From the streets of Brixton, Bristol and Manchester, to junk yards, punk venues and inner-city community centres, the rich backdrop and background to each artist and performer is evocatively captured as they develop and hone their practices, challenging social boundaries as they go. In Dread Beat and Blood, directed by Franco Rosso (Babylon), the dub poet master Linton Kwesi-Johnson uses his poetry as a weapon in the pursuit of justice against racism and violence. His contemporary John Cooper Clarke presents a despairing hymn to urban devastation and human causalities of the Thatcher era in Ten Years in An Open Necked Shirt.
From jazz to contemporary composition, tape experiments, spoken word, rap and innovative DJ excellence, the styles and approaches vary; and so to do the manner of each film. By turns poetic and impressionistic, personal and experimental, these bold, unusual works highlight the wide-ranging, inspiring potential of documentary. Over 7 hours of sound and vision across 2 DVDs.
