Martyn Goodacre is a renowned rock and roll photographer who captured many iconic bands and artists while working as a freelancer for the music press throughout the 1990s. Before his days of travelling the world photographing some of the biggest names in music, Martyn was part of the large squatting community in London during the 1980s. It was during this time that he first became interested in photography as he documented his surroundings.
Now living in Berlin, Martyn recently showcased a number of his images taken during this period at his exhibition “Who’s Fuckin’ Planet.” The exhibition, which opened in Berlin, featured images from the new age traveller community, the squatting culture in the capital, protests and general life in London during the 1980s and 90s.
It’s the year 2020, a year in which the UK is facing increasing austerity measures and a housing crisis that appears to be escalating. The Isles are overshadowed by a big, blue Tory shadow. Thirty years ago, the situation wasn’t all that different. During the 80s and early 90s, when house prices were skyrocketing and public lands were up for auction to make way for obscure developers, many small communities made their homes in abandoned warehouses, neglected council properties, empty land plots, and buses.
Photo © Martyn Goodacre.
Some did it out of necessity, while others preferred the communal lifestyle already kick-started by the hippies in the 1960s and 70s, but most saw this as a form of protest. In 1984, with an unemployment rate of nearly 12% in the UK, it was inevitable that artists, musicians, students, the unemployed, and immigrants would come together in a revolt against homelessness while gentrification, racism, and homophobia loomed.
As someone who occupied various squats in London (including the notorious Ambulance Station on Old Kent Road), Goodacre’s images are not voyeuristic but instead a visual record from someone who was at the center of it all.
As someone who occupied various squats in London (including the notorious Ambulance Station on Old Kent Road), Goodacre’s images are not voyeuristic but instead a visual record from someone who was at the center of it all.
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“This shot sets the time when London was still scuzzy, messy, dangerous and very exciting. You would never know what was round the corner, especially the Old Kent Road in 1982.”
Photo © Martyn Goodacre.
Photo © Martyn Goodacre.
Photo © Martyn Goodacre.
Photo © Martyn Goodacre.
Photo © Martyn Goodacre.
Photo © Martyn Goodacre.
Photo © Martyn Goodacre.
Photo © Martyn Goodacre.
Photo © Martyn Goodacre.
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- Article first published
- February 19, 2020
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