Across The Tracks and Through The Looking Glass

2010 has been a great  Summer for underground painting events…..now London’s brand new ‘old’s kool’ hall of fame was  given a baptism of fire this Sunday just gone in the heat of the end of London’s summer….Instigated and organised by Insane and Choci Roc, WRH/AWE/RocStars the first ever UK writer to have painted the NY Subway trains starting in 1985 alongside Kase 2 and Mare 139 from ‘Style Wars’ and many others……

Passing through or painting were…..

Prime, Doze, Robbo, Drax, Elk, Dase IL, Choci Roc, Rage, Insane,Skore, PIC ,Krash151, Shuto, Cane, Part2, Shade, Shazer, Merc, Time, Keen One, Letty Lions, Kilo, Disk, Rage, Demon, Steam156, Oker, PIC, Dev666, Krash151, Etch, Kilo, Don, Jet (WRH juniors) Jenny who took the shots and many more…….. including a film crew from an internationally acclaimed TV network who filmed the day and interviewed many of us for a major new documentary that’s in production…..

At last…. a major UK graffiti/art documentary that’s independently produced…..should be interesting!

I can’t wait to see it, they certainly seemed to have done their homework, and seemed fully aware of the history of the movement in light of current events……

An early start meant we were  on the wall by around 9 and I started to get my outline up…

     

We couldn’t have hoped for better weather or a better spot….oh yeah and there was a few legends there too….  

Rage and Skore

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s great to see Part 2 writing again…

 My piece finished

Jet WRH juniors

  Prime WRH….and at last the place is returned to it’s true use…the locals certainly seemed grateful for our efforts.

 

News of broadcast dates will be coming when I hear them, massive thanks to all involved  especially Insane and Choci Roc/ We Roc Hard Crew and Jenny for taking most of the photos.

 

The spirit and brotherhood  of Hip Hop and Graffiti lives on and gains momentum in London in 2010. Thanks to Chrome and Black for organising a wicked Jam in the Leake Street tunnel for real graffiti writers….“The Battle of Waterloo”…

 

Although it was a crew battle the rivalry was friendly and lots of people, myself included just down purely to hook up with old pals and maybe stick a little something up…I love to paint  Vaughn Bode influenced characters as has been done in graffiti since the mid-‘70s; this jam provided the perfect excuse.

I advise anyone with even the most remote interest in graffiti to collect and read books of his work.

This post continues with lots more pics after the jump; although not great quality and not catching all the pieces, my camera broke so I was using camera on phone and drinking, and Jenny kindly took some on her wanderings, so it’s more like the vibe of the day…….  

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Last Saturday 27th June I went along to the Covent Garden writers bench reunion to meet up with some very old friends, put some faces to old tags and drink some beer. The day started well with glorious sun…..

I started hanging out there in 1986, but it had been a meeting point since ‘84. Every Saturday afternoon through the late eighties it was a hive of activity with often over 100 writers signing blackbooks, showing photos and planning missions to get paint and then on to the train yards.

It was one of the first places in London to have proper graffiti art on the street, the work by The Chrome Angels on the hoardings around the Royal Opera House. As a young inexperienced writer it gave me a focal point  to meet up with those with more experienced, make friends and be taken along on various missions.

The sun was however short lived and the day took on a dramatically different turn…..pictures continue….

When we all went off to paint together at Tufnell Hall of Fame that changed very quickly….The heavens opened and what followed was a torrential hail, thunder and rain storm of epic proportions…

This was the size of the hailstones ricocheting around our shelter spot, every now and then over the roar you’d here a surprised ‘Ow!’ or a ‘Eek’ as they found their mark…it was like being pelted with icy stones.

After about half an hour of this the heavens really opened and it turned to torrential rain, before long the trees provided no cover at all and deafening  thunder and lightning broke out directly overhead so by now fearing a direct strike and utterly drenched we made a dash and hid in various bin rooms and people’s porches. It carried on like this for about another half hour.

 

 

We emerged from our cover soaked to the skin but laughing to do some tags and take some shots. It was a brilliant day and certainly one to remember and laugh about even more in years to come. After this we all went to the pub and I dried off under the hand drier and carried on. I hope to see more old faces at the next one, but better weather next time please…

Massive, massive respect to Envy, Colt 45, Sham 59, Dj Dexter, Mess, Prime, Coad 5, Reez, Dev 666, Crane, Shoom, Time, Jano, Baps, Mear, Urge, Crime, Keen53, Don One, Fuem, Merc, Fued, Dsia and anyone I missed…Legends All !

I came up to Plaistow Hall of Fame, East London to meet Keen One with the intention of spending a sunny day drinking beer and maybe putting a little something up myself…

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