…back, back in the day
…when video camera’s took two people to operate (one to carry the battery pack - about the size of a betamax video recorder, am I showing my age here?) I used to spend my sunday afternoons in the dance studios at Birmingham’s (soon to be refurbished) mac. Hip Hop had landed and breakdancing with it. Eventually after many years (nearly 22 in fact) I have digitised these clips from the C21VOX archive.
Originally shot for use in sequences in a film about International Youth Year (1985), I have treasured this now fairly gnarly gem, a glimpse into the urban history of this city I call home. I knew where the Hip Hop happened back then (well as much as a teenager would) and led the camera’s to the dancehall and several extensive graffiti sites around the city.
It’s time to share it. I’ve posted these two clips on You Tube and a couple more will follow. It’s awesome stuff - Enjoy!
4 comments
[...] a new series (”Nostalgia Thursday”?) here’s a video from 1985 just posted on the Surely? blog by Mark Murphy who’s not afraid to show his age. I used to spend my sunday afternoons in [...]
very nice…
Mark - wow.
This is brilliant! Thanks so much for sharing - you’ve told me about this footage before, it’s great to finally see it.
Nice one Mark ! this is almost as exciting as when it first dropped in the mid eighties. I remember thinking hip hop, breaking, MCing and Graffiti, was simply THE most exciting thing that could ever happen to a young teenager in Birmingham, or anywhere in the UK for that matter.. Still cant under estimate what an impact it had on so many people my age, in terms of style, musical interests, creativity, confidence, etc etc.. Its great seeing it, cant wait to see the rest.. f f fresh !
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