This photograph did the rounds on Twitter before Christmas (I think I found it via Dave Haslam but initially it came from The National Archives). It shows four Manchester mill workers in 1905. Our view of mill workers in the Victorian/Edwardian period is that life and work must have been unremittingly grim but these four young women seem very relaxed in front of the camera and have found something to laugh about. The faces could have been pictured yesterday in many ways, they don't seem to be specifically pinned down to one hundred and four years ago (apart from the condition of their teeth, showing dentistry was a luxury many could not afford in a pre-NHS Britain). The tight curls in the hair are interesting- I wondered if it was to keep it tied up and out of the way of machinery that could easily have scalped them if a strand got caught but Mrs Bagging Area suggested that it could have been a way to get curls, which then suggests that this was done prior to a night out. It throws up lots of aspects to ponder but ultimately what a great snapshot of the lives of people in early 20th century Manchester.
Not linked to the picture in any way other than I read a reference to it recently and I could imagine the four above getting down to this song if they'd been born several decades later and were into 80s post-punk. APB were a fourpiece from rural Aberdeenshire, Scotland and inspired by DIY and the sound of groups such as Liquid Liquid they made this song, released in 1981 on Aberdeen's Oily record label. The bassline alone is worth the price of admission, never mind the slashing guitar chords and totally on it disco-punk drums.
Shoot You Down
Although the band didn't know it copies of Shoot You Down made their way to New York where they found a home on the floor of NYC's best clubs, places like Danceteria, which is where circa 1983 Beastie Boys heard it, danced to it, and then wrote about it in their new book.
