tower block dreams ep1 - spittin' and shottin'

Thanks for taking such an interest in TBD, a series I produced and directed eighteen years ago. Interest has grown significantly of late, so here’s a brief summary of how it was made:

A friend and I started Raw TV in ’01 and we were looking for ideas. I was held up at gunpoint for my motorcycle, which sparked an interest in the lives of young people growing up in touching distance, but with a very different set of values and culture.

You can’t gain access to that world through the front door, so agreed that musical ambition was the better route. There was a Garage and emerging Grime scene bubbling away in London. The BBC commissioned a pilot. I filmed some young promoters putting on a Heartless Crew gig. Heartless turned up three hours late and the crowd nearly lynched the promoters. It was strong stuff. We got the green light for a three hour series.

I directed two of the episodes and the lovely and talented Adam Smith made the middle film, which did indeed inspire ‘people just do nothing’.  We wanted each episode to feel very different in tone, to reflect a wide range of young people, determined to move out of their situation through music. It took a lot of searching to find the right stories and artists. I’d read an interview with Skinny,  but he was still banged up. Access was difficult. On his release there turned out to be someone else filming him too.

I met Sloth at a pirate station. He was such a unique and bold character, totally uninhibited by the camera. I didn’t quite believe his story, then he phoned me to say he was in trouble and that’s when I decided to focus on him.

I spent a lot of time with grime pioneers NASTY Crew. I filmed early material with the likes of Kano, Sharky, D Double, Stormin’, Flirter and even a brilliant street freestyle from Crazy Titch, just before he went away. I became a regular visitor to the tiny basement studio at Jammers family home. Sadly, I just couldn’t find a strong enough narrative arc to make that work as an episode. A few months after I finished editing, I heard Marcus had returned to the scene in a dramatic way. This would’ve given me what was missing. But that’s film-making for you.

A huge thank you, to all those who took part in the films. It is great to see how well some have done over time. I hope the documentary was part responsible for pushing Skinny to finally get his one and only album together. It is brilliant, and there should have been so much more. Enjoy.

Davidoneilldirector.com

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