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neilcrud
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4Q Diaries - part 2
« Thread Started on Feb 25, 2007, 10:42am »

Costa Geriatrica
(May 1987)

Colwyn Borough Council of the mid-eighties had this vision of creating another Llandudno, a retirement paradise where doddering old couples and widows could smell of piss by the seaside as they dribbled into their cups of tea. The cinema closed down, planning permission was granted to turn it into flats for the elderly, The Metropole nightclub closed its doors one last time, it was to become flats for the elderly, a huge monstrosity of a building sprang up close to the promenade; dubbed ‘Colditz’ by the locals, it was to be, yes, you’ve guessed it… Flats for the elderly.
Local journalist Arfon Griffiths used the term Costa Geriatrica to describe what was happening to his town and how fitting it turned out to be. The mistake the council were making in my opinion was they were trying encourage an influx of rich senior citizens into the town and discourage the younger generation from staying. Who was going to empty the overflowing commodes or change the dirty sheets?
The town had little to offer a bunch of dirty punks so we would invariably create our own entertainment; not quite like the Famous Five, although their lashing of ginger beer was emulated with cans of Carling Black Label.
The Crud Crew decided to have another one of their outdoor parties, which is basically a ghetto blaster provided by Uncle Bowler, loads of cans, a tennis ball and a baseball bat. So it was off down to Safeways underground carpark and was reminiscent of those wild punk parties you’d see on American films (ie The Lost Boys, Repo Man), we had the Circle Jerks or Dead Kennedys or The Damned at maximun volume. This time the party was brought to an abrupt end when PC Plod gatecrashed, so after a bit of abuse and Wayne taking photos of everyone posing with the copper we moved on to find somewhere else.

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Squatrock Party - Neil Jenkins, Paul Bod, Neil Crud, Colin Bowler, Gwyn Ellis, Uncle Bowler, Edi Filmstar (pic by Wayne The Bastard)

We decided the disued shops next to the cinema would be good idea and the twelve of us crawled through the hole in the back door and had a punk disco. There used to be an old motorcycle shop here and we made liberal use of the discarded tins of spray paint. Wayne scrawled “Ugly graffiti for an ugly world” in blood red letters across the wall. Before we knew it there was a black mariah van, two cop cars, an alsation and about fifteen coppers outside ready to charge. Then Edi stuck his head out of the window saw his old sparring partner PC Skinner and yelled at him,
'Fuck off because we're squatting.'
And promptly sprayed “Legal Squat” in the window. So the police couldn't do anything, The following morning Wayne went to work, informed all the staff at the garage that he and some mates were squatting the old cinema, then went and covertly photocopied the squat notice which was put it the windows of the old building. As the previous night wore on most of the party goers filtered off home, as did the police, leaving Edi and Bowler, the last two remaining 'squatters'. They too left the next day and an eviction order was pasted on the door as the owners wanted everyone out because the flats were due for demolition.

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Edi and Uncle Bowler, happy in their new home

02.07.87 – North Wales Weekly News
Squatters holding up work on OAP flats
SQUATTERS who have taken over an empty cinema building are holding up work on converting it into flats for the elderly.
Graffiti and posters on one of the flats at the Astra cinema building in Colwyn Bay state that the place is being used as a "legal squat".
But building owners McCarthy and Stone, took out a high court injunction against the squatters on Monday.
They say hey are keen to get on with demolishing the old cinema and flats and build the warden controlled flats.
"These people are holding up a much needed development in the town," said a company spokesman.
He did not know, however, if they would succeed in evicting the squatters. The owners have been unable to identity those living in the building, but the squatters' message is loud and clear. Along with posting an extract from
the Criminal Law Act of 1977 which deals with squatters' rights, those living at the Astra have also daubed slogans inside an empty shop there.
They say that "everyone has the right to have a home" and that theirs is a legal squat because they have been there longer than 48 hours.
The cinema was closed in October last year when the then owners Hutchinson Leisure said the place was no longer paying.
Shops and flats in the building were later vacated when it was sold to developers McCarthy and Stone.

This was the first foray towards our quest of turning the press into an occupied zone, although the band was not mentioned in the article. I enlisted the intelligence and fertile imagination of a work colleague, philospher, drinking partner and champagne socialist, to get to grips with the press. He was Steve, but he called himself Satan and he became our acting manager (although he did no managing!) and he would pen letters from myself to the press and write reviews of imaginary gigs and be our man in a suit should the situation arise. His first accomplishment prompted the North Wales Pioneer to send a photographer to our rehearsals.

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4Q's first newspaper pic - at The Friendship Club, Colwyn Bay (Neil Crud, Paul Puke, Wayne The Bastard, Edi Filmstar)

NORTH WALES PIONEER - 9.7.87
PUNK THRASHERS AIM TO HELP OTHERS
"4Q", a Colwyn Bay based hardcore punk/thrash metal band, make their local debut at the Imperial Hotel on Sunday evening.
The band will be supporting French thrash metal band the Scraps & hardcore act the Flaps.
"4Q" are Neil Crud, guitar; Paul Puke, drums; Wayne, bass; & Edi Film Star. vocals.
Although I'll admit that after seeing Slayer live in April the idea of the "big time" thrash metal seems to me to be an excuse to make a lot of noise & a lot of money. But 4Q have far different ideals.
"We started the band a while ago as we were all on the dole at the time & desperately wanted to get something done. We all like hardcore bands & some American thrash music but we are not just into the idea of the band, we want to get gigs going on a regular basis in North Wales as there really is very little happening in the area," said Neil Crud.
The band want to help bring in bands from outsdside the area & also get gigs for local groups. As well as this they also organise a regular fanzine called "Crud."
...although I am definately not a fan of the style of music the band play they deserve credit for having a go & trying to help others along the way.
Chris White

My quotes were entirely Satan’s and in hindsight showed us in the wrong light – I didn’t want to help other bands at all! I couldn’t give two fucks about any of them and the only metal we had was in our steel toe-capped boots, but it was a start.
Satan, after a brief spell of being an arsonist went on to be a high flyer in the world of finance, a career almost cut short before it began when he turned up for work with a swastika daubed on his cheek and ‘motherfucker’ across his forehead; the punishment for passing out at one of our parties.

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Matt
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Re: 4Q Diaries - part 2
« Reply #1 on Feb 25, 2007, 11:10am »

some guy shouted "punks dead get over it" at me the other day. After reading this, i know it is the same as it was in the first place, if not even more fuckin crazier, and the underground is surely bigger than it ever was, actually, yes it is alot crazier. most gigs maybe tamer, but thats progression! Far from dead, and its just getting started, 30 years later!
At my last place on lawson rd colwyn bay, the place became a punks party place, the landlord tolerated the after gig/pub drunken drug fueled parties for a very generous 2 years believe it or not, Dave Cox, a regular passer-outta often went off to work in Argo/Staples or wherever after a night of mayhem with a face covered in swasticas, slogans etc, hair dye featured on some people aswell haha....but yes thats just a tiny part of the stories that place could tell...if those walls could talk!

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Green Dragon
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Re: 4Q Diaries - part 2
« Reply #2 on Feb 25, 2007, 12:11pm »

Brings back memories. That old shop you used as a squat was my Dad's old shop and at the time I thought it was hilarious that he had to move his business and you guys moved in. Also if I hadn't convinced Alf, the then landlord at the Imp, to let "those scruffy twats" play history may have been so different for 4Q.

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Richard Nacamuli
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Re: 4Q Diaries - part 2
« Reply #3 on May 1, 2008, 11:05pm »

So much the better.
Richard Nacamuli
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joehovis
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Re: 4Q Diaries - part 2
« Reply #4 on Jul 2, 2008, 1:46pm »

i was walking through manchester pissed at 4 in the morning today, and i stumbled across "4Q" written by a vandal in silver spray on a tree in witworth park! how random!

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