yay.ie

Last night saw the launch of one of the (well, my) most anticipated books of the year, Where Were You? Garry O’Neil has been working on this book for many years and finally it has come to be published and available for everyone to feast their eyes on. A book of Dublin Youth Culture and Street Style from 1950-2000 there are photos of every trend that has hit Dublin in those 5 decades regardless of how cool or off-the-wall they were.

Take a trip through five decades of Dublin’s past and glimpse its Punks, Teddy Boys, Skinheads, Hippies, Mods, Rockers, Goths, Breakdancers, Bikers, Soul Boys, New Romantics, Skateboarders, Ravers, Psychobillies, Boot Boys and Urban Cowboys…they were all there, Where Were You?

The launch was in the lovely Gallery of Photography in Meeting House Square and the book officially launched by Mr. Gavin Friday. All three floors of the gallery were filled to the rafters (almost literally) and, looking at the photographs on the wall and the crowds in the room, it was easy to see why. To compile the book, Garry had been in touch with many Dubliners of all ages, they provided him with copies of photos and stories and last night they were there in abundance catching up with faces not seen in years, checking out the book, showing off their current threads and looking at the selected photos on the walls. There was a really fantastic atmosphere. The exhibition of photographs plus a slideshow of the photos will be on show in the Gallery of Photography until Sunday 27th November.

You can check out a preview of the Seventies section of the book right here. The book is available for €29.99 at the following locations:

• Freebird Records – 15a Wicklow Street
• Spindizzy Records – Georges Street Arcade
• The Gallery Of Photography – Meeting House Square, Temple Bar
• The Winding Stair – 40 Ormond Quay
• Connelly Books – 43 Essex Street, Temple Bar
• Gutter Bookshop – Cow Lane, Temple Bar
• All City, Crowe Street
• Chapters, Parnell Street
• Hodges Figgis, Dawson Street
• Easons, O’Connell Street

You can follow the progress of the book on their website or on their Facebook page. The Where Were You? gang are also now working on a documentary and are looking for any footage that might be lurking in your closet, sock drawer, attic, wherever!

What they need:

any old video footage, either shot on Super 8 or camcorders of you and friends messing around, or recorded from the television, that you think might be of interest to us. As well as that, if anyone has radio programmes taped, we’d love to hear them too, whether music shows, pop culture shows, or even panel shows giving out about teenagers To use any of these shows in the final documentary we’d have to go through the proper channels and get permission (most likely from RTE), but as a research tool they’re invaluable.

If you think you have something suitable, please contact neasa@stillfilms.org. And don’t forget to buy a copy of the book! If you miss the hard copy, there is a soft copy being released early next year.