certain positions in the UK chart.  Which continues here, we’re sorry to report.  It doesn’t matter – you’re Morrissey, FFS!

1. Some of the best songs from ‘World Peace…’ may have been dropped (but hopefully not)

No sign in this set list of ‘Kick The Bride Down The Aisle’, ‘Smiler With Knife’, ‘I’m Not A Man’ or ‘Staircase At The University’, all of which were highlights of the previous tour although tended to come in and out of the set rather than making themselves permanently at home. We’d take them over ‘Istanbul’ and ‘The Bullfighter Dies’ any time.

1. Moz has learnt to say ‘thank you’ in quite a few languages.

German, Spanish and French by our reckoning!  He also does a bit of a ‘Brit abroad speaking English in an unspecific foreign accent’ -  which will go down a treat at the UKIP conference.

Watch the Berlin concert here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ITe_TAXAbo:

Text by Ben Willmott 2017

Sean Hughes: The Right Side of Wrong

When Sean Hughes was 13 he saw Richard Pryor Live at The Sunset Strip and he knew there and then what he wanted to do with his life. He dreamt that one fine day he would be able to go on stage and be free to tell the truth and say whatever he wanted. At the age of 19 he left Dublin and came to London to try his luck in comedy clubs such as Jongleurs. In 1990, when Hughes was 24, he went to the Edinburgh Festival with low expectations but to his surprise he won the Perrier award and was offered a TV Series (which resulted in Sean’s Show) and a publishing deal (which resulted in Sean’s Book.)

Some might feel that success made a failure of Sean Hughes because although being a TV presenter and radio host earned him fame and fortune, he stopped being thought of as a comedian. At the age of age of 40 Hughes landed the role of “Pat the love rat” in Coronation Street . When this acting stint came to an end he decided to return to the stage. However by now Sean Hughes had changed his outlook.  “I know my job is to make people laugh” he told one journalist, “but my agenda is to tell the truth not to tell jokes.”

When The Right Side of Wrong Live DVD was released in 2007, fans of Sean’s Show and Sean’s Book may well have felt saddened or concerned that the Sean Hughes on stage at The Journal Tyne Theatre in Newcastle was rather different from the 90’s Sean they’d fell in love with. The 41 year old Sean is less romantic, less innocent, less kind and less sensitive. The good news is that he is more honest and he is still funny. Maybe 75% of what Hughes says in this show is about how he’s grown old without growing up...

“I thought when I was 41, I would be married with kids. Well, to be honest I thought I would be married with weekend access.” He claims the reason he’s back on stage for the first time in a decade is partly because stand-up is his first love and partly because his next door neighbours have got a kid whose learning to play the trumpet.

He had reached a level of fame where people didn’t know whether they’ve seen on TV him on if he was a neighbour that lived 4 doors down from them. He talks of having one night stands with 25 year-old women who don’t seem to care that he’s now dependent on ear and nose clippers, pills, supplements and afternoon naps. He says he refuses to go down on them, it’s not because he’s selfish, he’s just worried his back could go at any minute. For Sean the idea of having a threesome is unappealing as it would mean he had two people he’d have to ignore in the morning.

The show is one hour and 40 minutes long. There is odd material about speed dating women in hijabs – ("Hey great eyes! Hey great eyes!") and a surprising section about how Disneyland should employ people with Downs to dress up as Mickey Mouse and hug people. Sean talks to an 18 year old in the audience whose name is Mark. When Sean discovers Mark works in a Morrison’s Supermarket and doesn’t have a girlfriend, he hands him a plate of biscuits. The weirdest routine is about taking ecstasy and going to a Holocaust museum.

It’s not an evening of non-stop laughs. Some sections about him needing a drink at 9am are likely to make you feel rather sad but this show is worth seeking out as there are flashes of brilliance and moments where he is every bit as impressive and honest as his comedy heroes. Fans like me who feel it's a tragedy he died so young can watch this show and feel some consolation by the fact that his dream came true.

 2017