withtheband

I turned volunteer last week to help Youth Music at their “Destroy Rankin” exhibition at the Phillips De Pury Auction House. Youth Music described the project as follows ...

“To celebrate Youth Music’s 10th Birthday, 70 of the world’s greatest musicians and visual artists have created a groundbreaking body of collaborative artwork based on Rankin’s iconic portraits of musicians. As part of National Youth Music Week 2009, Youth Music will take over Phillips De Pury London for a festival of art and live music featuring performances from Destroy artists. Original works by Damien Hirst, Douglas Gordon, Debbie Harry, Michael Stipe, U2, Mat Collishaw, Marianne Faithfull and many others will be auctioned to support the UK’s biggest music charity for young people.”

... and i thought heck yes. I was right. What a fun packed week.

Monday saw a private view packed with stars ... i didn’t see them, i saw a room packed with coats ... but i hear it was good fun and got a lot of exposure. I didn’t mind the coats really, i just pretended i was spending 5 hours in the Narnia cupboard. Through the ceiling i heard performances from Micachu and Youth Music ambassador Mica, as well as others.

Thursday saw a performance from Little Boots ... i had too much work to do so couldn’t go out and play :( but i hear she rocked it.

Friday was Reverend and The Makers, a band i haven’t made a lot of time for in the past but who impressed me with their strong voices and good banter.

Saturday was the live auction, a really exciting night with a packed out Auction room. It was great to see so many turn out for the charity. They made £50,000 from the Live Auction of some of the pieces. Other pieces are up for auction on ebay so this amount is set to rise. Jarvis Cocker did a set and i musically swooned.

I spoke to Youth Music fundraiser Tiru who said “This was an absolutely massive project undertaken by us, but we are all very proud of how it turned out. The artwork is great, all the performers have given us a lot of their time and commitment, and we are especially thankful to Rankin. This whole project has been a brilliant way of us showcasing some fantastic music and art. Youth Music’s primary goal over the past ten years has been to provide opportunities for music making and music learning for young people, especially those at risk from social exclusion. For us, music is power, and this project has been a great way of getting that message out to the public.“

The exhibition and ebay auction run until this Saturday (21st November) so either get yourself down to the Auction house to view the whole collection, including those that were purchased at the live auction on saturday, or browse the online auction to nab yourself a one off. You can also buy the Destroy Rankin book, limited to 1000 copies.

1

Wearing my Youth Music t-shirt with pride. It’s my favourite charity and it was pretty nice being associated with them all week.

2

The location - The Philipe De Pury gallery is a draw in itself. It houses some amazing music photography and works of art and as it’s an auction house it’s very rare to be open to the public unless you’re a bidder.

3

Watching Jarvis Cocker on a little stage. Some of the younger volunteers who obviously weren’t of the Pulp generation couldn’t understand my excitement at this, i was pleased to note though that some did.

4

Meeting Jarvis Cocker. I may have only said “hi” and “thankyou” but hey he knew what i meant. It was pretty special standing next to him whilst his picture was being auctioned. Yeah i’m a geek, what of it?

5

Meeting Rankin. The man is as iconic as the photos he takes. And he seems like a nice guy.

6

Watching Rankin’s 13 year old son Lyle (or as we affectionately dubbed him Mini Rankin) perform “In The Pines” to an awestruck room. The boy has a voice that sounds like he’s been drinking whiskey and smoking for at least 50 years. Daddy Rankin looked on proudly. Cute.

7

Chicken Curry from Wasabi down the road ... mmmmmmm ...

8

Meeting lots of lovely folk. The other volunteers were great fun and the guests were a pleasure to chat to. One man congratulated me on my excellent glass collecting skills. I know. I’m good.

9

Getting one of the lovely books. And then getting it signed by aforementioned legends. Its a pretty white book ... is it bad if i make people wear gloves when browsing it?

10

Being present as a Damien Hirst original was auctioned. I say present ... i was in the vicinity ...  probably stalking Jarvis Cocker or something.

Top to bottom:

Harry, a Youth Music Volunteer, gets his Destroy Rankin book signed by Jarvis Cocker.

The Youth Music Volunteer team with Lyle.

All photos by Kevin Joseph, Response Photographic.