Paul Gorman is…

Voodoo And Magic Practices: The book which inspired McLaren and Westwood’s Witches collection

Sep 23rd, 2016
img_5574

//Voodoo and Magic Practices, Jean Kerboull, Barrie and Jenkins, 1978. Translated from the French by John Shaw//

This is the book which inspired the late Malcolm McLaren to unite the design ideas he developed with Vivienne Westwood for their Autumn/Winter 1983 fashion collection Witches.

At the time McLaren was completing his album Duck Rock, which was conceived as an ethnological travelogue and modelled on the  LP series Dances Of the World’s Peoples released on the ethnographic Folkways label; in fact, Duck Rock was originally titled Folk Dances Of The World and the incorporation of an illustrated insert containing track-by-track explanations was taken from the one which appeared in the 1958 albums.

14445939_10154623298436694_1337925935652059948_n

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Ton-Up Boys + Girls, The Ace Cafe and the 59 Club: John “Hoppy” Hopkins’ favourite photographs

Jan 31st, 2015
6072593620_1506dbb9a3_b

//Photo 1964: © John “Hoppy” Hopkins//

6072593064_a0c2ac07d3_b

//Photo 1964: © John “Hoppy” Hopkins//

John “Hoppy” Hopkins – who died yesterday aged 77 – was the photographer and activist best known for his associations with London’s counterculture of the 1960s and 70s, having been a founder of the radical London Free School which in turn led to the Notting Hill Carnival, a contributor to the pacifist paper Peace News, and a pivotal figure in the establishment of both the underground paper International Times and the psychedelic club UFO.

6072593722_188d8ffb46_b-1

//Photo 1964: © John “Hoppy” Hopkins//

6072593854_e9857d6034_b

//Photo 1964: © John “Hoppy” Hopkins//

6072594186_2ab6ccb872_b

//Photo 1964: © John “Hoppy” Hopkins//

Hopkins was also a leading light of the squatting movement and a brave proselytiser for cannabis usage; electing for trial by jury for possession he was labelled “a pest to society” by the judge and sentenced to nine months in jail.

According to his friend Jeff Dexter, Hopkins’ favourites among his own photographs were of London rockers, those Ton-Up habitues of the North Circular’s Ace Cafe and Paddington’s 59 Club whose outsider cool and tribal clanship he documented with acuity.

6072052157_e449822b37_b

//Photo 1964: © John “Hoppy” Hopkins//

6072052057_dec9d2def4_b

//Photo 1964: © John “Hoppy” Hopkins//

Hopkins_boygirl

//Photo 1964: © John “Hoppy” Hopkins//

6072051571_0c18e24b3c_b

//Photo 1964: © John “Hoppy” Hopkins//

6072051317_f77acd36a4_b

//Photo 1964: © John “Hoppy” Hopkins//

In this excerpt from an interview for a 2009 exhibition, Hopkins talks about how he became a photographer and the rocker photo-shoots:

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Cardies for Sharpies: The Connie makes a comeback

Dec 30th, 2014
Westside

//Westside Sharpies Mick Emery and Steve M sporting Connies outside Flinders Street Station, Melbourne, 1978. Photo: Jacques Kosky,  courtesy Stef Egan//

The ‘Connie’ cardigan was an essential element of dress for Sharpies, the tough and stylish Australian music/fashion youth subculture active in Melbourne’s blue collar suburbs from the 60s to the early 80s.

Designed by a Mr Conti, a Greek clothier in the Thornbury neighbourhood to the north of the city, Connies were picked up on by Sharpies for their tight fit.

4958751693_449c29b41b_o

//Sharpies sport Connie variants outside Young & Jackson Hotel, Melbourne, 1972. Photo from Tadhg Taylor’s Top Fellas//


Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Recommended: Where The Bodies Are Buried – Mick Brown on Kenneth Anger in Esquire

Jan 6th, 2014
kenneth-anger-promo-43

//Photo: esquire.co.uk//

Do yourself a favour and read Mick Brown’s interview with Kenneth Anger on the Esquire website.

We were fortunate to sit with Mick during part of his preparation for the piece, attendance to the screenings of contemporary work and  a q&a with the magus during last summer’s brief Anger season at the ICA. As Brown’s article confirms, Anger’s powers appear undimmed by age; his presence that night was enhanced by a beautiful suit by Agnès Troublé (Agnes B); the pair’s friendship goes back to 1959.

There are few exponents of popular journalism to rival Brown for economy, precision and wit in delivery. Read this fine example of a writer at the top of his game here.

Tags: , , , , ,

Sharpies: The return of Top Fellas

Sep 6th, 2013

//Top fellas and brushes in the 60s and 70s. Photos courtesy Tadhg Taylor//

For my money, Sharpies beat all other youth cults hands down, so news of the publication of the third edition of Tadhg Taylor’s Top Fellas is cause for celebration.

A few years ago on THE LOOK blog I explored the style and musical tastes of this unique subculture which blossomed among Melbourne teens from the 60s to the early 80s, and never tire of the clips from Greg Mcainsh’s 1974 documentary which captures the top fellas and brushes in the prime.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: , , , ,

Roots of the Cowboys t-shirt

May 5th, 2011

MY SPECULATION HERE SPARKED A TRAIL TO THE TRUE SOURCE OF THE MAIN IMAGE: THE ARTIST/PHOTOGRAPHER JIM FRENCH, WHO DREW THE COWBOYS FOR A SERIES CALLED LONGHORNS IN 1969 (SEE LINK AT END OF THIS POST).

The late Malcolm McLaren said he could never remember the origins of one of the most potent designs to emanate from 430 King’s Road in its six-decade history as a fashion emporium: the Cowboys t-shirt.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,