Persons Unknown tv documentary

Posted on February 11, 2008February 11, 2008 by AL Puppy

Going through my greengalloway archives and found film about the Persons Unknown Anarchist Conspiracy Trial. See it here

It has a short clip of Crass playing (Conway Hall?) Also footage of Stuart Christie in Orkney running his ‘anarchist publishing project’.

If it hadn’t been for the Persons Unknown trial there would have been no Wapping A Centre…no Centro Iberico (at least our part of it)… and probably a lot less music and memories flying around on KYPP today.

Don’t forget to read the Anarchy in 1979 New Statesman piece as well – gives another angle on this crucial bit of history. Also give the Bloody Revolutions / Persons Unknown single a blast while yer at it.

AL Puppy

15 comments

Penguin
February 11, 2008 at 9:09 pm

I got this video, great to see it uploaded in cyberspace.
Chris
February 12, 2008 at 10:42 am

Actually, It was me who tracked down the original of this programme. features footage of Crass at the 1979 Toxic Grafitti Conway Hall benefit gig. more than happy to do you a copy next time I see you (anyone else who would like one, plus the original Angry Brigade programme) please get in touch via this site.
sean
February 12, 2008 at 12:20 pm

Can I have one?Im prepared to grovel quite a bit….
John
February 12, 2008 at 10:57 pm

Thanks for this. It takes me right back. I remember Vince from the Autonomy Club. I used to pop down of a Friday afternoon, usually to find him sitting there on his own with a chessboard. I wrote Stuart Christie a couple of times too and sent him a book review for Cienfuegos Review but it was shite.

Ronan Bennett, eh. Where is he now?
alistairliv • Post Author •
February 13, 2008 at 12:37 am

Writing about chess in the Guardian.
joe public
October 26, 2009 at 4:52 am

hi folks,
just wondering if anyone can point me in the direction of this film (persons unknown) online, or even better, a download for it. Had a wee look tonight but not had any joy.
thanks in advance and many thanks for all the amazing choons over the last couple of years.
All de best
joe
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alistairliv • Post Author •
October 26, 2009 at 9:46 am

It seems to have vanished Joe – try contacting Stuart Christie himself to see where it is.

Stuart’s website is http://www.christiebooks.com/fmd.html
and his email is christie(at)btclick.com

Note – there seems to be a problem with Stuart’s website with a ‘slow running script’.
majes
October 26, 2009 at 10:55 pm

Would these be the two films mentioned above (Persons Unknown added as an extra):

https://secure.pmpress.org/index.php?l=product_detail&p=79
joe public
October 26, 2009 at 11:00 pm

Majes….you’re a gem, yeah thats the one! Will be orderin it soon so stay in touch if anyone wants me to copy it for them (?)
All de best
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Nick Hydra
October 30, 2009 at 6:20 pm

Yes it is the one available on DVD from PM Press. I got mine from 56@ but I imagine you can get it most (dis)reptutable distros.

Also at amazon for low dollar.
Nick Hydra
October 30, 2009 at 6:22 pm

also at amazon for low dollar.
chris
November 6, 2009 at 2:31 pm

or , along with an amazing selection of other Anarchist, Urban Guerilla, Anarcho-Punk, Counter-Culture etc DVDs available for a fiver from –
sheilabdevotion2@hotmail.com
🙂
jock
November 7, 2009 at 2:02 pm

did Ronan Bennett write the play that was on bbc1 recently about the iraq war, think it was called ‘occupation’, i think. it had the guy who played the nasty nazi skinhead in shane meadows’ film made in england? sure i saw the name Ronan Bennett in the credits at the end.
alistairliv • Post Author •
November 8, 2009 at 10:15 am

Well spotted Jock…Ronan wrote “Ten days to war” about the run up to the war in Iraq. It was shown as ten short episodes on Newsnight last year.
See http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/10_days_to_war/7263801.stm

I totally missed “Ten days to war” at the time. Was it / were they any good?

As a ps, if you believe wikipedia, Ronan has married into respectability. His wife is assistant editor of the Guardian, that well known mouth piece of Manchester’s cotton manufacturing capitalists. Obviously Ronan didn’t read “The Condition of the Working Classes in England” before taking his marriage vows…
jock
November 8, 2009 at 12:28 pm

seems like i got ‘occupation’ confused with ‘ten days to war’,the latter was written by peter bowker not ronan, i remember only catching a few episodes of ‘ten days…..’ but thanks to your link i can watch it all now, thanks al.
by the by, ‘occupation’ was pretty good, it dealt more with the effect on the soldiers mental health (post traumatic stress disorder etc) after they had returned home.
a lot of returning soldiers have ended up unable to fit into the daily norm of everyday life and many are homeless and / or ended up convicted criminals serving time in her majestys prisons, pretty sad really.

“the guardian, that well known mouth piece of manchester’s cotton manufacturing capitalists”. great description lol.