Through my studies, and my internship with The Sound Agents, I am hoping to gain a practical insight into the work that goes into community-based art projects, with the hopes of one day joining or creating my own artist-led space as an Artist-Curator.
The Sound Agent's oral Histories: REVIEW
Then Along Came Lennon and the Beauty of Local Stories
Then Along Came Lennon A First Hand Account of Liverpool Art School Bands (2021) is a video artwork created by artist duo John Campbell and Moira Kenny - collectively known as The Sound Agents. In what is described as an oral history of the musicians and artists in Liverpool in the early days of the Merseybeat sound to Post Punk in the 1980's, this film encapsulates much of the essence of the The Sound Agents' working style in which they give a platform to Liverpool Musicians allowing them to share their voices and stories.
Collating both audio and video interviews from a range of ex-students of Liverpool Art College who found themselves involved in Liverpool's lively music scene at the height of the Beatles early breakout to Post Punk. This nearly hour long collation is interspersed with a mixture of archival and personal photographs of the Mersey based musicians filmed during the Covid19 Pandemic.
Between each interview, we are introduced to the speaker and their respective band with a small text screen, before diving into each participant's stories of their time as art students. In its entirety the listener gains several new stories shared of the days in which Liverpool Art College was a hub of culture and sound, and frankly less about creating art than finding a record label (for some at least!)
In its format as a series of interviews, one quickly settles into the familiar, talking head documentary mode of viewing, and this is aided by Campbell and Kenny's approach to gathering footage. In particular, there is a comfortable intimacy in the interviews with Terry O'Toole of The Mojo's and Henry Priestman of Albert Dock and Yachts, sat in their front room and kitchen respectively. While Terry speaks, he toys with a tissue, recalling how he became a pianist almost accidently after playing in front of George Harrison. Henry sits with a cup of tea and laughs about the band names that didn't quite work out, sharing a memory with John and Moira as they sit off camera, adding to the personal feel of the film.
As a viewer, this pleasant homeliness draws you in with the sense of inclusion and normality to the tales being told, driving home how much of Liverpool's history can still be shared by the real people that lived it.
This familiarity makes Then Along Came Lennon a highly engaging piece of film, showing the potential of collective oral histories in reaching a range of audience. For those locals watching, there is offered up the opportunity to reminisce on Liverpool's musical history, with name drops of iconic bars like Eric's and ye Cracke. Meanwhile, for those who may be newcomers or strangers to the city, it opens doors to a side of the place and its people that they may otherwise never have known.
Then Along Came Lennon : A First Hand Account of Liverpool Art School Bands provides an insight into a highly dynamic time in Liverpool's musical history, while maintaining a stripped back and authentic energy that encourages and facilitates a deeper exploration.
The Along Came Lennon: A First Hand Account of Liverpool Art School Bands is being shown in The British Music Experience 26th May 2022 with a Q & A panel of musician participants led by Professor Colin Fallows
Lauren McSharry 2022