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93年に出版された本『Design After Dark: The Story of Dancefloor Style』。何かあると引っ張り出しては読み返して、そのつど新しい発見があったりして手放せない、もはや心の支え。今回は、「ブートレグ／ハイジャック」行為が、アンダーグラウンド・シーンの中でどう循環していたかを読み直し。BS0を始めるにあたって意識していることのひとつでもあり。 下にその章の原文を転載してますので、トライしてみてください。面白いですよ。 なんでコレを読み直したのかは後日。

The late-'80s underground scene - as participants quickly realised - was able to unite work and play. In this, it Succeeded where previous social provocateurs (like Malcolm McClaren, who mounted a high-profile campaign for "piracy" at the inception of the '80s) had failed. And it empowered a new generation, many of them "minorities" or traditionally disenfranchised groups. Pirate skills did not require art school, technical college or any form of State education; they were learned directly from other people.

The '80s radio stations which typified this generation's aesthetic were not like their '60s forebears. Land-based, they broadcast from tower blocks and warehouses, rather than from ships at Sea. And they survived by hustling; selling ads and hawking products (records, club nights, events) created by their own employees. Pay-for-play was often common practice. But illegal broadcasting sparked more widespread moneyspinners: practices like bootlegging - the pressing and distribution of illicitly generated discs. Many such "booties" were original compositions, and those who had made them often went on to produce mainstream hits.

DJs, bootleggers, guerilla delivery-men, the sales staffin specialist stores - by the middle of the decade, these roles had become interchangeable. The Britons who ran clubs and shops also promoted them Over the pirate airwaves. And the DJ who mixed a record might hand you the change when you bought it.

As more and more youngsters caught on, bootlegging spread to other fields: kids learned to make money selling copies of sportswear, T-shirts, designer clothes. Any logo was fair game-andonce they had shifted a set of such goods, entrepreneurs might use the earnings to bankroll designs of their own. From bootlegging came a range of '9" businesses boasting colourful titles: Hardwire Videographics, Ahead of Our Time Music, Blueback Records. Insane Ironic Skate Clothins Goodfoot Promotions, Poizone Designs.

The pirate entrepreneurs had shown that art could also mean bus Consequently, young Britons launched fanzines as "proper" publications little slicks with titles like Fresh Air or Soul Underground. They clubbed together to open shops, like West London's Culture Trend and Glasgow's Clan Skates. And, of course, they continued to stage regular clubs and Οne-Off events. Kids were starting to realise they could control their work opportunities, design their own experience.


Inspiration to do so was not restricted to contact on the dancefloor or the encouragement of illicit airwaves. By the spring of '88, London's new leisure culture had generated a cache of new, specialist record shops right in the city centre. These outlets exist in a separate, if parallel, universe to giants like HMV, Tower and Virgin. Several - like Beak St's Red Records and D'Arblay St's Black Market - began life co-owned by black DJs; Soul Il Soul shops are operated by the Soul Il Soul collective.

These are proud new proprietors. And they knew that the way to build up trade is to use the personal touch. "You've got to make the kids feel important," says Steve Jerviere, of Black Market. "Just look at the person and take it from says there.”

The new shops became drop-in community centres, sites whose common denominator - music - brought together separate races and social groups in comfort. Lined with posters, festooned with T-shirts, counters covered with ticket stacks, they are the place to trade information and gossip, sounds, projects and style. In addition, with their overflowing bins, the stores serve as walk-in galleries of constantly changing dancefloor art.

"Black Market," noted Steve Jerviere in the autumn of '89, "is turning into a whole community. A place where people hang out, people talk to people, people like that, where get work and make deals each other. We need spots like that, where kids can hang out and be with influenced for the good."