The band took the time to talk to Director John Clay about the Black Lives Matter movement, its effect on the band, the action they plan to take and what the movement means for the identity of the U.K Punk scene
Thank you for agreeing to this interview guys.
Firstly, how are you adjusting to the current events of late?
It went from lockdown and all that came with that to the Cummings incident to the heinous killing of George Floyd. This of course sparked the BLM movement into full action across the world. As a band that feels very strongly about equality, social injustices and racism we see this as an opportunity to restructure elements of society and move forward to a fairer world. It is all very overwhelming frankly but change has to happen and it’s very rarely easy as a process.
Many black voices have begun to ask why many have waited till now to voice how black lives matter? Feel free to be as frank and as open as befits the question.
We live in London which is a very cosmopolitan city but although the community of people that we generally mix with is made up of all shapes and sizes, colours and creeds we would still consider it to be some kind of bubble. As we generally mix with light minded people who have the same values and share the same kind of ideas we’re not often exposed to the reality of systemic racism even though we are very much aware that it is a massive problem. It’s all too easy to live your lives from day to day concerning yourself with the things that surround you, earning a living etc but when you see what’s happening now and the anger felt by so many it reminds you how huge a deep set problem it is. But we shouldn’t really have to be reminded of this and society tries to hide it or deny it all too much. School curriculum should educate children from an early age about racism and hope that we can change this ingrained attitude.
Well put.
So now that we are inspired to create positive change, what will you be doing differently to address the status quo?
We’ve learned so much these last few days about racial injustices and just want to keep on learning, the books on this subject that you recommended are extremely helpful and we will be following up on that. And it’s also important to use our platform as a band to help share this information.
It just so happens that we are currently promoting a video about sexual discrimination and inequality for women, another huge issue which has a lot of ground to cover yet. We feel sure that our future songwriting and videos will be affected by what is happening now so that we can help spread this message of equality to as many people as we can.
We also believe in diversity on our own bills at our Punk n Roll Rendezvous night and have no limitation to gender, colour or religion so we hope to continue to encourage diversity with the events that we run as much as with our music.
That is great to hear, especially in light of bands on your scene who have as yet remained silent. What do you make of the silence, and can you suggest a positive solution to their current position?
Each person’s response surely has to be taken independently, people have different ways of expressing themselves and tackling problems. Some people may not be saying a lot but may well be donating money to one of the related charities. Having said that, there surely must be some duty for bands who have large or even small following and have influence over their fans to take part in this massive movement of change.
This issue isn’t going away and people are not going to be able to ignore it or pretend it’s not happening. The solution lies with discussion and information, action if necessary. But people do need to wake up and the silence is definitely not helpful.
Some members of the black community have only recently become vocal about this due to bieing stonewalled previously or not having a connection to their black families, thus creating a lack of connection to black causes in an active manner (Black trans, gay, bi, etc) Do you think that the issue has deeper implications for bands fronted by white performers who may need to check their privilege even more so?
It’s fair to say that even the best intentioned white anti racist supporter is likely to be unaware of just how privileged they are. Most people have been brought up in a system that is entwined with racism. So yes it does have deeper implications for white performers. It’s easy for white people to forget that black people deal with this issue on a day to day basis . Poets and singers can be the voice of change and the future and by staying in your white privileged bubble you cannot possibly hope to contribute to changing the world for the better .
I’ve already equated this watershed moment to the film industry’s Meetoo movement in terms of impact. Hyperbole, or if you agree, let’s hear why.
It’s absolutely right to equate these two movements. They both represent an urgent need for change and both movements have gone global and spread like wildfire . It’s about people speaking up and voicing their dissatisfaction and anger. It’s also another example of society successfully denying, hiding and in fact supporting it by covering it up and silencing it.
Society has tried to deny the existence of sexist behaviour for so long but it has clearly been exposed with the metoo movement and once again, that’s what it took for people to realise or be reminded that it is happening.
[tps_footer]I have made profound discoveries about my attitude to myself and others of late, but now is your moment: What have you all discovered about yourselves during this time?[/tps_footer][tps_footer][/tps_footer]
We’ve rediscovered that playing live music and expressing ourselves in performance is something that is really hard to live without. At first during the lockdown it was like a honeymoon and we were able to work on recordings and videos and having spent so much time on the road in the last ten years we were quite glad of the chance to stop the bus and get off. After a couple of months though we started to get a bit stir crazy, performing is like therapy to us and boy do we need therapy .
We’ve also become acutely aware of our white privilege background in particular in light of the BLM movement. We’ve always known about inequalities and injustices but this current situation strikes right at the heart and has literally jolted us into a deep state of agitation. We are feeling the anger that is currently resonating across the world.
Where we live near Camden Town there has been an ecstatic amount of clapping every Thursday for the NHS which at times we’re moving. However on the day where everybody was urged to go down on one knee in support of George Floyd and the BLM movement only two houses in our street showed any presence at all and one of those houses was us. The family across the road looked as disappointed as we were with this complete lack of support.
We already knew that we lived in a divided country, that was clear during the Brexit debate . But that has heightened and worsened to such a degree that it is something we should all be concerned about.
That’s sad about that support not being there.
Perhaps the clapping for the NHS began as a good idea, but became tokenistic. Maybe the lack of support in this way will galvanise those who were ready to show support to do even more on hands activism, as well as promote books they’ve seen.
Have you heard of The Black Curriculum charity?
You’re right about the clapping becoming tokenistic.
[tps_footer]The charity is keen to have black history as part of the national curriculum, in order to show a link to systemic racism early on. This would benefit the media people, the lawmakers and yes, the law upholders of the future in regards racial bias. Have you discovered a charity that Healthy Junkies might want to endorse in the future?[/tps_footer]
We looked up the black curriculum charity and it is working towards educating people across the board for change which resonates with what we would like to see happen. There is no better way than education to bring about change. Another charity which has caught my eye is SARI. Stand against racism and inequality. I will be looking further into this. This is absolutely the time to share links to these charities as people are listening right now.
Good to hear you’re being so active and educating yourself on the cause. Punk has been able to imbibe the needs of anti-sexist sentiment and now staunch anti-racist sentiment is now being requested from its black contingent. Do you see any potential backlash from any fans?
No we do not foresee any backlash from the punks that we have got to know and played to or with over the last 10 years. Punks are essentially anti fascist and believe in equality. Bands like the Clash, who lived in the Notting hill area were very much at the heart of these matters. However back in the day there were many instances of right wing fascist skinheads attacking punks. Sham 69 had a real problem with their shows being overrun by skinheads and fights breaking out. Sieg heil-ing etc.
The band themselves, who I know personally, never wanted this and it actually caused them to stop playing completely for some years. We have been on the bill with Sham 69 in the last few years more than once.
Things are very different now. People are there for the nostalgia of the music, to see their mates and have grown up a bit ! In fact It’s not uncommon for bands to boycott gig line ups or festivals if there’s even one band member of one band with extreme right wing sympathies.
Your stance on racism is very clear, and I look forward to seeing more of what you’re about as the years roll on.
Thank you so much for your time, and keep fighting the good fight. May you video launch on Monday 15th go well x
This has been an enlightening experience so far and let’s hope things keep moving on and some of these ideas get put into practice ! We enjoyed talking with you about those various issues, thanks for having us!
‘Some Kinda Girl’ is the new single from Healthy Junkies and it’s video (Directed By John Clay) is out on Monday 15th June.
All pics shot by Andrew Ball with image manipulation by Vera Howard.
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