The Writing on the Wall - Softcover

Roger Perry; George Melly; Bill Drummond; George Stewart-Lockhart

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0993152007 ISBN 13: 9780993152009

Publisher: Plain Crisp Books Ltd, 2015

Synopsis

Roger Perry's The Writing on the Wall was last seen in book shops nearly 40 years ago. It was arguably the first major survey of London's fledgling graffiti scene, and helped establish a trend which has ultimately led to the massive proliferation of such books, visible in nearly every book store and museum gift shop in the world. The graffiti Perry photographs can be seen as the roots of what we're familiar with today. It's a far more visceral means of communication, that for the most part is less worried about the style of the writing, and more concerned with the content of the message. An extensive new foreword tells the stories behind the photos for the first time, and features insights from a number of those responsible for writing the graffiti in the first place. The photos give us a fascinating window into 1970s countercultural London, with Perry giving an impartial platform to anyone and everyone that wanted to be heard over the backdrop of urban decay and regeneration. The central figures in the story are an eclectic mix, including members of situationist group King Mob, poet and playwright Heathcote Williams, journalist Neil Lyndon and even members of the legendary ska band Madness.

About this title

Review:

'The graffiti that Perry highlights are a generation away from the three-dimensional, self-referential designs that we have now become accustomed to: instead, they are urgent messages from another, hidden world, designed to be read and forcibly understood by a general public that would have preferred to walk on by.' --Jon Savage

'It s like getting in a time machine and journeying back to the golden age of graffiti - by which I mean verbal graffiti that actually says something ... Of course, verbal graffiti is a form of expression that has now more or less died out replaced by internet sharing, tweeting and so on, but this reissue of Roger Perry s great book is a wonderful reminder of what it once was in its heyday.' --Nigel Rees

'A unique distillation of a London that no-longer exists.' --King Adz

About the Author:

Born in 1944, Roger Perry was a photo-journalist with a passion for documenting those on the edge of popular culture and art. He grew up in Hendon, North London, and after studying engineering for a while he went on to Harrow Technical College and School of Art, to study photography. In 1968 he started to photograph fringe theatre and rock musicians for the newly-launched Time Out magazine. He was fascinated by London s burgeoning music scene and photographed in black and white the styles and personalities that evolved within it - during this period his daughter, Mary-Jane Robinson was born. He was a regular contributor to Time Out, The Sunday Times, Vogue, Nova and many other magazines, and travelled the world for them, from Ian Smith s Rhodesia to the tea plantations of Sri Lanka. In 1976 this book of London graffiti The Writing on the Wall was published and became hugely successful. Roger was also instrumental in forming Impact, the reportage and travel picture library. He developed arthritis in his early thirties, and by the mid 1980 s found himself unable to work and use his camera as he wanted, so he turned to his other great passion in life - Lancia motor cars. Having lived in rural Suffolk since 1980, he set up Classico from his barn in the garden, restoring classic Lancias for people all over the world, until his untimely death in 1991.

About this edition

• Publisher: Plain Crisp Books Ltd
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0993152007
• ISBN 13: 9780993152009
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 168