” NG83 : When We Were BBoys “

WHEW-

The release of “NG83 – When We Were BBoys” is on the horizon troopers….Here is what the films producer Claude Knight has to say regarding this incredible time in UK’s Hip Hop development…

Why is it so important that this story be told?

The breaking scene was massive in the UK in the eighties, but unlike other musical movements it has never been documented properly. It’s like this secret history that exists in the form of old flyers and neglected Betamax tapes. It was a turbulent time back then with race riots, mass unemployment and industrial unrest; but the Nottingham scene brought black and white kids together on a level we hadn’t seen before. Our prospects weren’t great as young people but we came together and did something positive with our lives through hip hop.

Was going back through the old footage emotional for you?

The process of rescuing and restoring all the privately owned archive footage was very rewarding. The one event that inspired me – and pretty much everyone else in Notts – to break was when the WFLA breakers from New York performed in the Market Square one hot summer’s day in 1983. After years of detective work we tracked down the cameraman who filmed the event. Watching that video back today is almost as mind-blowing for me as it was seeing it in the flesh.

NG83 has been in production for almost five years – why has it taken so long to finish?

Tracking down the archive footage and interviewees wasn’t easy. We’ve shot hundreds of hours of interview footage on a tiny budget, worked evenings and weekends to fit it in around our jobs and family commitments. Real life also kept intervening: one of the main characters in the film suddenly died, another was jailed for eighteenth months in the middle of filming… It’s been a struggle and a labour of love, which I think will be apparent from the finished film. The enthusiasm and support we’ve had from people in Notts has been amazing, and has enabled us to see the project through.