July 29, 2010 by Rich Cross
Some excellent black-and-white photos from the September 1983 London “Stop the City” demonstration have been added to Flickr by photographer camera_obscura [busy]. View the full slide show of the London: Stop The City, 1983 Set.
London Stop the City demonstration, 1983
Photo by: camera_obscura [busy]
Creative Commons: Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic
http://www.flickr.com/photos/musaeum/342814649/sizes/o/in/set-72157594454732283/
Rich Cross. 2017. 'Fifteen shades of grey', in Greg Bull and Mike Dines (eds.), And All Around Was Darkness, Itchy Monkey Press, pp.218-227. ISBN 978-1-291-74025-7.
Rich Cross. 2016. '"Stop the City showed another possibility": Mobilisation and Movement in Anarcho-Punk', in Matt Worley and Mike Dines (eds.), The Aesthetic of Our Anger: Anarcho-Punk, Politics, Music - 1979-1984, Minor Compositions: Colchester / New York / Port Watson. ISBN 978-1-57027-318-6 [ Free eBook download | Print copy available to buy from Minor Compositions ]
Rich Cross. 2016. '"Why do you think that they are laughing?", in Greg Bull and Mike Dines (eds.), 'Some of Us Scream Some of Us Shout': Myths, Folklore and Epic Tales of the Anarcho, (Itchy Monkey Press) [ Buy from Active Distribution or Situation Press ]
AK Press – Revolution by the Book
Many thanks for posting the link to the Stop The City images, they certainly ignited some long forgotten memories…I attended all three STC’s though the first one and the one documented here was by far the most interesting culturally and politically speaking.
It is interesting how little documentation on the anarcho-punk scene has surfaced in an age where every micro-movement, sub-genre and fleeting cultural moment seems to find it’s representation somewhere on the internet. More so given the relative size and influence on an entire sub-section of the UK’s youth from 78-84 (in it’s main period)….something you must have pondered as well!
My gods, quite a few of those faces on the STC photos look familiar….though a relatively large sub-culture, the actual number of ‘activists’ were always far smaller though I guess that is true of any socio-cultural/political and/or resistance movement….I think in the American war against the English crown only 10% took up arms and active fighting/resistance and from other personal experiences I would say the 10% figure is about right which explains ultimately why I recognise a few of these half-remembered faces in the photos…ahh where are they now!?
theres also a film made by mick duffield with andy palmer walking around interviewing various folk at
http://www.christiebooks.com/player/anarchy.html
you might have to do a bit of scrolling through the list as its a massive load of films.
John – thanks for the comment
Yes, it’s a fantastic film – I wonder if there’s any possibility of Duffield returning to the footage to move on from the ‘rough cut’ (although the immediacy of the rough cut gives the documentary a sense of real urgency and authenticity).
I had seen that the film had been loaded into ChristieBooks. Does anyone know if Duffield has agreed to its being distributed this way?
sorry about the delayed reply,might be an idea to ask on the southern forum,maybe Allison or other folk at southern who have direct contact with ex members of crass may be able to answer if Duffield agreed or not?
someones uploaded this on youtube by mick duffield,is this what was shown at crass gigs?