Dump it on Parliament
Revisited
Library as Laboratory Project | Future Libraries Festivals | Dump it on Parliament Revisited | The Human Library
Dump it on Parliament Revisited used the rich local post punk history of Bedfordshire. The artists worked with local bands and young people to create a new compilation tape of covers of the original material and newly created protest songs which were then presented in a series of performances in late November 2015. It will culminate in a new sound archive for the library service.Did you know?
In October of
1983, NIREX, the governments nuclear waste body identified two sites for the dumping of low level nuclear waste. One was Billingham on Teeside and
the other was the Elstow Storage dept.
Bedford, surrounding villages and local authorities were all against the proposal and Bedfordshire Against Nuclear Dumping, known as BAND, was formed to fight the
proposal. BAND launched a petition and in March 1986, a petition containing 95,000 signatures was given to Sir Nicholas Lyell, M.P. for presentation to the House of
Commons.
In 1986 a group of local Bedfordshire post-punk bands, led by Luton's UK Decay, joined together to create a musical protest tape, to campaign against a proposed
nuclear waste site at Elstow near Bedford. In May 1987 the Government announced it was abandoning its plans to dump nuclear waste at Elstow but the tape was released
and proved popular.
In 2015 artists Dash MacDonald and Demitrios Kargotis and artist/musician Roshi Nasehi revisited the original tape, the bands, the song writing, the fashion, the
zines, and the gigs of the 1980s post-punk scene. A project - Dump it on Parliament Revisited - was generated as part of Central Bedfordshire Libraries 2015
Library as Laboratory Grants for the Arts commission.
The project was created with local post-punk bands and musicians, youth theatre groups, poets, a well-being group and the people of Dunstable, Houghton Regis and
Leighton Buzzard.
A documentary film, Dump it on Parliament Revisited was created by Andy Willsher, exploring the history of the original Dump it on Parliament tape and the creation of a new compilation. It meshes the past and present, using interviews and original footage, and referencing the cut-up film making techniques that emerged in the 1980’s. It looks at the background to the original tape – the political climate, the protest group B.A.N.D. and the post-punk music and film coming out of the 33 Arts Club.
Find out more about Bedford Against Nuclear Dumping (BAND)
What was the Dump it on Parliament Revisited project?
This project imagined how the library could be used in the future using the back drop of the post punk movement as inspiration. This project resulted in:
- A contemporary 'Dump it on Parliament Revisited Compilation' album created by young local bands.
- Live 'Dump it on Parliament Revisited' performances at Leighton Buzzard Library Theatre on the 27th November 2015 and Houghton Regis Library on the 20th November 2015.
- This is Now - A one day post punk film festival at Leighton Buzzard Library Theatre on the 21st November 2015
- An online Sound archive, comprising of recordings of stories from people who experienced Bedfordshire’s post-punk scene
- A documentary film, Dump it on Parliament Revisited was created by Andy Willsher, exploring the history of the original Dump it on Parliament tape and the creation of a new compilation.
Who were the artists?
Dash MacDonald,
Demitrios Kargotis and Roshi Nasehi were inspired by the story of the local post-punk musicians and bands who were
galvanized into action against the government's plans to create a new nuclear waste site at Elstow, Bedfordshire. The bands protested by creating the well known
'Dump it on Parliament' compilation tape in support of the B.A.N.D (Bedfordshire Against Nuclear Dumping) campaign.
"We want to engage with this rich local history and create a new conversation between the original bands and fans, and young people of today." says artist Demitrios
Kargotis.
Working with local bands and young people, the artists created a new compilation tape of covers of the original material and newly created protest songs which were then presented in a series of performances in late November. It culminated in a new sound archive for the library service. There were wide ranging events across Dunstable, Houghton Regis and Leighton Buzzard libraries, including fanzine creation, song writing and sound workshops, film screenings and the collection of memories and memorabilia.
Why was the library involved?
Central Bedfordshire Council libraries in partnership with Bedford Creative Arts commissioned the Library as Laboratory project, with funding from the Arts Council, 8 artists worked with members of the community to explore and imagine what a library of the future could be.
Find out more about this fascinating project at the Bedford Creative Arts website.
Page last updated: 1st September 2016