More Fighting Talk...

from Inspector Gadgets blog:

Metcountymounty-

‎...Even with force mobilisation we would have had a problem clearing it, it would have been brilliant but messy, and no good news would come out of it. Back to the days of mass raves now, they’ve tried and won, and we’re now screwed....

This was his response to being present at the Scumoween Rave over the weekend reported in the paper.

Rave hordes in 18-hour spree of destruction at former Royal Mail depot in central London

Illegal Holborn Rave Was A Smokers’ Revolution And Against State Control

I used to read Metcountymounty's blog and I must admit I was disappointed when he stopped blogging. I am very much in favour of Police blogs. It is a sort of accountability which is more realistic than press releases or "on high" officers with no direct experience of what they are talking about making measured statements which mean fuck all.

What's not been mentioned-

This was the third time this building has been partied, there may have been more. The idea that anyone could do any more damage to it isn't very credible.

I've heard various stories of what happened. The ITN piece about raves "coming back" was hilarious.



I think this was the fifth scumtek over the last couple of years, with over thirty rigs at each. Not really my scene. Obviously this one was reported cos it was in the West End and because there was trouble for a while. My band were playing at a fairly large squat party in a slightly more secluded place elsewhere in London.

I make no comment on what I didn't personally witness but I will say-

The sort of squat parties we get booked at charge a fair bit of money and attract a different crowd. They also put a load more money into decor and sound equipment but they are about the same size as skumtek. They are basically everything you could ask for from a professional nightclub (except for bloody toilets) with security who can look after security rather than having to steal peoples drugs from them to give to the council. They never ever have any problem with the Police because they talk to them in a polite and professional manner.

I used to do some of the more hairier Hackney parties where I used to specialise in talking to the cops to convince them not to bust us. I think I might have written about them somewhere. It was just such a damn interesting cultural barrier to cross at whatever level of inebriation I was on at the time.

(Just found one- see POLICE OFFICER NO GIVE ME PRODUCER)

There are loads of comments about the Police throughout this blog.

...Back to the days of mass raves now, they’ve tried and won, and we’re now screwed....

I am sorry Metcountymounty feels this way. For one thing, what is "back to the days"? When have mass raved ever stopped? We have been playing at raves of between 2 and 4 thousand people for years now with no trouble from or given to the Police. How are they screwed? They make the same decisions every weekend all over London. If they get to a party which is setting up they can bust it and stop it. If the building already has thousands of people out of their heads inside, its better to leave it and do what needs doing on Saturday night surely.

See ITS THE SMOKE- the last one a couple of weeks back including a picture of a lone Policeman being taken for a tour of the venue as everything was winding down. I sat eating chips with the TSG in Camden one time when they inexplicably bust the trance party next door and left ours alone.

I am sorry Metcountymounty is so enthusiastic to fight with people. He sounds just like some squatters I used to know.

More interesting comments from Metcountymounty

...What pisses me off is the fact that they had the gall to do it in central london, in the middle of a high residential population KNOWING that our spineless as fuck bosses would ultimately let them. They KNOW that the media hate us and will slate us no matter what, they KNOW that most of the population who will speak up are left wing pussies who will take any opportunity to have a go at us and they KNOW that ultimately they will get away with it....

Obviously I am hoping Scumtek hasn't Castle Mortoned our ventures in London. I am not in favour of rubbing "their" nose in it just because you can. That's how the CJB came about. Wake up. We are a minority. They don't understand us. I don't buy any of this shit about "parties should be free" either. in my experience the people who used to shout this the loudest used to make shit loads from selling drugs.

another retired officer-

..All sounds like a return to the 90′s when I was on the TSG, spent innumerable lare turn commissioner’s reserves dealing with raves and pay parties. Must say though, that the illegal S&M rave in an archway under the railway bridge in Brick La...ne in Bethnal Green was more than compensation for all the aggro. I’ve never seen so many females in leather and rubber in one place in my life…..

The Policeman is right. I was at this party and it was amazing. I forget who the people who organised it were but it's a real shame they don't do stuff any more as they were seriously forward thinking people.

Reality check for anyone who is interested- Why am I against parties in legal venues? A certain huge South London venue which was recently closed down used to have to pass the council a box full of drugs to the value of x pounds every month to keep their license. Do you think they collected this amount of drugs on hardcore drum and bass nights or fluffy trance nights? I got totally sick of getting into a frame of mind where I was enjoying myself and causing no harm to anyone and then suddenly seeing the person next to me assaulted by wankers wearing black. I voted with my feet along with everyone else.

I take a very dim view of causing the Police problems on Saturday night when they have serious stuff to attend to, the law is not their fault and I have no influence on how they enforce it. We just do what we do. My interest is in understanding why we do it.

More on the spot footage from Skum'oween break in



UPDATE: Police bust party as it is setting up. Cheers Scum'oween! Nice one guys! Any more bright ideas?
..

RUPTURE

The new Rupture magazine is out. Online as a pdf here

WEDNESDAY IS THE NEW FRIDAY

We won!

rock star faces

rock star bassist

An Uncle of Funk

One shit hot singer

I fuckin love squatted pubs. We did the radio show again, another fantastic night. I think I was a bit pissed by the time we started and abandoned the guitar to itself a couple of times, leaving strangled loops and feedback going and jumped about like Bez from the Happy Mondays. Probably not the best idea for radio but there you are. Towards the end of the gig I wasn't sure what was going on but everyone seemed pretty happy so maybe I got away with it. We'll see. This sort of thing makes you forget "making it" as a muso eh. Its just great fun. I think we got back about four AM. I was pissed off that I missed Immortal Technique up the road in the Coronet, but pleased to find the guys who promoted the gig were still up when we got back and jamming down the road. There is a recording somewhere I will put some of it up when it surfaces.

Phil and Linda

squatted pubs rock

I boned er innit.

Squatting has been a way of life for the past five years. "I feel freer than if I was renting. I can write on the walls if I want. Every time I try to settle down, I get claustrophobic and have to run. Squatting is the only time I've felt at home." She is part of a community who move round the country, seeking out empty buildings. "They have to have been derelict for a long time, otherwise it wouldn't be morally justifiable." They change the locks, set up home, restore the building, host free parties, get evicted, and move on. Despite the chaotic homelife, she finds the peace to write. "I try to have my own separate space, writing on my laptop. I've killed three so far."

Writing has been interspersed with a cycle of trance parties, squatting, moving on and getting married.

TAG ME UP

Fuckin hate taggers. Don't know what they are where you come from but here "taggers" are neandertal fuck-heads who have to write their fucking name everywhere with spray cans in a "dogpiss-to-mark-its-fuckin-territory" styley.

Nothing wrong with Graffiti artists, nothing wrong with Graffer's signing their work, but fucking tagging shits used to ruin my environment frequently. A dark art-less art.

That said, apparently I have now been tagged from Texas by the lovely Tequilita which means I have to answer some questions, so here goes:

10 years ago: Living in a squat in Dalston, East London. Partying Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. My backdrops were new. I thought I had discovered a new way of painting where I shone a bright light at a huge white canvas and after doing a two litre bucket bong I would fill in the shapes I saw with a black marker. I watched my paintings paint themselves in this way. I proceeded to get ripped off for them by every psychedelic trance promoter in London. I took acid most days and believed a psychedelic human awakening was going on. When I came down I really came down which I couldn't handle so I went back up again. My favourite moments were when people on acid used to come up to me and say

"Your paintings really fucked my head up."

I thought that was job done. I found it wierd that they all looked sort of "dragon like" and thought that some "dragon energy" was trying to access this world through them.

Most memorable nights..erm...Juno Reactor live in Tysen st and Linford Studios, Parallel Youniversity at Bagleys on Wednesdays, a Flying Rhino party when Mass opened in Brixton.. I think this was in 95 anyway.Indescribable screaming heavily sexual crazy dancefloor vibe. Superhuman dancing.

5 Years ago: Doing Ketamine, Pushkar, India. Travelling with a ladel with burn marks from the candle I cooked the K in and some stone balls I was carving (Trust me to take up stone carving whilst backpaking) Did Vipassna for the first time which cured me from depression for 2 months at least. It was great doing K at Hindu festivals because no one seemed to notice in the frenzy. Seriously wierd things happened by that strange lake and on the crystal mountain which overlooks the town.

1 Year ago: Getting evicted from some squat it looks like, can't quite tell from my archive which one. I think I was arguing with Abu Abdullah. Not sure. My IWC Media doc pitch focusing on Abdullah fucked up too. Abu Hamza was not long arrested.

Yesterday: On my mates boat drinking wine in civilized company.

5 songs I know all the words to: I know all the words to so many songs it is untrue. Easy ones to mention here would be the whole of AC/DC's Back in Black album, Most of Black Sabbath's stuff, but I remember all the words to stupid pop songs I don't even know I know. All of them. I don't know why.

5 snacks: Boring. I eat nougat, plantain crisps, flapjacks, cereals, dates, crystsalised ginger...

5 things I'd do with $100 million: Pay for the summer of love in a major city somewhere. Start a revolution in London. Something outrageous involving debauchery and drugs and me probably. Buy a ticket anywhere and start walking, keep walking buying tickets and going round and round the world completely at random on random forms of transport for the rest of my life. Build an earthship somewhere and an amazing eco-village to make parites in, probably in India or Cambodia or anywhere tropical. I'd swap the whole $100 million if I could have J-Lo's butt in front of me forever.

5 places I'd run away to: Anywhere tropical where the women are dark and lovely. Mozambique, Thailand (again) Ghana, That huge waterfall in Venezuela, India (again)

5 things I'd never wear: New clothes unless I know where they have been made. I don't wear shirts with collars very much. Shalwar Kamieze and me didn't get on in Pakistan, cant think of anything. No problem with dresses and make-up...Oh, I'd never wear those hip-hop/skater trousers which hang off your ass to look like you have turd in them. Nothing against them, they don't suit me.

5 joys: Trailriding, dancing on acid, sound of waves, bongs, talking to people whos views I don't share with a camera running.

5 toys: I'd like? Trailbike. Hard-tail jap engined chopper. Old Biodiesel bus to live in, something ecentric and high-up like an old Alvis or something. Lancaster bomber. Always wanted one. Gypsy moth bi-plane.

5 people to tag: Bill X Nillson rarely blogs about himself and has intrigued me recently. Right and Blond has also touched briefly in conversation on a life I'd like to know more about. Goldenballs for the same reason. I've e-known the Scrutinator for a long time without knowing much about him. I don't know. I suppose Mike likes blogging about himself although answering questions like this might not be abstract enough for him and I know most of the answers...Du Monde doesn't have a blog but leaves comments in very strange language on Sparkles blog...Oh and Bold as Love called me a United Kingdom fuck and a motherfucker. Hes got an interesting blog, maybe he'd have a go at this. Thats 7.

DOWNPOUR

We've all been sniggering at the Glastonbury festival downpour which, from the pictures looks a lot worse than the previous two famous ones I remember. Glastonbury used to be fairly much a free festival, in that if you were in the general vicinity of Pilton, you usually got in. The first place I ever took acid (a strawberry if I remember rightly in about 1988) It was a truly fantastic experience, with people arriving from all over the world.

Now it has a huge fence and is run by the Mean Fiddler organisation I don't bother going anymore. In some ways I could see it was getting out of hand, with hordes of scouser theives trawling the tents, but amazing things happened as drugs and heightened awareness took over. When the good vibes hit, a smile jumped from stranger to stranger throughout the site.

The usual "Fuck Glastonbury" illegal rave is going ahead now in Wales this year. The Devon Police, who were preparing for it will be disappointed.

BEWARE THE VOICES

Over on Omegaprojektet just now I read a great piece about EVP.

Now I haven't had many supernatural things happen to me off of drugs.

Once, when I was a Christian knocking on doors telling complete strangers that they needed Jesus every Sunday I had a "word of prophesy" in my prayer time that "one person would come to know the lord" as a result of our mission the coming weekend. To cut a long story short, it happened exactly as I had prophesied and I believe the guy is still a christian now.


Once Mike H and I took part in the filming of a ouji board experiment with Jud Charlton and another friend which became part of his excellent stage show.

I entered into the spirit of the occasion with an open mind, and was really suprised to find the glass enthusiastically traveling around the letters, camera running.

Of course it was spelling complete gobbledygook, but I didn't care as I had never seen a glass moving round a table apparently of its own accord with four peoples fingers on it ever before in my life.

I got the impression that we had come across a spirit who couldn't spell. Maybe a kid. (the building we were squatting was originally built as a shelter for ex-child prostitutes) Jud and I encouraged the spirit to take the glass wherever it wanted. It started moving noticeably faster.

Mike H got impatient and shouted at whatever was doing it to make sense. The glass stopped, then slowly moved to the edge of the board, wiping all the letters off the table.

Maybe we are surrounded by the spirits of the dead.

MEANWHILE BACK IN SQUATSVILLE....

Briefly passed through Mike H world yesterday.

"We're in court on Tuesday. There are squatters over there, and squatters over there. The squatters in that place had a four day party. They played the same record over and over again for four fucking days."

Even though squatting for 10 years drove me mad i still miss it some times. Its nice to see so many fresh faced (and low slung-trousered) Bulgars, Czechs and Poles enthusiastically mixing with the more familiar Italians and Spanish.

I am sure all the anti-immigration people would be overjoyed.

ANARCHIST MISSION CONTROL

Mayday is on again this year. As Republicans often point out, many soldiers have died for my right to protest so I had better take it seriously.

I sometimes circulate among these people. Our lot used to run an excellent squatted cafe in Kentish Town. They had an anti-copyright cinema, where they used to show cracked div-x's of movies they downloaded from the internet for free. I found them to be by and large, highly principled people. They had great press in the local papers for what they were doing and the building they were evicted from is still lying empty now.

A lot of them, for their own reasons, have a pathalogical hatred of the Police which I really can't get into anymore. Since Maggie the Thatch has dissapeared I really cant take it all that seriously. I didn't feel justified in making myself a Police problem, even when most of my life was illegal. I wrote a fuller explanation of the views I hold about our uniformed brothers and sisters in London here

In Finsbury Park, I thought the way Police and Muslims treated each other over the two years said a lot about the British people which I hope I will be able to get across in my documentary.
This article contains Islington Borough Commander Barry Norman's views on the subject.

Another difference I have with my anarchist brothers and sisters is their choice of target. Last christmas they protested Band aid. They had their reasons but I thought

"Don't raise money for starving people! You evil people! We protest!" was the likely message which would come across.

I got hold of a pre-Mayday flyer and who do they want to protest? Jamie Oliver of course!

"Don't go on a mission to change the diet of school-children throughout this country! You evil person! We protest!"

I was incredulous. I looked on their website to find Jamie Oliver had been removed from the list. I am sure we can all imagine the conversations which went on behind the scenes there.

NEW START

Happy new year and all that. I saw the new year in at theliquid connective squat party. They were trying to charge £15 for a squat party where the toilets didn't work which I found pretty hilarious. I love my fellow London trance people.

By morning I heard rumours of screens in Trafalgar square and other major cities anouncing that Britain was going to lead the way in a campaign to make poverty history by the end of the year. Apparently this is being lead by such people as Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, Bob Geldof and Bono.

Following this trend of unlikely aliances I found that Bono and Bill Gates have teamed up in the Telegraph on the same issue. I'm sure everyone on indymedia will be scoffing but I say all the best to them. The article seems to be covering all bases including putting the evil WTO in the spotlight.

POLICE OFFICER DON'T GIVE ME PRODUCER

After being involved in various Reclaim the streets and Mayday demo's it felt good to be around something where I was proud of the British Police although in truth I haven't been anti British police for many years. Living the life of a vagrant in London they had always been kind to me when I was pavement drawing. Doing squat parties in London we would often have the whole night patrol come slamming through the door. What we were doing was blatantly illegal, yet as we concentrated all their problems in one area, and were polite they always left without busting us.

One time we were having a party where we lived in a squat in Hoxton st. It was a Halloween fancy dress. We invited three sound systems and had a theatre, which included the stage and scenery from the hit west end show Bottom which started Ade Edmonson and Rik Mayall.

There were a few Osama Bin Ladens and an amazing mummy. We were all joking that if the Police were going to bust us it had better be tonight. I was standing by the door, painted red from head to toe with not much on, and what I did have on was made of fur. Sure enough, 2 van loads of Police turned up. We tried to close the heavy wooden door but they barged it open and tried to push in against a growing barrage of costumed people.

Seth who is six foot four (see BRING THE WAR TO THE FLOOR earlier) was there in a mini dress and a Merlin mask. He had his hands on a Policeman’s shoulders until the policeman realised and got agitated, so Seth let go. I leaned through

" Excuse me Merlin. I think you'll need this..." I picked up a plastic sword from the ground and put it in his hands. The policeman nearest me started trying to assert himself.

" Look mate you're getting red paint all over your uniform." I warned him.

Eventually two senior looking dudes with caps on stood forward. The older guy turned to the younger and said

" Right. What are you going to do." apparently we were to be part of a training session.

" We have suspicions of an illegal bar here. " he said to one of our number. " Can the two of us search the premises? "

This was agreed to and the officers were escorted, the long way, around the building. The guy doing the escorting was hoping someone would be going the short way to trash and hide as much of the bar as possible. I have no idea who was running it. I was just hanging around my front door to make sure no thieves left with anything from my house. The party was heaving and sweating with 400 costumed people totally out of their nuts some of who were shouting at these two policemen complimenting them on their fancy dress outfits.

By the time the officers had got downstairs the alleged bar had allegedly disappeared but there were still 4 fridges to negotiate. The younger guy opened one fridge to find one Alco pop bottle. Then he went upstairs. I wasn't there but I heard a story that all the other fridges were brim full of beer. I was still with the other police by the door who we were already getting on good terms with. The officers came back upstairs grinning from ear to ear obviously impressed with everyone’s costumes.

Everyone thanked them for coming and said that if they wanted to come again there was no need to bust the door, they could always talk to us. We asked if they wanted to stay for a beer but they said no, they unfortunately had to work. When the door eventually closed we all jumped around like kids for a little bit. None of the Metropolitan Police want to bust you for hash; they quite sensibly don't want to waste their time. Like most British people they just want you to be polite. The Police were the main force behind Cannabis being lowered to class " C " whatever that means. At times they seemed to be campaigning for it to be decriminalized more than most dope smokers I know. In truth the Police in Finsbury Park were turning a blind eye to all sorts of homophobic statements, punches and kicks and I didn't blame them at all. It was, totally the British thing to do.