Step back in time to the post-punk scene of the mid 1980’s. Think Siouxsie Sioux, a DIY ethic, scratch video, protest, Thatcher.

This is the backdrop to Dump It On Parliament Revisited, a new living history artwork exploring counter-culture local history, created by artists Dash MacDonald and Demitrios Kargotis (DASHNDEM) and artist/musician Roshi Nasehi as part of the 2015 Library as Laboratory commission.

Dash N’ Dem had discovered the story of the Dump It On Parliament post-punk compilation tape whilst researching Bedfordshire’s alternative local history. In 1986 a group of local post-punk bands, led by Luton’s UK Decay, had joined together to create a musical protest tape, to campaign against a proposed nuclear waste site at Elstow near Bedford. In the end the government withdrew its plans but the tape was released and proved popular. The artists wanted to understand the socio-economic and political climate at that time and contrast it with what people are people angry about now.

Together they decided to revisit the original tape, the bands, the song writing, the fashion, the zines, cut-up film and the gigs of the 1980s post-punk scene, and devise a multi-layered, immersive artwork. Created with local post-punk bands and musicians, youth theatre groups, poets, a well-being group and the people of Dunstable, Houghton Regis and Leighton Buzzard, Dump It On Parliament Revisited records and celebrates the raw creative energy of the Bedfordshire 1980’s post-punk scene re-imagined for today.

The compilation tape of the covers and new songs was released on Friday 24 June 2016 and is available on bandcamp (https://dumpitonparliamentrevisited.bandcamp.com/)to either download or to purchase as a limited edition cassette tape. The accompanying documentary film by Andy Willsher is available to view on our youtube channel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVOethlI1d8).

“The idea of the original Dump It On Parliament tape where local, socially engaged artists and musicians who cared about their community united in protest seemed ideal for revisiting today. We wanted to recapture the spirit of the protest music of the time and create a platform to voice contemporary concerns,” says Dash Macdonald.

Read more here: http://bedfordcreativearts.org.uk/projects/dump-parliament-revisited/

Press Links:
http://louderthanwar.com/dump-it-on-parliament-revisited-1980s-luton-protest-revived/

http://thequietus.com/articles/19323-dump-it-on-parliament-counter-culture-politics

https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/20268