Thomas Blower is a documentary photographer from Manchester, UK. He captured inner-city Manchester in the 1970s and 80s and continues to document the changing face of the city today. Thomas’s work is an important part of the BCA collections and is featured in our touring exhibition, ‘A Celebration of Life in the North’.
Photo © Thomas Blower / British Culture Archive.
Carnival Against The Nazis
On the 15th of July 1978, Thomas attended the Northern Carnival Against the Nazis in Manchester’s Alexandra Park. The carnival was conceived by Bernie Wilcox of Rock Against Racism and Geoff Brown of the Anti-Nazi League. Bernie and Geoff were among the thousands of Manchester-based anti-racists who travelled to the first ‘Carnival against the Nazis’ in London’s Victoria Park. On the train journey back home, Brown and Wilcox decided Manchester needed to put on its own carnival to join the fight against racism and the far right.
Bernie and Geoff were able to organise an event in just ten weeks. To ensure its success, they sought the assistance of Chris Hewitt, who had experience organising the Deeply Vale festival and providing sound for various Rock Against Racism/Anti-Nazi League indoor events. Chris helped with the stage, fencing, sound, and generators. Equipment from the Deeply Vale festival, which took place five days later near Bury, was also used to make the carnival financially and logistically feasible. Additionally, Bernie Wilcox and Deeply Vale jointly organised a Rock Against Racism day as part of their July 1978 festival.
March from Strangeways
The Northern Carnival featured performances from X-O-Dus (who later signed to Factory Records), Buzzcocks, China Street, and Steel Pulse. Before the bands performed, more than 15,000 people marched from Strangeways Prison (where it was believed the National Front had infiltrated the staff) to Alexandra Park. During the march, a number of reggae, punk, and steel bands played on the back of lorries, creating the carnival atmosphere that would spill into the park later in the afternoon.
Photo © Thomas Blower / British Culture Archive.
One Big Party
“The gig itself was great. There was no violence, no antagonism; it was just one big party with thousands of people in attendance. People were drinking and smoking a bit of this and that – It was fantastic. I was a big reggae fan myself, but I didn’t dance that often, though when Steel Pulse came on, you couldn’t help but dance!’ – Thomas Blower.
Prior to this feature on Thomas’s work, the images below were unseen for over forty years.
Gallery
Photo © Thomas Blower / British Culture Archive.
Photo © Thomas Blower / British Culture Archive.
Photo © Thomas Blower / British Culture Archive.
Photo © Thomas Blower / British Culture Archive.
Photo © Thomas Blower / British Culture Archive.
Photo © Thomas Blower / British Culture Archive.
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