Hey - this is subscriber’s preview of an hour conversation with Martyn Goodacre - he’s a Quiet legend. More short fiction from me coming soon. I’m writing about jackals of Baalbek, they’re hungry to lose their fleas.
You probably know Martyn Goodacre’s photographs - THAT photo of Kurt Cobain, with the bleach bowl cut and the eyeliner. His pictures have graced the covers of many many magazines, and I’m lucky to have written stories in the same publications.
When I heard Martyn was doing an exhibition of his early photos at Das Gift in Berlin, I wanted to publish a book around it. It was his first exhibition, and also his first book. It’s my first photobook.
In record time (about 2 weeks), we turned around this 68 page book. It’s got a velvet laminate, and feels like rubber. The photos are DOPE.
You can buy it here. The book is limited to 100 editions, with a hand-printed belly band that I stayed up for a few nights making. It’s laid out by Anne-Cathrin Saure, who’s based in Berlin, and also laid out Cold Lips 02, and our first book, Dark Entries by Richard Cabut.
The radical photobook, which is A5 landscape, is called WHOS FUCKIN PLANET - for reasons which are explained on the podcast. The book catalogues his exploits in South London, shadowed by punk - squatting at the Fire Station on the Old Kent Road, which hosted the first London gigs for Psychic TV, Jesus & Mary Chain, and many more. He later turned his lens on horse travellers, and the New Age movement. The book features photos of Billy Bragg, Madness, and stars of the underground scene.
It’s a radical autobiographical photobook with the most enlightening introduction written by Goodacre. For me, this is the story of free land before the Criminal Justice Act (1994).
We recorded this conversation after the opening night in Neukölln, Berlin. Pre-covid. It is edited by Sebastian Bowden.
I’m going to be posting a new short story soon - so stay tuned. Stay safe. And enjoy the words.
x Kirsty Allison
Martyn Goodacre x Kirsty Allison