INSPIRER SERIES: Dave Haslam - 12.03.15

• Dave Haslam was particularly interested in fanzines and how they are a publication for those in the margins of society. He described one of these zines as being for the minority, those with particular interests, who don't fit in and don't feel like there is anything for them in the mainstream media.
• He related a great deal of his talk, in fact the entirety of it, I believe, to Manchester, as a cultural hub and place that celebrates those in the margins. He explored this angle through a number of Mancunian musicians and bands and specifically spoke about the transition of something from underground into mainstream. Joy Division was a particularly good example of this: a band whose final gigs attracted only 300 people at most, they are now a globally recognised band and are constantly featured and made reference to throughout popular culture today, despite their cult, niche status at the time. He described Joy Division as "Hollywood's shortcut to artistic integrity," and I completely fell in love with the way he worded this because it really is completely true.
• Haslam could not stress enough the importance of people finding a space: both geographically and culturally. He spoke of small, dodgy clubs down ally ways in Manchester, somewhere hidden for those who actively seek it - somewhere hidden from the eyes of the mainstream.
• Artists, writers, places, venues and figures that were influential around that time: Shelagh Delaney, 'A Taste of Honey,' (1958), Crack Gallery - 'Drunk at Vogue,' City Fun fanzine, Linder Sterling, Manchester District Music Archive, The Hacienda, The Mineshaft, The Chemical Brothers.
• City Fun - "the first draft of cultural history." A very 'punk' publication, punk was about participation, going to events, meeting people, and not just talking about it and reading out it over the internet and on Facebook like we so often to today. It was the time of making things happen, being active and going out and doing it, whatever 'it' may be.