Up All Night E-Book

Colin Moody

• Herausgeber: The History Press
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 120

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

Born out of their love for the night economy, music scene and pub life in Bristol, documentary photographer Colin Moody and broadcast journalist Jasmine Fetibuah-Foley have teamed up to create a unique look at the city's venues and nighttime culture. From traditional pubs on the brink of extinction to the new shiny superclubs and all the things in between, this is an irresistible trip into Bristol after dark.

Leseprobe

UP ALL

UP ALL

NIGHT

NIGHT

COLIN MOODY &

JASMINE KETIBUAH-FOLEY

A

BRISTOL

NIGHTLIFE STORY

First published 2025

The History Press

97 St George’s Place, Cheltenham,

Gloucestershire, GL50 3QB

www.thehistorypress.co.uk

© Colin Moody & Jasmine Ketibuah-Foley, 2025

The right of Colin Moody & Jasmine Ketibuah-Foley to be identified

as the Authors of this work has been asserted in accordance

with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted

or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic,

mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented,

including photocopying and recording, or in any information

storage or retrieval system, without the permission in writing

from the Publishers.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 1 83705 171 7

Design by Jemma Cox

Typesetting and origination by The History Press.

Printed and bound in Great Britain by TJ Books, Padstow, Cornwall.

The History Press proudly supports

www.treesforlife.org.uk

EU Authorised Representative: Easy Access System Europe

Mustamäe tee 50, 10621 Tallinn, Estonia

[email protected]

CONTENTS

Thanks

7

Preface

9

Introduction

10

FIRST NIGHTS

13

As the Sun Goes Down

18

Meet Me at the Front Left

20

Farmers and Raves

22

They Wore Colour

24

COVID

59

Save Bristol’s Nightlife

62

A Little Respite

64

‘Not Just Cock and Balls’

66

A Bumpy Ride

67

DIY and Party Lines

69

The Raw Stuff

71

Sacrifices and New Beginnings

73

Positive Things, Positive People

74

RESURRECTION

107

Dark Matter and Turbo Island

110

Gentrification

112

Stillness and Silence

114

Prevailing Artistic Optimism

116

Imprints

119

We Still Have Work to Do

120

Blood, Sweat and Tears

122

People, Purpose and Space

124

We’re Here to Slay

127

Weekly Wiggles

128

TO ALL THE NIGHTLIFE EXPLORERS

WHO STAY CURIOUS, OPEN AND WEIRD

THANKS

Thanks go to everyone who has contributed to the book and openly shared

stories and experiences.

To Annie McGann, who started this project with Colin back in the day. With

love, always.

To Lee, Colin’s street brother – couldn’t have done this without you.

A huge thank you to Saliha and all of our friends who have been so encouraging

and supportive.

To Kellie, always so supportive and generous, and Plaster, who have

supported this project and granted Colin permission to use work he’s taken

at festivals for them.

To Ben, and all the sponsors and individuals who ordered their books before

publication to make the book possible.

Niche, who generously provided images printed for the launches and materials

to help the Kickstarter thrive.

To all the club owners, singers, poets, and night-time lovers, many of whom

appear here and in the films that we made along the way. Your passion makes

it all work.

To Carly and the Bristol Nights team.

Kate and the team at CYN, bringing the voice of the next generation into

the story.

The Mount Without team, who are generously giving us a launch space.

To Ujima, Bristol 247 and The Bristol Cable for amplifying the message, and

especially Deri at

Bristol Life Magazine

, who has always championed good

photo storytelling in every issue.

And finally to Nicola and the team at The History Press for their patience with

this book when COVID hit and everything changed.

I’m going out, you coming?

The kids are keen.

Come on a journey through

the rumble jumbly

Bristol night life

and the people who make it.

Us.

The world hit the

Covid pause button,

Where did we go?

Let’s take a look.

This book is reaching

for something

you know you may never get

to

but should you and your

tribe

all reach out at once

on the dance floor

you might get a

sideways glance at it.

Just for a second.

PREFACE

Colin Moody’s previous photobooks

The Great Bristol High Street: Glorious

Gloucester Road

and

Stokes Croft & Montpelier

, were recordings of the places

and faces that make certain areas in Bristol what they are. When the pandemic

hit, Colin moved on to look closely at venues, music and nightlife in the city.

But as things progressed, he realised the need to record a struggling hospitality

sector had become greater than ever. Everything was in disarray and things felt

uncertain for punters, promoters and venue owners. After talks with his friend

Annie McGann, one of the founders of the Save Bristol’s Nightlife campaign, he

set out to document as many of the venues in Bristol as he could.

During this process it became apparent there were in fact two threads of

history here that needed telling – the stories of venues, artists and everyday

people in Bristol and their impact on nightlife culture and the pandemic and

how it ripped through the hospitality and events industry. To honour these

narratives, Colin curated a collection of images that took people on a night

out in Bristol. This body of work spans five years of documenting the city’s

nightlife, hospitality sector and random happenings on the street. Within this he

shares candid moments and snippets of Bristol’s most-loved music venues. The

photographs also touch on what life was like for Bristol’s night-time economy

before, during and after the Coronavirus pandemic. The images strip back the

city’s layers to show you its raw and unapologetic heart whilst honouring the

people and the music that keep it going. These insights capture parts of its

character that people most likely only experience in a fleeting moment.

Alongside the photodocumentation, writer and musician Jasmine Ketibuah-

Foley has included light historical research on some of the city’s most prominent

venues, musings, poetry and interviews with venue owners, promoters, artists

and some notable Bristol characters. The inside covers also feature a collage of

photography taken by Leo Underwood and a QR code linking you to a spoken

word performance from Sennen Uma. Both are supported by the Creative

Youth Network.

INTRODUCTION

If you wander around any bustling city at night, you’ll find yourself at a

crossroads. Do I hitchhike the gully, the slipstream of regret, joy, wild abandon

and synchronicity, or do I just walk on by and get to my destination? The more

complicated collection of events would seem insignificant if you decided to

step into the role of a bystander, or a passerby. But, if you take part and all turns

out well, expect that giddy lightness to whirr and settle in your chest when you

get home – the symptom of a great night out. You know those ones where you

slump on to the sofa or bed and say, ‘God! I want to do it again’. If you search

long enough and refuse to become sedentary in the slop of life, you will find

the magic. You will start to see the foundations of history. You will meet salt

of the earth characters and cross the doorways of venues that hold vibration

and space for community. You’ll drown in the stories spilling past lips, dry and

smacking for water and beer in the smoking area of a club. The city’s life force

splayed out in a map of chance and trust, dancing on the streets and in bass bin

beats. This is all in you and this is all in Bristol. It all depends on what journey you

want to take; do you want to go all in? Or maybe you just wanted to dip in your

toes – have an early night, only one pint. Let us help you. Let us take you on a

few different nights ‘out out’ in Bristol. Let us show you what we see, the people,

the music, the venues, the voids of spaces that turn into islands of people at the

drop of a hat for the sake of dancing and gathering. This is the fabric of going

out in this city. Wear it and share it.

In this book, we only really touch the surface of the stuff that makes up

Bristol’s nightlife culture. I’m sure essays and many more books can be written

about this in much more detail, with academic wit, tenacity and prose. Here

we’ve tried to encapsulate at least some of it to give you a flavour of what

Bristol has to offer. We hope it gives you a sense of ‘nowness’ and of being in

and amongst everything. We all know about the ‘Bristol sound’ that came from

the 1980s and ’90s and undoubtedly love its echoes that have settled into

the present day and built some of the most groundbreaking movements in

music. But where are we now? What new beginnings are inspiring new waves

of artists? What new political frameworks are we protesting about through

our art in this city? Where are our new communities that are growing from the

legs of our night-time economy? What does it now look like when people let

go and tune out and, as a young person, what is it like to experience your first

nights out here?

INTRODUCTION

11

Art and music continue to grow and change through the city’s venues and

co-opted spaces – even during the most difficult of times. Their connected

ecosystems go through many stages of resurrection and downfall. Just like

things in the circle of life, just like nature, like fungi. This book captures some of

that life cycle. The photos in here may also be ‘messy’ and confusing, but that’s

just like a night out in Bristol, right?

FIRST NIGHTS

14

UP ALL NIGHT

I belong in Bristol; this city is my home.

The dirty streets reflect that I really need to wash my sheets.

The winding roads like the worry in my brain

The constant traffic hum that’s comforting but can make me go insane.

The traffic on which I can always place blame for being late.

The way I’m always in a constant state of alert.

The way the billboards always insert, an idea of beauty or a new film to watch.

Thing is, I’d rather watch the people, that’s what makes this place so good.

I find people rarely lift their hood, to say hi.

A lot of the time they’re just trying to relax and get by, and high.

I can always smell weed.

It’s like Bristol children are born with the need to fill their lungs with this smoke.

Desperate not to choke, mess up.

Don’t spill the water out your cup, stay contained.

This city is stained with history, rich and not so nice.

I had to learn about it twice, to get the proper story.

They don’t teach it all in school, and if they do, they rush past it and say that’s all.

As if a marker of this history isn’t a statue standing tall.

And thank fuck we made Colston fall.

Cause I hated having a marker of the slave trade above me as I make a phone call.

And this doesn’t mean erase, it means teach about it, don’t be proud of those days.

I find I never know what to say when people ask me if I like living in this city.

And at first, I’m like, yes, this city is so litty. There’s so much culture and things to

do, but only if you know who’s who.

A lot of getting out and doing things depends on you.

FIRST NIGHTS

15

And if you know how or who or where to go, they’ll be a string and seeds to sew.

But if you don’t know, quite how to hoe this land right.

It will take you down with all its might.

Budgets are tight and quite a few of my friends have lost sight of their futures.

Telling me I made it past 12 and then we delve into the pain, this is becoming

more main.

And I hate that this is becoming as popular as our favourite weed strain.

I spend all year waiting for carnival again.

The sweet once-a-year taste of sugarcane, and when I’m sitting on my doorstep

drinking a water coconut.

That’s when I went to scream and shout this city’s name.

Bristol

I love you.

Thank you for making me belong, even though half the time I’m singing mine and

somebody else’s song.

This city is a throng of people and I love it this way.

And it makes me sad that slowly and surely everyone’s moving further out and away.

It makes me think that in a few decades or years or months or even days Bristol will

have completely changed.

It’s becoming more established, and I can’t decide if that’s adding or taking away

from its creative height.

Its buzz, its uniqueness, it’s one of a kind but it’s Bristol.

I feel like you always find, a love, a heart, a soul.

Half a million different stories from half a million different people

And that’s why I love Bristol, I love the people.

By Sennen Uma (Creative Youth Network)

16

UP ALL NIGHT

Y

ou made core memories on that bench. The one outside the pub. On most

weekends you’d be able to get at least one person to buy you all a packet

of cigarettes to share. You never went in the pub, they never let you in,

but you still made your own fun outside with your mates. There are a few places,

parks, graveyards, free parties – places where you can just be left alone to do

whatever. Places to play your music loud and roar even louder with laughter –

places that need to be coveted and protected and those unassigned spaces

where the young can just be without the judgement of adults. The youth clubs

and music venues that open their doors to teenagers for music and gathering

are important. Just like those pubs and venues that the adults have acquired.

They are respite. They are grounds for new love and friendships. I expect those

who have grown up in Bristol, or at least spent a lot of their youth here, will have

a strong memory of an after-school club, pub, carnival, festival or venue where

they discovered friends and music. Places where they practised their own rituals,

creating cultures upon cultures with their motley crews, misfits and mates.