Billy Childish
Encyclopedia
Billy Childish is an English artist, painter, author, poet, photographer, film maker, singer and guitarist. He is known for his explicit and prolific work — he has detailed his love life and childhood sexual abuse, notably in his early poetry and the novels My Fault (1996), Notebooks of a Naked Youth (1997), Sex Crimes of the Futcher (2004) — The Idiocy of Idears (2007), and in several of his songs, notably in the instrumental "Paedophile" (1992) (featuring a photograph of the man who sexually abused him on the front cover) and "Every Bit of Me" (1993). From 1981 till 1985 Childish had a relationship with artist Tracey Emin
and has also been associated with another British artist Stella Vine
.
He is a consistent advocate for amateurism and free emotional expression and was a co-founder of the Stuckism
art movement
with Charles Thomson
in 1999, which he left in 2001. Since then a new evaluation of Childish's standing in the art world has been under way, culminating with the publication of a critical study of Childish's working practice by the artist and writer Neal Brown, with an introduction by Peter Doig
, which describes Childish as "one of the most outstanding, and often misunderstood, figures on the British art scene".
when he was aged nine by a male family friend: "We were on holiday. I had to share a bed with him. It happened for several nights, then I refused to go near him. I didn't tell anyone." He left secondary school at 16, an undiagnosed dyslexic
. Refused an interview at the local art college, he entered Chatham Dockyard
, Kent, as an apprentice stonemason. During the next six months (the artist’s only prolonged period of conventional employment), he produced some 600 drawings in "the tea huts of hell". On the basis of this work he was accepted into St Martin’s School of Art
, where he was friends with the artist Peter Doig
, to study painting. However, his acceptance was short-lived and he was expelled in 1982 before completing the course. He then lived on the dole for 15 years. In 2006 Childish turned down the offer to appear on Channel 4's Celebrity Big Brother UK. Childish has practised yoga
and meditation
since the early 1990s.
As a prospective student lacking the necessary entry qualifications, Childish was accepted into art school four times on the strength of his paintings and drawings. Childish studied foundation at Medway College of Design in 1977-78, and was then accepted onto the painting department of St Martins School of Art in 1978, before quitting a month later. He was reaccepted at St Martins in 1980, but was expelled in 1982 for refusing to paint in the art school and other unruly behaviour. At St Martins, Childish became friends with Peter Doig
with whom he shared an appreciation of Munch
, Van Gogh and blues music. Doig later co-curated Childish's first London show at the Cubit Street Gallery. In the early/mid 1980s Childish was a "major influence" on the artist Tracey Emin
, who he met after his expulsion from St Martins when she was a fashion student at Medway College of Design. Childish has been cited as the influence for Emin's later confessional art. Childish paints in a personal style, which parallels his passion for the elemental in both writing and music. He has exhibited extensively since the 1980s and was featured in the British Art Show
in 2000. Since 2002 Childish has been represented in London by the L-13 Gallery, along with Jamie Reid
and James Cauty (with whom sometimes collaborates). In 1996 Childish painted "The Drinker", influenced by Hans Fallada
's novel of the same title
. Childish has cited Fallada as a major influence on his own prose work, notably in the novel "Sex Crimes of the Futcher". In 2008 Childish commenced a series of paintings based on the life and death of the Swiss author Robert Walser
, whom Childish has also cited as an influence on his prose work.
In 2008 Childish made several paintings of the steam paddle tug John H Amos
which was moored on a pontoon at Rochester. In 2010 a major exhibition of Childish's recent paintings, writing and music was held at The ICA London, with a concurrent painting show running at White Columns Gallery in NY. Childish is represented by neugerriemschneider Berlin, and Lehmann Maupin, NY.
said of Childish: "You are perhaps too subtle and sophisticated for the mass market." Childish's groups include TV21, later known as the Pop Rivets (1977–1980), sometimes spelled the Pop Rivits, with Bruce Brand, Romas Foord, Russell Wilkins and Russell Lax. He later formed Thee Milkshakes (1980–1984) with Micky Hampshire, Thee Mighty Caesars
(1985–1989), The Del Monas then Thee Headcoats
(1989–1999). In 2000 he formed Wild Billy Childish & The Friends of the Buff Medways Fanciers Association (2000–2006), named after a type of poultry bred in his home town. The Buffs, as they were sometimes affectionately known, split in 2006, and Wild Billy Childish & the Musicians of the British Empire were born, recording a song about one of Billy's heroes George Mallory
titled "Bottomless Pit." In early 2007, Billy formed The Vermin Poets with former Fire Dept
singer and guitarist Neil Palmer and A-Lines guitarist and singer Julie Hamper, his wife. Thee Headcoats began their monthly residency at the Wild Western Room in the St John's Tavern, north London, in the early 1990s, and continued after moving to the Dirty Water Club in 1996. The Musicians of the British Empire (MBEs) played at the venue more or less once a month until feb 2011. Childish has not played live since then.
Childish has been namechecked by a number of famous musicians including Kurt Cobain
, Graham Coxon
, The White Stripes
(Jack White
had Billy's name written in large letters on his arm for an early Top of the Pops
appearance) and Kylie Minogue
who named the LP Impossible Princess
after his book .
On September 11, 2009, Damaged Goods Records — Childish's current label — issued a message to subscribers stating that Childish's wife Julie (aka Nurse Julie, bassist in the MBEs) was pregnant. Childish has since been recording as bass player with The Spartan Dreggs, with Neil Palmer on vocals and guitar and wolf Howard on drums.
Childish is a confessional poet and has published over 40 collections of his work. In 1979, Childish was a founder member of The Medway Poets
, a poetry performance group, who read at the Kent Literature Festival and the 1981 international Cambridge Poetry Festival
. There were, however, personality clashes in the group, particularly between Childish and Charles Thomson
, who said: "There was friction between us, especially when he started heckling my poetry reading and I threatened to ban him from a forthcoming TV documentary." However, a TV South documentary on the group in 1982 brought them to a wider regional audience, though Childish's poetry was "deemed unbroadcastable".
According to Childish: "Me & Charles were at war from 1979 until 1999. He even threatened having bouncers on the doors of Medway Poets' readings to keep me out." Childish has twice won commendations in the National Poetry Prize.
Hangman Books has published poetry books and pamphlets by Billy Childish, Tracey Emin
, Bill Lewis
, Vic Templer, Joe Corkwell, Sexton Ming
, Philip Absolon
, Chris Broderick, Mark Lowe, Neil Sparks, Louis-Ferdinand Celine
, Dan Melchior, Dan Belton, Alfie Howard, Simon Robson, Steve Prince, Joe Machine, Wolf Howard
and Amanda Collier, among others.
1982–87 the daily running of the press was carried out by Traci Emin (later Tracey Emin). 1988–99 it was managed by Kyra De Coninck (one of Thee Headcoatees band). Since 2000 Julie Hamper, Childish's wife, has been overseeing it. From 1986 Hangman Records, also run by Childish, released more than 50 LP records, including spoken word, experimental works and punk rock. Many local Medway groups and artists had their first releases on Hangman.
Hangman Books and Hangman Records are both independent, non-profit-making and do not receive outside funding.
, whom he met in 1982, after his expulsion from the painting department at St Martin's School of Art. Emin was a fashion student at Medway College of Design
. Emin and Childish were a couple until 1986-87, Emin selling his poetry books for his small press Hangman Books
. In 1995 she was interviewed in the Minky Manky show catalogue by Carl Freedman
, who asked her, "Which person do you think has had the greatest influence on your life?" She replied:
Her famous "tent" Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963–1995 (1995) was first exhibited in the show, and Childish's name was displayed prominently in it. The tent was destroyed in a fire at the Momart
warehouse, in Leyton, east London, in 2004.
Childish has said "My relationship with Tracey Emin finished in 1987 — 21 years ago, to be exact. Whilst I like and respect Tracey, and wish her well, the relationship is not significant in respect of my current life, and therefore I choose not to discuss it."
In 1999 Childish and Thomson co-founded the Stuckist
art movement
. Thomson coined the group name from Childish's Poem for a Pissed Off Wife (Big Hart and Balls 1994), where he had recorded Emin's remark to him:
The group was strongly pro-figurative painting and anti-conceptual art. Childish wrote a number of manifestos with Thomson, the first of which contained the statement:
The Stuckists soon achieved considerable press coverage, fuelled by Emin's nomination for the Turner Prize
. They then announced the inauguration of a cultural period of Remodernism
to bring back spiritual values into art, culture and society. The formation of The Stuckists directly led to Emin severing her 14-year friendship with Childish in 1999.
Childish has said: "The Stuckist art group was formed in 1999 at the instigation of Charles Thomson, the title of the group being taken from a poem of mine written and published in 1994. I disagreed with the way Charles presented the group, particularly in the media. For these reasons I left the Stuckists in 2001. I never attended any Stuckist demonstrations and my work was not shown in the large Stuckist exhibition held in the Walker Art Gallery in 2004."
British artist Stella Vine
, who was a member of the Stuckists for a short time in 2001, first joined the group having developed a "crush" on Billy Childish while attending his music events. In June 2000, Vine went to a talk given by Childish and fellow Stuckist co-founder Charles Thomson
on Stuckism and Remodernism
, promoted by the Institute of Ideas at the Salon des Arts, Kensington. Vine formed The Unstuckists one month after joining, and has since said she did not agree with Stuckism's principles, and described them as bullies.
in particular. Childish has a Kurt Schwitters poem tatooed on his left buttock and made a short film on Schwitters's life, titled The Man with Wheels, (1980, directed by Eugean Doyan). In his poetry, Childish mentions that he once had a bank account under the name of Kurt Schwitters.
As to what is now termed conceptual art, Childish has said "I respect the right of detractors and champions alike as we live in a democracy."
, Simon Williams and Julie Hamper, Childish formed The Chatham Super 8 Cinema. The group makes super 8 films on a second hand camera Wolf Howard bought at a local flea market. In 2004 Childish released a 30-minute documentary titled Brass Monkey, about a march undertaken in Great War uniform commemorating the 90th anniversary of the British retreat from Mons in 1914.
Tracey Emin
Tracey Karima Emin RA is a British artist of English and Turkish Cypriot origin. She is part of the group known as Britartists or YBAs ....
and has also been associated with another British artist Stella Vine
Stella Vine
Stella Vine is an English artist, who lives and works in London. Her work is figurative painting with subject matter drawn from either her personal life of family, friends and school, or rock stars, royalty and celebrities.After a difficult relationship with her stepfather, she left home and in...
.
He is a consistent advocate for amateurism and free emotional expression and was a co-founder of the Stuckism
Stuckism
Stuckism is an international art movement founded in 1999 by Billy Childish and Charles Thomson to promote figurative painting in opposition to conceptual art...
art movement
Art movement
An art movement is a tendency or style in art with a specific common philosophy or goal, followed by a group of artists during a restricted period of time, or, at least, with the heyday of the movement defined within a number of years...
with Charles Thomson
Charles Thomson (artist)
Charles Thomson is an English artist, painter, poet and photographer. In the early 1980s he was a member of The Medway Poets. In 1999 he named and co-founded the Stuckists art movement with Billy Childish. He has curated Stuckist shows, organised demonstrations against the Turner Prize, run an art...
in 1999, which he left in 2001. Since then a new evaluation of Childish's standing in the art world has been under way, culminating with the publication of a critical study of Childish's working practice by the artist and writer Neal Brown, with an introduction by Peter Doig
Peter Doig
Peter Doig is a contemporary artist born in Scotland. In 2007, a painting of Doig's, entitled White Canoe, sold at Sotheby's for $11.3 million, then an auction record for a living European artist.-Early life:...
, which describes Childish as "one of the most outstanding, and often misunderstood, figures on the British art scene".
Background
Billy Childish was born, lives and works in Chatham, Kent, England. Although he had an early and extremely close association with many of the artists who became known as "YBA" artists he has resolutely asserted his independent status. He was sexually abusedChild sexual abuse
Child sexual abuse is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include asking or pressuring a child to engage in sexual activities , indecent exposure with intent to gratify their own sexual desires or to...
when he was aged nine by a male family friend: "We were on holiday. I had to share a bed with him. It happened for several nights, then I refused to go near him. I didn't tell anyone." He left secondary school at 16, an undiagnosed dyslexic
Dyslexia
Dyslexia is a very broad term defining a learning disability that impairs a person's fluency or comprehension accuracy in being able to read, and which can manifest itself as a difficulty with phonological awareness, phonological decoding, orthographic coding, auditory short-term memory, or rapid...
. Refused an interview at the local art college, he entered Chatham Dockyard
Chatham Dockyard
Chatham Dockyard, located on the River Medway and of which two-thirds is in Gillingham and one third in Chatham, Kent, England, came into existence at the time when, following the Reformation, relations with the Catholic countries of Europe had worsened, leading to a requirement for additional...
, Kent, as an apprentice stonemason. During the next six months (the artist’s only prolonged period of conventional employment), he produced some 600 drawings in "the tea huts of hell". On the basis of this work he was accepted into St Martin’s School of Art
Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. The school has an outstanding international reputation, and is considered one of the world's leading art and design institutions...
, where he was friends with the artist Peter Doig
Peter Doig
Peter Doig is a contemporary artist born in Scotland. In 2007, a painting of Doig's, entitled White Canoe, sold at Sotheby's for $11.3 million, then an auction record for a living European artist.-Early life:...
, to study painting. However, his acceptance was short-lived and he was expelled in 1982 before completing the course. He then lived on the dole for 15 years. In 2006 Childish turned down the offer to appear on Channel 4's Celebrity Big Brother UK. Childish has practised yoga
Yoga
Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on Supersoul...
and meditation
Meditation
Meditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....
since the early 1990s.
Painting
Peter Doig
Peter Doig is a contemporary artist born in Scotland. In 2007, a painting of Doig's, entitled White Canoe, sold at Sotheby's for $11.3 million, then an auction record for a living European artist.-Early life:...
with whom he shared an appreciation of Munch
Edvard Munch
Edvard Munch was a Norwegian Symbolist painter, printmaker and an important forerunner of expressionist art. His best-known composition, The Scream, is part of a series The Frieze of Life, in which Munch explored the themes of love, fear, death, melancholia, and anxiety.- Childhood :Edvard Munch...
, Van Gogh and blues music. Doig later co-curated Childish's first London show at the Cubit Street Gallery. In the early/mid 1980s Childish was a "major influence" on the artist Tracey Emin
Tracey Emin
Tracey Karima Emin RA is a British artist of English and Turkish Cypriot origin. She is part of the group known as Britartists or YBAs ....
, who he met after his expulsion from St Martins when she was a fashion student at Medway College of Design. Childish has been cited as the influence for Emin's later confessional art. Childish paints in a personal style, which parallels his passion for the elemental in both writing and music. He has exhibited extensively since the 1980s and was featured in the British Art Show
British Art Show
The British Art Show is a major survey exhibition organised every five years to showcase contemporary British Art. The current exhibition in the series, referred to as BAS6, is touring a number of major cities within England in 2005 and 2006. Each time it is organised, the show tours to three UK...
in 2000. Since 2002 Childish has been represented in London by the L-13 Gallery, along with Jamie Reid
Jamie Reid
Jamie Reid is a British artist and anarchist with connections to the Situationists. His work, featuring letters cut from newspaper headlines in the style of a ransom note, came close to defining the image of punk rock, particularly in the UK...
and James Cauty (with whom sometimes collaborates). In 1996 Childish painted "The Drinker", influenced by Hans Fallada
Hans Fallada
Hans Fallada , born Rudolf Wilhelm Friedrich Ditzen in Greifswald, Germany, was a German writer of the first half of the 20th century. Some of his better known novels include Little Man, What Now? and Every Man Dies Alone...
's novel of the same title
The Drinker
The Drinker is a novel by Hans Fallada, first published in 1950.Fallada began the novel , in 1944, when he was imprisoned in a criminal asylum for the attempted murder of his wife. It is autobiographical, in diary form, and tells the story of a man in the grip of both morphine and alcohol. Beryl...
. Childish has cited Fallada as a major influence on his own prose work, notably in the novel "Sex Crimes of the Futcher". In 2008 Childish commenced a series of paintings based on the life and death of the Swiss author Robert Walser
Robert Walser (writer)
Robert Walser , was a German-speaking Swiss writer.-1878–1897:...
, whom Childish has also cited as an influence on his prose work.
In 2008 Childish made several paintings of the steam paddle tug John H Amos
John H Amos
John H Amos is a paddlewheel tugboat built in England in 1931. The last paddlewheel tug built for private owners, now owned by the Medway Maritime Trust...
which was moored on a pontoon at Rochester. In 2010 a major exhibition of Childish's recent paintings, writing and music was held at The ICA London, with a concurrent painting show running at White Columns Gallery in NY. Childish is represented by neugerriemschneider Berlin, and Lehmann Maupin, NY.
The British Art Resistance
In 2008 Childish formed the "non organisation" The British Art Resistance, and held an exhibition under the title Hero of The British Art Resistance at The Aquarium L-13 gallery in London: A collection of paintings, books, records, pamphlets, poems, prints, letters, film, photographs made in 2008.Music
Childish made records of punk rock, blues, folk, classical/experimental, spoken word and nursery rhymes. In a letter to Childish, the musician Ivor CutlerIvor Cutler
Ivor Cutler was a Scottish poet, songwriter and humorist. He became known for his regular performances on BBC radio, and in particular his numerous sessions recorded for John Peel's influential radio programme, and later for Andy Kershaw's programme...
said of Childish: "You are perhaps too subtle and sophisticated for the mass market." Childish's groups include TV21, later known as the Pop Rivets (1977–1980), sometimes spelled the Pop Rivits, with Bruce Brand, Romas Foord, Russell Wilkins and Russell Lax. He later formed Thee Milkshakes (1980–1984) with Micky Hampshire, Thee Mighty Caesars
Thee Mighty Caesars
Thee Mighty Caesars were a primitive garage punk group, formed by Billy Childish in 1985 after the demise of The Milkshakes. They influenced many American bands, especially The Mummies, and Sub Pop groups...
(1985–1989), The Del Monas then Thee Headcoats
Thee Headcoats
Thee Headcoats 1989 - 2000, was a band comprising Billy Childish, Bruce Brand, and Johnny Johnson. Childish was featured on guitar and vocals, Brand on drums and backing vocals, and Johnson on bass. The band was the most prolific of Childish's many musical projects, releasing fourteen full...
(1989–1999). In 2000 he formed Wild Billy Childish & The Friends of the Buff Medways Fanciers Association (2000–2006), named after a type of poultry bred in his home town. The Buffs, as they were sometimes affectionately known, split in 2006, and Wild Billy Childish & the Musicians of the British Empire were born, recording a song about one of Billy's heroes George Mallory
George Mallory
George Herbert Leigh Mallory was an English mountaineer who took part in the first three British expeditions to Mount Everest in the early 1920s....
titled "Bottomless Pit." In early 2007, Billy formed The Vermin Poets with former Fire Dept
Fire Dept
The Fire Dept was a British punk rock group. The main core of the band over the years comprised Neil Palmer on guitar and vocals, Neale Richardson on bass and Robin Taylor on drums...
singer and guitarist Neil Palmer and A-Lines guitarist and singer Julie Hamper, his wife. Thee Headcoats began their monthly residency at the Wild Western Room in the St John's Tavern, north London, in the early 1990s, and continued after moving to the Dirty Water Club in 1996. The Musicians of the British Empire (MBEs) played at the venue more or less once a month until feb 2011. Childish has not played live since then.
Childish has been namechecked by a number of famous musicians including Kurt Cobain
Kurt Cobain
Kurt Donald Cobain was an American singer-songwriter, musician and artist, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the grunge band Nirvana...
, Graham Coxon
Graham Coxon
Graham Leslie Coxon is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and painter. He came to prominence as the lead guitarist, backing vocalist and occasional lead vocalist of rock band Blur, and is also a critically acclaimed solo artist, having recorded seven solo albums...
, The White Stripes
The White Stripes
The White Stripes was an American rock band, formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consisted of the songwriter Jack White and drummer Meg White . Jack and Meg White were previously married to each other, but are now divorced...
(Jack White
Jack White (musician)
Jack White , often credited as Jack White III, is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and occasional actor...
had Billy's name written in large letters on his arm for an early Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
appearance) and Kylie Minogue
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue, OBE - often known simply as Kylie - is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing...
who named the LP Impossible Princess
Impossible Princess
Impossible Princess is the sixth studio album by Australian recording artist Kylie Minogue. It was released in Japan on 1 November 1997 by BMG Records, Australia on 12 January 1998 by Mushroom Records and 23 March 1998 in Europe by Deconstruction Records to mixed reviews. The album was produced by...
after his book .
On September 11, 2009, Damaged Goods Records — Childish's current label — issued a message to subscribers stating that Childish's wife Julie (aka Nurse Julie, bassist in the MBEs) was pregnant. Childish has since been recording as bass player with The Spartan Dreggs, with Neil Palmer on vocals and guitar and wolf Howard on drums.
Poetry
The Medway Poets
The Medway Poets were founded in Medway, North Kent in 1979. They were an English punk based poetry performance group and later formed the core of the first Stuckists Art Group. The members were Miriam Carney, Billy Childish, Rob Earl, Bill Lewis, Sexton Ming and Charles Thomson...
, a poetry performance group, who read at the Kent Literature Festival and the 1981 international Cambridge Poetry Festival
Cambridge Poetry Festival
The Cambridge Poetry Festival was an international biennale for poetry held in Cambridge, England, between 1975–1985. The festival was founded in an attempt to combine as many aspects as possible of this form of art...
. There were, however, personality clashes in the group, particularly between Childish and Charles Thomson
Charles Thomson (artist)
Charles Thomson is an English artist, painter, poet and photographer. In the early 1980s he was a member of The Medway Poets. In 1999 he named and co-founded the Stuckists art movement with Billy Childish. He has curated Stuckist shows, organised demonstrations against the Turner Prize, run an art...
, who said: "There was friction between us, especially when he started heckling my poetry reading and I threatened to ban him from a forthcoming TV documentary." However, a TV South documentary on the group in 1982 brought them to a wider regional audience, though Childish's poetry was "deemed unbroadcastable".
According to Childish: "Me & Charles were at war from 1979 until 1999. He even threatened having bouncers on the doors of Medway Poets' readings to keep me out." Childish has twice won commendations in the National Poetry Prize.
Hangman Books
In 1981-82 Childish formed Hangman Books, publishing poetry and some fiction. (Associated projects are Hangman Films and Hangman Records.)Hangman Books has published poetry books and pamphlets by Billy Childish, Tracey Emin
Tracey Emin
Tracey Karima Emin RA is a British artist of English and Turkish Cypriot origin. She is part of the group known as Britartists or YBAs ....
, Bill Lewis
Bill Lewis
William "Bill" Lewis is an English artist, story-teller, poet and mythographer. He was a founder-member of The Medway Poets and of the Stuckists art group.-Early life:...
, Vic Templer, Joe Corkwell, Sexton Ming
Sexton Ming
Sexton Ming is a British artist, poet and musician who was a founding member of The Medway Poets and the Stuckists art group .-Life and career:...
, Philip Absolon
Philip Absolon
Philip Absolon is a British artist and a founder member of the Stuckists art group, exhibiting in the group shows, including The Stuckists Punk Victorian at the Walker Art Gallery in 2004, and taking part in Stuckist demonstrations against the Turner Prize...
, Chris Broderick, Mark Lowe, Neil Sparks, Louis-Ferdinand Celine
Louis-Ferdinand Céline
Louis-Ferdinand Céline was the pen name of French writer and physician Louis-Ferdinand Destouches . Céline was chosen after his grandmother's first name. He is considered one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century, developing a new style of writing that modernized both French and...
, Dan Melchior, Dan Belton, Alfie Howard, Simon Robson, Steve Prince, Joe Machine, Wolf Howard
Wolf Howard
Wolf Howard is an English artist, poet and filmmaker living in Chatham, Kent and was a founder member of the Stuckists art group...
and Amanda Collier, among others.
1982–87 the daily running of the press was carried out by Traci Emin (later Tracey Emin). 1988–99 it was managed by Kyra De Coninck (one of Thee Headcoatees band). Since 2000 Julie Hamper, Childish's wife, has been overseeing it. From 1986 Hangman Records, also run by Childish, released more than 50 LP records, including spoken word, experimental works and punk rock. Many local Medway groups and artists had their first releases on Hangman.
Hangman Books and Hangman Records are both independent, non-profit-making and do not receive outside funding.
Tracey Emin
During the 1980s, Childish was an influence on the artist Tracey EminTracey Emin
Tracey Karima Emin RA is a British artist of English and Turkish Cypriot origin. She is part of the group known as Britartists or YBAs ....
, whom he met in 1982, after his expulsion from the painting department at St Martin's School of Art. Emin was a fashion student at Medway College of Design
Kent Institute of Art & Design
The Kent Institute of Art & Design was an art school based across three campuses in the county of Kent, in the United Kingdom. It was formed by the amalgamation of three independent colleges: Canterbury College of Art, Maidstone College of Art and Rochester College of Art...
. Emin and Childish were a couple until 1986-87, Emin selling his poetry books for his small press Hangman Books
Hangman Books
Hangman Books is a British independent small press founded in 1981 by Billy Childish, who remains its owner and editor. It publishes poetry and some fiction...
. In 1995 she was interviewed in the Minky Manky show catalogue by Carl Freedman
Carl Freedman
Carl Freedman is the founder of Carl Freedman Gallery . He previously worked as a writer and a curator, initially with Damien Hirst, to help pioneer the Young British Artists phenomenon.-Life and work:...
, who asked her, "Which person do you think has had the greatest influence on your life?" She replied:
- Uhmm... It's not a person really. It was more a time, going to Maidstone College of Art, hanging around with Billy Childish, living by the River Medway.
Her famous "tent" Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963–1995 (1995) was first exhibited in the show, and Childish's name was displayed prominently in it. The tent was destroyed in a fire at the Momart
Momart
Momart is a British company specialising in the storage, transportation, and installation of works of art. It has been owned by Falkland Islands Holdings since 5 March 2008....
warehouse, in Leyton, east London, in 2004.
Childish has said "My relationship with Tracey Emin finished in 1987 — 21 years ago, to be exact. Whilst I like and respect Tracey, and wish her well, the relationship is not significant in respect of my current life, and therefore I choose not to discuss it."
The Stuckists
Stuckism
Stuckism is an international art movement founded in 1999 by Billy Childish and Charles Thomson to promote figurative painting in opposition to conceptual art...
art movement
Art movement
An art movement is a tendency or style in art with a specific common philosophy or goal, followed by a group of artists during a restricted period of time, or, at least, with the heyday of the movement defined within a number of years...
. Thomson coined the group name from Childish's Poem for a Pissed Off Wife (Big Hart and Balls 1994), where he had recorded Emin's remark to him:
- Your paintings are stuck, you are stuck! — Stuck! Stuck! Stuck!"
The group was strongly pro-figurative painting and anti-conceptual art. Childish wrote a number of manifestos with Thomson, the first of which contained the statement:
- Artists who don't paint aren't artists.
The Stuckists soon achieved considerable press coverage, fuelled by Emin's nomination for the Turner Prize
Turner Prize
The Turner Prize, named after the painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist under the age of 50. Awarding the prize is organised by the Tate gallery and staged at Tate Britain. Since its beginnings in 1984 it has become the United Kingdom's most publicised...
. They then announced the inauguration of a cultural period of Remodernism
Remodernism
Remodernism revives aspects of modernism, particularly in its early form, and follows postmodernism, to which it contrasts. Adherents of remodernism advocate it as a forward and radical, not reactionary, impetus....
to bring back spiritual values into art, culture and society. The formation of The Stuckists directly led to Emin severing her 14-year friendship with Childish in 1999.
Childish has said: "The Stuckist art group was formed in 1999 at the instigation of Charles Thomson, the title of the group being taken from a poem of mine written and published in 1994. I disagreed with the way Charles presented the group, particularly in the media. For these reasons I left the Stuckists in 2001. I never attended any Stuckist demonstrations and my work was not shown in the large Stuckist exhibition held in the Walker Art Gallery in 2004."
British artist Stella Vine
Stella Vine
Stella Vine is an English artist, who lives and works in London. Her work is figurative painting with subject matter drawn from either her personal life of family, friends and school, or rock stars, royalty and celebrities.After a difficult relationship with her stepfather, she left home and in...
, who was a member of the Stuckists for a short time in 2001, first joined the group having developed a "crush" on Billy Childish while attending his music events. In June 2000, Vine went to a talk given by Childish and fellow Stuckist co-founder Charles Thomson
Charles Thomson (artist)
Charles Thomson is an English artist, painter, poet and photographer. In the early 1980s he was a member of The Medway Poets. In 1999 he named and co-founded the Stuckists art movement with Billy Childish. He has curated Stuckist shows, organised demonstrations against the Turner Prize, run an art...
on Stuckism and Remodernism
Remodernism
Remodernism revives aspects of modernism, particularly in its early form, and follows postmodernism, to which it contrasts. Adherents of remodernism advocate it as a forward and radical, not reactionary, impetus....
, promoted by the Institute of Ideas at the Salon des Arts, Kensington. Vine formed The Unstuckists one month after joining, and has since said she did not agree with Stuckism's principles, and described them as bullies.
Conceptual art
As a young man, Childish was highly influenced by Dada, and the work of Kurt SchwittersKurt Schwitters
Kurt Hermann Eduard Karl Julius Schwitters was a German painter who was born in Hanover, Germany. Schwitters worked in several genres and media, including Dada, Constructivism, Surrealism, poetry, sound, painting, sculpture, graphic design, typography and what came to be known as...
in particular. Childish has a Kurt Schwitters poem tatooed on his left buttock and made a short film on Schwitters's life, titled The Man with Wheels, (1980, directed by Eugean Doyan). In his poetry, Childish mentions that he once had a bank account under the name of Kurt Schwitters.
As to what is now termed conceptual art, Childish has said "I respect the right of detractors and champions alike as we live in a democracy."
The Chatham Super 8 Cinema
In 2002, along with Wolf HowardWolf Howard
Wolf Howard is an English artist, poet and filmmaker living in Chatham, Kent and was a founder member of the Stuckists art group...
, Simon Williams and Julie Hamper, Childish formed The Chatham Super 8 Cinema. The group makes super 8 films on a second hand camera Wolf Howard bought at a local flea market. In 2004 Childish released a 30-minute documentary titled Brass Monkey, about a march undertaken in Great War uniform commemorating the 90th anniversary of the British retreat from Mons in 1914.
Discography
(Listing albums only; singles are not shown.)- Greatest Hits (1979) The Pop Rivets
- Empty Sounds from Anarchy Ranch (1979) The Pop Rivets
- Talking 'Bout... Milkshakes (1981) The Milkshakes
- 14 Rhythm and Beat Greats (1982) The Milkshakes
- After School Sessions (1983) The Milkshakes
- The Milkshakes IV-The Men with Golden Guitars (1983) The Milkshakes
- Sing and Play 20 Rock & Roll Hits of the 50's & 60's (1984) The Milkshakes
- The Milkshakes in Germany (1984) The Milkshakes
- Nothing Can Stop These Men (1984) The Milkshakes
- Showcase (1984) The Milkshakes
- They Came They Saw They Conquered (1984) Thee Milkshakes
- Thee Knights of Trashe (1984) Thee Milkshakes
- Thee Mighty Caesars (1985) Thee Mighty Caesars
- Dangerous Charms (1985) The Del Monas
- Beware the Ideas of the March (1985) Thee Mighty Caesars
- The Delmonas 5 (1986) The Del Monas
- Thee Caesars of Trash (1986) Thee Mighty Caesars
- Acropolis Now (1986) Thee Mighty Caesars
- 107 Tapes (1986) (Early demos/Live) The Milkshakes
- Live in Rome (1986) Thee Mighty Caesars
- Wiseblood (1987) The Mighty Caesars
- The Milkshakes Revenge -The Legendary Missing 9th Album (1987) The Milkshakes
- Fun in the U.K (1987) (Compilation) The Pop Rivets
- I've Got Everything Indeed (1987) Wild Billy Childish
- Don't Give Any Dinner to Henry Chinaski (1987) Thee Mighty Caesars
- Which Dead Donkey Daddy? (1987) Billy Childish & Sexton Ming
- Punk Rock Showcase (1987) Thee Mighty Caesars
- Laughing Gravy (1987) Wild Billy Childish & Big Russ Wilkins
- Plump Prizes & Little Gems (1987) Billy Childish & Sexton Ming
- The 1982 Cassettes (1988) Wild Billy Childish
- Live in Chatham (1988) Thee Milkshakes
- YPRES 1917 Overture (Verdun Ossuary) (1988) Billy Childish & Sexton Ming
- "i remember..." (1988) Wild Billy Childish
- Poems of Laughter and Violence (1988) Billy Childish
- Brimful of Hate (1988) Jack Ketch & the Crowmen
- Play: Capt'n Calypso's Hoodoo Party (1988) Wild Billy Childish & the Blackhands
- Do the Uncle Willy (1988) The Del Monas
- English Punk Rock Explosion (1988) (Compilation) Thee Mighty Caesars
- The Delmonas (1989) The Delmonas
- John Lennon's Corpse Revisited (1989) Thee Mighty Caesars
- Headcoats Down! (1989) Thee Headcoats
- Long Legged Baby (1989) Wild Billy Childish & the Natural Born Lovers
- Surely They Were the Sons of God (1989) (Compilation) Thee Mighty Caesars
- 19th Nervous Shakedown (1990) (Compilation) The Milkshakes
- The Kids Are Square-This is Hip! (1990) Thee Headcoats
- The Earls of Suavedom (1990) Thee Headcoats
- Beach Bums Must Die (1990) Thee Headcoats
- Live in Germany '79 (1990) The Pop Rivets
- Heavens to Murgatroyd, Even! It’s Thee Headcoats! (Already) (1990) Thee Headcoats
- 50 Albums Great (1991) Wild Billy Childish
- Girlsville (1991) Thee Headcoatees
- W.O.A.H! Bo in Thee Garage (1991) Thee Headcoats
- Headcoatitude (1991) Thee Headcoats
- I Am the Billy Childish (1991) (Compilation) Various
- The Sudden Fart of Laughter (1992) Billy Childish
- Der Henkermann-Kitchen Recordings (1992) Billy Childish
- The Original Chatham Jack (1992) Billy Childish & the Blackhands
- Have Love Will Travel (1992) Thee Headcoatees
- Caesars Remains (1992) (Compilation) Thee Mighty Caesars
- The Wurst is Yet to Come (1993) Thee Headcoats
- The Good Times Are Killing Me (1993) Thee Headcoats
- Cavern by the Sea (1993) Thee Headcoats
- Torments Nest (1993) Billy Childish
- Live in the Netherlands (1993) Wild Billy Childish & the Blackhands
- Native American Sampler — A History 1983-1993 (1993) (Compilation) Various
- At the Bridge (1993) Billy Childish featuring The Singing Loins
- Hunger at the Moon (1993) Billy Childish
- Caesars Pleasure (1994) (Compilation) Thee Mighty Caesars
- Live at the Wild Western Room (1994) Thee Headcoats
- Connundrum (1994) Thee Headcoats
- Ballad of Insolent Pup (1994) Thee Headcoatees
- The Sound of the Baskervilles (1995) Thee Headcoats featuring Thee Headcoatees
- In Tweed We Trust (1996) Thee Headcoats
- Deerstalking Men (1996) Thee Headcoats Sect
- Knights of the Baskervilles (1996) Thee Headcoats
- Made With a Passion — Kitchen Demo's (1996) Billy Childish
- Bostik Haze (1997) Thee Headcoatees
- Chathams Burning - Live 77 & 78 Demo's (1997) The Pop Rivets
- Punk Girls (1997) Thee Headcoatees
- The Jimmy Reid Experience (1997) (Thee Headcoats)
- Devil in the Flesh (1998) Billy Childish/Dan MelchiorDan MelchiorDan Melchior is a singer/songwriter/guitarist who grew up in Shepperton, Surrey, , England and is often labeled a 'garage rock' musician....
- The Messerschmits Pilots Severed Hand (1998) Thee Headcoats
- Sherlock Holmes Meets the Punkenstien Monster (1998) (Japanese Compilation) Thee Headcoats
- Brother is Dead…but fly is gone! (1998) Thee Headcoats
- 17% Hendrix Was Not the Only Musician (1998) Billy Childish & His Famous Headcoats
- Taylor Meets Thee Headcoatees (1998) Thee Headcoatees
- Crimes Against Music-Blues Recordings 1986-1999 (1999) (Compilation) Wild Billy Childish
- The Cheeky Cheese (1999) Billy Childish & Sexton Ming
- English Gentlemen of Rock‘N’Roll/the Best Vol.2 (1999) (Japanese Compilation) Thee Headcoats
- Here Comes the Cessation (1999) Thee Headcoatees
- The Sisters of Suave (1999) (compilation) Thee Headcoatees
- In Blood (1999) Billy Childish & Holly GolightlyHolly GolightlyHolly Golightly is a British singer-songwriter. Her mother christened her after the protagonist in Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's. Her musical style ranges from garage rock to R&B.-Musical career:...
- Ready Sect Go! (2000) Thee Headcoats Sect
- I Am the Object of Your Desire (2000) Thee Headcoats
- Elementary Headcoats - Thee Singles 1990-1999 (2000) (compilation) Thee Headcoats
- Live at the Dirty Water Club (2001) Thee Headcoats
- This is This (2001) The Buff Medways
- Steady the Buffs (2002) Wild Billy Childish & The Buff Medways
- 25 Years of Being Childish (2002) (compilation) Various
- Here Come the Fleece Geese (2002) Billy Childish & Sexton Ming
- 1914 (2003) Wild Billy Childish & The Buff Medways
- Medway Wheelers (2005) Wild Billy Childish & The Buff Medways
- Heavens Journey (2005) Wild Billy Childish & The Chatham Singers
- My First Billy Childish Album (2006) Various (compilation)
- Punk Rock at the British Legion Hall (2007) Wild Billy Childish & The Musicians of the British Empire
- The XFM Sessions (2007) Wild Billy Childish & The Buff Medways
- Poems of a Backwater Visionary (2007) Billy Childish (spoken word)
- Christmas 1979 (2007) Wild Billy Childish & the Musicians of the British Empire
- Thatcher's Children (2008) Wild Billy Childish & the MBE's
- Juju Claudius (2009) The Chatham Singers
- Archive From 1959 - The Billy Childish Story (2009) Three LP Compilation
- Poets of England (2010) The Vermin Poets
- Forensic R & B (2011) The Spartan Dreggs
Various artist compilations
- Time's Up LiveTime's Up LiveTime's Up Live is a live DVD by Psychic TV including additional material by other artists. Recorded live at Royal Festival Hall, London on May 01, 1999.Performers: Genesis P-Orridge, Alex Fergusson, Larry Thrasher, Terry Gilmore, Matthew Best....
(2001) - The Smoking Dog Presents An Evening Of Medway Blues (2005) (contributes three a cappellaA cappellaA cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
tracks "The Bitter Cup", "Black Girl" and "Out On The Western Plains") - Children of Nuggets (2005) (2 songs included by Mickey and the Milkshakes "It's You" and "Please Don't Tell My Baby")
Selected fanzines and early written works
- Chathams Burning (1977)
- Bostik Haze (1978)
- Fab 69 (1978)
- The Kray Twins Summer Special (1978)
- The Arts and General Interest (1978)
- Hack Hack (1978)
- Goat Gruff (1979)
- Book of Nursary Rhimes (1979)
- Kinda Garten (1980)
- The Cuckoo's Cukoo (1980)
- Mertz in Chatham (1980)
- Shed Country (1980)
- The Cheesy Bug Gazet - with Sexton Ming (1980)
- Bo-Pug - The Six Tails - with Sexton Ming (1980)
- Mussel Horse in Holland - with Sexton Ming (1980)
- Dog Jaw Woman(1981)
Poetry
- Back on Red Lite rd (1981)
- 2 Minits walk from 10am (1981)
- The First Creacher is Jellosey (1981)
- Black Things Hidden in Dust (1982)
- You Me Blud N Knuckle (1982)
- Big Cunt (1982)
- Prity Thing (1982)
- 7 by Childish (1982)
- Will the Circle be Unbroken (1983)
- 10 No Good Poems of Slavery, Buggery, Boredom and Disrespect (1983)
- Noting Can Stop This Man (1983)
- The Unknown Stuff (1983)
- Poems from the Barrier Block (1984)
- Tear Life to Pieces (1985)
- Poems Without Rhyme, Without Reason, Without Spelling, Without Words, Without Nothing (1985)
- Monks Without God (1986)
- Companions in a Death Boat (1987)
- To the Quick (1988)
- The Girl in the Tree (1988)
- Maverick Verse (1988)
- Admissions to Strangers (1989)
- En Carne Viva (1989) Spanish/English
- Death of a Wood (1989)
- The Deathly Flight of Angels (1990)
- Like a God i Love all Things (1991)
- The Hart Rises (1992)
- Trembling of Life (1993)
- Poems of Laughter and Violence -Selected Poems 1981-1986 (1993)
- Hunger at the Moon (1993)
- Days with a Hart Like a Dog (1994)
- Poems to Break the Harts of Impossible Princesses (1994)
- Big Hart and Balls (1995)
- This Puerile Thing (1996)
- In 5 Minits You’ll Know Me -Selected Poems 1985-1995 (1996)
- A Terrible Hunger for Love (1997) Unpublished poems 1982-84
- “I’d Rather You Lied” Selected Poems 1980-1998 (1999)
- Chatham Town Welcomes Desperate Men (2000)
- Evidence Against Myself (2003)
- The Boss of All English Riters (2003)
- Calling Things by Their Proper Names (2003)
- Knite of the Sad Face (2004) Chap Book
- The 1st Green Horse God has Ever Made (2004)
- The Man with Gallows Eyes - Selected Poetry 1980-2005 (2005)
- The River be My Blud: Medway Poems (1980-05)
- This is My Shit and it Smells Good to Me (2008)
- Old 4 Legs (2008)
- Where the Tiger Prowls Stripped and Unseen (2008)
- Gods Fantasic Colours (2008) - Hand stamped covers. Note: some copies appear with different titles and
different author and publisher: 'Art War, Man Taken from Guts' and 'Insolunce in the Face of Art' being examples. - Unknowable but Certain (2009)
- Paraffin Van (2011)
Fiction
- Conversations with Dr X (1987)
- Cannon-fodder, by Louis-Ferdinand CélineLouis-Ferdinand CélineLouis-Ferdinand Céline was the pen name of French writer and physician Louis-Ferdinand Destouches . Céline was chosen after his grandmother's first name. He is considered one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century, developing a new style of writing that modernized both French and...
. Trans. K. De Coninck and Billy Childish (1988) - The Silence of Words (1989)
- 9 STORIES OF THE RIVER MEDWAY RECOUNTED IN THE LANGUAGE OF IDIOTS FOR PEOPLE OF LITTLE DISCERNMENT' (2005)
Novels
- My Fault (1996)
- Notebooks of a Naked Youth (1997)
- Sex Crimes of the Futcher (2004)
- the idiocy of idears (2007)
- "Bombs, Buggery and Buddhism or Diaries of a Mock Human" (Part one) (2010)
- "The Stonemason" (2011)
Art
- Hendrix was Not the Only Musician (1998)
- Paintings of a Backwater Visionary (2005)
- Thoughts of a Hangman - Woodcuts (2006)
- Field Trip Krakow/Auschwitz (2008) - under Guy Hamper
- Field Trip High Atlas/Marrakech (2008) - under Guy Hamper
- i am their damaged megaphone (2010) - neugerriemschneider, Berlin
- Field Trip Dockyard/Estuary Dreck (2010) - under Guy Hamper
- Love the Art Hate (2010) - L-13 London
- the soft ashes of berlin snowing on hans falladas nose (2010) - neugerriemschneider, Berlin
Critical
- Billy Childish a Short Study. By Neal Brown (2008)
- "Levity and Mystery: an introduction to the films of Billy Childish" by Neil Palmer in 'No Focus: Punk On Film' (Headpress, 2006)
Photography
- Photo Booth (2003)
- Dark Chamber- Pinhole Photography from the IGPP - contributor- (2007)
- Dark Chamber 2 - Pinhole Photography from the IGPP- contributor- (2008)
Selected films
- The Man With Wheels (1980)
- Quite Lives (1983)
- Cheated (1993)
- The Flying Mustache (2002)
- Shooting at the Moon (2003), music by
- Brass Monkey (2004)
- Billy Childish Is DeadBilly Childish Is DeadBilly Childish Is Dead is a 2005 rock n’ roll themed documentary on the life of Billy Childish. It is directed by Graham Bendel.-Awards:It was nominated for the 2005 The Raindance Award of the British Independent Film Awards.-Reception:...
(2005)
See also
- Medway groupsMedway groupsMedway scene is a term denoting bands and related cultural activities in the Medway Towns, north Kent, England. Main towns involved are Strood, Rochester, Chatham, Gillingham, and Rainham.-History:...
- Punk literaturePunk literaturePunk literature is a form of literature that emerged from the punk subculture. The attitude and ideology of punk rock gave rise to distinctive characteristics in the writing it manifested...
- CollectiveCollective (BBC)Collective was an "interactive culture magazine" hosted by the BBC's website, bbc.co.uk. Collective was launched in May 2002, becoming interactive in September of the same year. Collective editors included Rowan Kerek, Jonathan Carter, Alastair Lee, James Cowdery and Matt Walton who had the...
, a BBC website Childish contributes to.