By J. MCALLISTER (London) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
I was born in Hackney and lived in and around it for many years apparently, I discover, as a close neighbour of Mr Sinclair for a time, so this book was a must read for me. Sadly I have to say that I found it disappointing on a number of levels. The first aspect that troubles me is one that is endemic to his writings as a whole which rely on interviews and conversations ,that is the constant inclusion of his small coterie of friends to supply material.
Chris Petit and now his son are referenced here as is Stewart Home. Less well known subjects in this book are generally other middle class "artists" who have washed up in the borough, the great unwashed have no voice here. The mass of Hackney residents are represented as winos, hoodies , beggars and chancers. The Holly estate for instance is discussed at length by people who live close to it but not those live on or in it, giving the impression that the place is something of a war zone but no sense of what it is like to live there.
The Four Aces a Legendary reggae and Ska venue has its history dismissed in a sentence while a brief period when their premises became part of the rave scene rates half a chapter, because he encounters someone who went there once. Other venues like Phebes and The All Nations are ignored totally. For me the significance of these places to black culture over a long period is is a more significant topic. But the nice white middle class residents that Mr Sinclair occupies himself with would know nothing about that and those who might are not in evidence.
Mr Sinclairs work is often referred to as offering a complex and multi layered treatment of his subject but there are a number of layers that are missing here, interestingly the ones that are generally missing from histories written by middle class academics So in this instance I feel that he has given us less of his subject than it deserves.