London Popfest

One of the loveliest things about popfests is that you can do all sorts of great things on what would normally be a boring Friday afternoon. We have arranged a screening of two popfest-related films for pass holders. Don’t miss it!

Friday 27 February – 2 until 6pm

1234 and Slamptumentary
Roxy Bar & Screen
128-132 Borough High Street, London SE1 1LB (map)
www.roxybarandscreen.com

1234, Dir. Giles Borg, London, Carson Films, 2008

Bespectacled cardigan-wearer Stevie (guitar, vocals) endures a job he despises and can’t get a girlfriend, but at least he has music. With his mate Neil (drums), he’s been kicking about in bands for a while, but it is not until the pair team up with Billy Dixon (guitar), a more experienced hand with drive and ambition, and Billy’s cute pal Emily (bass) that the possibility they might be on to something good suggests itself. With a demo to tout, Stevie beats a well-trodden path to record company doors, but finds he has to manage the tensions developing within the band while keeping his own aspirations in check.

There have been plenty of films about bands in the past, yet Giles Borg’s knowing, warm and witty film feels original and honest, the product of time spent in dives watching bands before anyone else has heard of them. A spirited, independent film about the spirit of independence, 1 2 3 4 revels in referencing The Yummy Fur, Prolapse and Comet Gain, as much as more obvious touchstones The Stooges, The Velvet Underground and the Pixies (the soundtrack is a killer, natch). Watch it here, so that in six months time when everyone’s raving about it, you can claim, “I saw it first”.

Slamptumentary, Dir. Nick Allot, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Slampt, 1995

AKA 1995: the year punk rock got fixed. Only 50 VHS copies ever existed, but now there’s an updated Slamptumentary including extra footage, a priceless document of the Slampt Underground Organisation, home of Kenickie and The Yummy Fur and one of the greatest DIY labels the world ever saw.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 12th, 2009 at 12:40 pm and is filed under indiepop, updates. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.