The 2025 London anarchist bookfair crossed the river into South London for the first time since it started in the early 1980s and having been to many of them I have to say this was a very good one. Location was the Leake Street railway tunnel by Waterloo station, famous for its graffiti so aesthetically appropriate. Lots of stalls lining both side of the tunnel, and a busy crowd.
Some amazing live performances - I saw the mightly Kae Tempest doing a pop up spoken word only set in the tunnel, then later at the after party anarcho punk band The Mob played a rare gig followed up by great drum and bass set from Roni Size, who I last saw in 1999 in a tent at Reading Festival (Paul Simenon from The Clash was also supposed to be doing a DJ set in the afternoon, did that happen?)
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| Kae Tempest |
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| Roni Size |
The Mob's 'Let the Tribe Increase' (1983) is one of my favourite albums from that scene and I regret never seeing them at the time. Mark Wilson still sounds great and sadly their lyrics are still too topical. Like a lot of anti-war songs from the time, their 'No Doves Fly Here' seemed to imagine the aftermath
of the nuclear war we all feared. But with the ongoing massacre in Gaza we don't have to imagine terrible scenes of devastation, they are happening in front of our eyes:
'The buildings are empty and the countryside is wasteland
It never was before
And we never asked for war
The playgrounds are empty and the children limbless corpses
They never were before
And they never asked for war
No-one is moving and no doves fly here'
As for 'Witch Hunt', 40+ years later we are most definitely still living with the English fear. A week before and just round the corner I had found myself stuck in a crowd of far right nationalists swarming over the area on their Tommy Robinson/Elon Musk rally.
'Stubbing out progress where seeds are sown
Killing off anything that's not quite known
Sitting around in a nice safe home
Waiting for the witch hunt
Still living with the English fear
Waiting for the witch hunt, dear'
Banners from Black Lodge Press:
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| 'Everything for Everyone' |
