Yorkshire Voice

Leeds young beat poetsSecrets of Temple Works

Tom takes on the

audi A1Reviews, previews and whats on

Inside: a tribute towomen’s magazines

of the past

Issue Four Friday 3 May 2013

The YV team

Editor

Kate Russell

Contributors

Jon Cronshaw@Jon_Cronshaw

Sallie Gregson@Salliex

Kate Russell@littletinykate

Tom Swain@tjoswain

@Yorkshire_Voice

In this issue:

Page 2Reviews and previews

City of Hopes and Wishes

Page 3Modern beat poetry with

Leeds Young Authors

Pages 4-5Exploring Temple Works and

underground punk

Page 6-7Our tribute to girls magazines

of days gone by

Page 8Putting the Audi A1 through

its paces

Visit us online atleedsnorthern.wordpress.com

City of Hopes and WishesIf you’ve ever sent a message in a bottle or attached anote to a helium balloon and let go, this is sure to cap-ture your imagination.Bradford artist Peter Swidrak, 57, is creating a

sculpture entitled City of Hopes and Wishes encapsulat-ing the real life hopes and dreams of the people ofLeeds.The sculpture will be a three-metre-high Leeds city

scape made out of hollow copper tubing which Peterplans to fill with hopes and wishes, written out, rolledup and placed within the tubes. Peter said: “It will belike secret wishes encapsulated in the design.”Peter works extensively in schools, involving chil-

dren in making these copper tube sculptures, fromthe design through to the actual making. Many of thewishes he has received have been from children. Hesays: “Lots of the kids are wishing for world peace andthings like that. Some are quite sad, wishing that theirdaddy would come home. But that’s the kind of thingthat’s on children’s minds.”He has had to specify positive wishes only, though,

after one person wrote to him asking if they couldwrite a curse. But most of them have been much friendlier, he

said: “I received a lovely one through the post todaywhich said ‘My wish is that Lotherton Hall’s gardensbe made free for the people of Leeds to enjoy.’ That

one just really appealed to me – I like to think it’s from alittle old lady.”If you’d like your hopes and wishes to be part of the

sculpture, or if your school might like to be involved inhelping to make it, please contact Peter at artmakesmesmile@gmail.com. Wishes should be a maxi-mum of 50 words.

by Kate Russell @littletinykate

The Billesley Star: one of Peter’s previousworks from a school in Birmingham

A few decades ago, Primal Scream produced an albumthat defined a generation – the seminal Screamadelica.The album fused the finer points of acid house with theswagger and song writing prowess of Beggars Banquetera Rolling Stones.

Their 2001 album XTRMNTR broke new ground withits William Gibson inspired imagery of industrial decayclashing with spiky electronica and fuzz-laden bassgrooves that pushed the rock genre into new and excit-ing territory.

But with the last decade being punctuated by a fewlacklustre pub rock releases, the prospect of a new liveEP by the band fills most fans of the Scream with a feel-ing of indifference.

Primal Scream have a reputation for excellent liveshows – they are one of those bands that feeds on acrowd, gobbling up its energy and transforming it intosomething special. What is apparent from the outset isthat, unfortunately, this magic hasn’t been captured onMore Light - Live.

EP opener 2013 sounds cliched with its tired rock riffsand squawking saxophone. It’s Alright, It’s Okay isreminiscent of a pleasant parody of their feel-good an-them Movin’ on Up. However, Culturecide is withoutdoubt the most arresting track with its brooding bass-line, driving beats and paranoid vocals.

Instead of capturing the sense of urgency and vitalityof their live performances, More Light - Live has endedup feeling lazy, sounding more akin to a demo than afully realised release.

Primal Scream: More Light - Live

Leeds Mencap are celebrating their 60th birthday this yearby encouraging you to get on your bike for Leeds Let’sCycle the City.Cyclists of any age and ability can take part in this non-

competitive 60km bike ride around the perimeter of thecity – all you need is your helmet!The entry fee is £25 and includes a vest, a bike tune-up

before you set off, food and drink stations along the way,and a slap-up feast when the adventurers return.Mencap ask that each rider raises £100 in sponsorship –

with every penny going to support the excellent work theydo with people with learning disabilities and their families.For more details, contact Sinead O’Brien on 0113

2351331 or at sinead.obrien@leedsmencap.org.uk.

On yer bike forMencap

2

page 2_Layout 1 03/05/2013 15:33 Page 1

Like Clark Kent taking off his glasses, whenLeeds Young Authors step into the spotlightthey transform before your eyes.Gone are the giggling, gossiping schoolkids withtheir shyness and insecurities. In their place areconfident, self-assured young people whose everycrafted word and heartfelt movement commandsyour attention.You can’t help but sit up and take notice. But Isuppose that’s what you might expect from thegroup that is putting Leeds on the map of the in-ternational live poetry scene.Beat poetry has its origins in 1940s New York.The beat generation was an underground anti-con-formist movement which set out to challengemainstream ideals, culture and politics, and wasknown for its defiance of censorship and conven-tion.The movement’s early involvement with psyche-delic drugs and meditation may have given it thatlingering jazz-hippie image, but there is some truthin the picture. At a live show - or slam - the audi-ence click their fingers in appreciation rather thanapplaud. And the original feisty free-spirit attitudeis still a central feature of slams today.

Leeds Young Authors (LYA) was founded byKhadijah Ibrahiim in 2003 as a way to encouragecreative education and social engagement, and togive young voices a platform in a socially and eco-nomically deprived part of the city.Shaking off poetry’s dusty image, they replacesickly sweetness with bare sincerity, sculpted frus-tration and powerful emotion. Each of them has a personal performance styleand unique voice. Sometimes they give you aglimpse into their world, like the shy, awkward girl

in her early teens who celebrated finding her artis-tic voice. Other times they make you laugh, likeQuentin, 18, and Tom, 19, who explored owner-ship of a city oscillating wildly between drunkenbar flies, rubbishing Bradford, and differing con-cepts of feminism. And sometimes their words give you goose-bumps, like the mid-teens girl whose quiet voicesuddenly set the room ablaze as she embodied thecruelty of Pandora’s box, turning the idea of hopeinto another, more vicious way to hurt.

“It is a very honest art form,” says MatthewCuban, 25, LYA’s visiting coach from Jacksonville,Florida. “Being honest with yourself and the com-munity, you learn so much. You clear yourself fromwhat’s holding you in. It’s free therapy.”Cuban’s is a big name in live poetry. As a per-former, he was the youngest person to win one ofthe USA’s biggest slams, Southern Fried, at the ageof 18. To this day he is the only person to have wonit three times.He got into poetry at 15 after a rough upbring-ing: “I used to fight a lot. It was about getting re-spect. Writing was a more positive way of doingthat, and people were listening.“I didn’t know there was youth poetry happening.I was going up against adults, and they took me andraised me. They say it takes a village to raise achild. Well, Southern Fried was my village.”Cuban met Khadijah and the LYA team at theBrave New Voices slam in San Jose in 2007. Theycame up against each other year after year, and in2009 both teams reached the final stages of thecompetition. The only non-American team to havecompeted for nine years, LYA came in second.This year, they’re heading to Chicago to competeagain, hoping to match their 2009 success. Theirvisiting coach has total faith in them: “There aresome amazing minds here. I hope the fact I’ve

come all the way over here will help inspire them.“Leeds has such a successful programme but theystill have a chip on their shoulder – I love that! Iwant to take them to the final stages.”There is no doubt that the poets at LYA are phe-nomenally talented. Each of them is unique, withan individual style and pace to both their writingand their performance. And for many, that momentin the spotlight reveals something intensely sincerethat you feel would otherwise stay hidden.Some of the themes and emotions being exploredare so complex, so beyond what you imagine, thatit takes your breath away to see the picture beingpainted before you by a schoolchild in their uni-form.LYA’s appearance at Brave New Voices in Augustwill be the climax of ten truly exciting years forLeeds’ youth poetry, and an incredible start to an-other ten years of success.“I want people to see that Leeds are representingthe country – that this is the international organisa-tion,” Cuban says. “I want the city to get behind usand be part of this.“Just take a look and see what we are doing. It’sbeautiful. I love Leeds.”

Smoky basements, finger clicking, soul patches and berets – that tends to be what peoplethink of when you say ‘beat poets’. But as Kate Russell finds out, Leeds Young Authors arein their 10th year of changing perception.

The beat goes on...

“Leeds still have a chip ontheir shoulder. I love that.”

“I used to fight a lot to getrespect. Writing was amore positive way of

doing that.”

Cuban at the mic. 3

page 3_Layout 1 03/05/2013 15:35 Page 1

Situated in the heart of Holbeck is one of Leeds’ most intriguing build-ings. Temple Works is a cultural hub that houses artists, writers andtheatre groups.It is also the home of all things extreme, from hosting hardcore punk festivals

to acting as a set for low budget horror movies and gothic fashion shoots. Andapart from Leeds Town Hall, it is the only Grade I listed building in the centreof Leeds. Its facade is based on the Temple of Horus, Egypt, and it once laidclaim to the largest room in the world – at a staggering two acres. Yet few peo-ple in Leeds know of its existence. Temple Works was built under the vision of industrialist John Marshall in

1838-40 as a flax mill by the architects Joseph and Ignatius Bonomi. Marshallwas one of the early champions of workers’ safety and education and was con-cerned about the dangers inherent in running a textile mill.

Susan Williamson, director of the cultural project Temple.Works.Leeds withher company Cornerstone Strategies, explained: “He was concerned that tex-tiles were extremely flammable. He made sure that there were 25 fire escapes,and instead of having a multi-storey building where people would get trappedin the stairways, he wanted to try out having a single storey. So this was hismagnum opus.”Marshall’s concern for his workers went further, as he also felt socially re-

sponsible for his workers’ families. Susan said: “The under-croft is where thechildren of the original mill workers had dormitories, shops, doctors, a churchand an adjacent school above ground. So they lived there during working hoursuntil the age of 12.”The massive two-acre room at the heart of the building is stunning to say the

least. With its wide open space, huge skylights and pillar-like pipes, it is a roomthat glows with an aura of natural light. The huge masonry roof was originallystabilised by hollow rainwater pipes which act as both as columns and help tocollect rainwater. Susan explained: “The roof was originally grassed andmowed by sheep. It was grassed to wick the moisture from the air and bring it

down the rainwater pipes to make steam with water from the nearby HoldBeck to power all of the machinery here. With all of the solar energy gained

from the skylights, it was able to have a solid 78 degree temperature to keepthe air moist and keep the flax from breaking.”With such a heavy roof being stabilised by the fragile columns, cracks soon

began to show – literally. Susan said: “The whole building was originally builtunder compression, which meant that the weight of the roof was supposed tokeep it stable. It is like having an incredibly heavy brick being stabilised bytoothpicks. But it failed immediately. The architect then did something that noone had ever done, and no one has ever done since – he went in and put thebuilding in tension using cast iron cables which is completely mad. The build-ing expands and contracts and we believe this helps cause the cracks we arestruggling with today.”As well as the grandeur of Temple Works’ main space, the front of the build-

ing is equally striking with its frontage taking inspiration from ancient Egypt.Susan said: “A lot of great industrialists expressed their wealth and supposededucation through their buildings. We’re lucky here because the facade is anexact reproduction of the Temple of Horus at Edfu – the way they could justifyit was that flax came from Egypt.”

Temple Works also has a historical claim to fame – it is the place where thehydraulic lift was first invented. But it wasn’t invented to move people orgoods, it was used to move sheep. Susan explained: “This was the home of thelift because sheep can’t climb ladders and they can’t walk down stairs – seri-ously. The sheep had to come in for maintenance, so they invented an early hy-draulic lift.” When the flax industry collapsed in the 1870s due to the textile market

being flooded with cheap cotton, Temple Works became a normal textile mill.In the 1950s, the building became the northern office of Kay’s catalogue, and

remained so until the company folded in 2004. Throughout this period, it wasthe largest employer in South Leeds. Kay’s last owners were the developers the Barclay Brothers who were at-

The Dark Side of Temple Works is one of Leeds’ most interesting buildings - so why don’tmore people know about it? Jon Cronshaw uncovers its secrets.

“The roof was originally grassed andmowed by sheep.”

“We specialise in vampire, zombie, sci-fi,etc. We do punk and gothic photo-

shoots. We’re the premiere destinationfor dead people!

Inside the former ‘largest room in the world’

4

page 4_Layout 1 03/05/2013 15:28 Page 1

‘Kin Hell Fest 2013 at Temple Works

Palehorse

As far as Leeds punk and metal venuesgo, Temple Works is relatively new – andit couldn’t have come along at a bettertime for the scene.

Last week, it played host to extrememetal and hardcore punk festival ‘kinHell Fest (‘kHF) – whose organiser PaulPriest, 36, from Armley, knows betterthan most about the shrinking pool ofvenues to choose from in Leeds: “Thereare tons of small venues popping up andpubs with upstairs rooms willing to lendout their space, but the amount of ven-ues that are set up solely for the purposeof putting on live music is dwindling andit's suffocating the scene quite substan-tially. Somehow it keeps on going.”

‘kHF started life as a day-long gig heldat The Well, the previous home for manyof the city’s regular gigs. So when itclosed down at the end of last year, Paulmoved ‘kHF to Temple Works – andturned it into a three day festival. “Wehad to look for something a bit bigger

and, since it was starting to seem morelike a festival, something more relevant.This space seemed perfect to give it amore euro festival feel.

“The Leeds scene is easily the best inthe UK. Maybe I’m biased, but it has themost diverse collection of bands from allmanner of styles, very discerning crowdswho are intellectual in their tastes butalso pretty mental when they need to be,and a clever set of musicians who simplywrite amazing songs. I feel proud to be apart of the Leeds scene to be honest - itnever fails to amaze me with its antics.”

Bands from as far away as Holland werehandpicked to play, and the line-up cov-ered a huge variety of styles across thegenre. Paul said: ”For the most part, itwent absolutely brilliant. Music andcrowd wise, it went as well as we couldhave imagined. There were a few thingsthat we would do differently, or hope tohave differently supplied by the venue,but that's part of the learning curve – thisis our first real festival”

by Kate Russell @littletinykate

tracted to the site partly because of its logistical value for its catalogue goods.When Kay’s closed plans were drawn up for a mixed use development by theowners, with Temple Works as a cultural hub within the development. Afterinitial planning applications were turned down, Cornerstone Strategies werecalled in to help rethink Temple Works’ use.In 2010 the owners were granted planning permission to run the Temple

Works site as a cultural venue. Susan said: “The plan was that this hall wouldbe like the Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall, but for extreme performing arts.”The cultural project Temple.Works.Leeds has transformed the site into a

thriving cultural hub that regularly hosts events from music festivals to experi-mental theatre. Susan said: “We have events that come to us – art events,music events, collaborative events. We’ve had the country’s biggest punk andmetal event in April. We like extreme stuff here. We don’t get programmefunding from anyone – we’re quite proud of the fact that we’re self-sufficient.”Temple Works has been used frequently as a set for filmmakers and photog-

raphers. Susan said: “We’ve got a myriad of spaces and the details are extraor-dinary. We stripped away anything that looked modern here – we strippedeverything away that was a signifier of time. So if you filmed here it could beset any time. We specialise in vampire, zombie, sci-fi, etc. We do punk andgothic photo-shoots. We’re the premiere destination for dead people!” The building is also home to a number of creative people. Susan explained:

“We have a fluctuating group of residents. But generally, it always includesfilmmakers, artists, musicians, photographers, and theatre groups. We are alsohome to the Leeds Model Railway Society – they’re our prize possession,they’re very extreme! They’ve been at it since 1947 and one of their foundingmembers is still there. No one’s paid here, not even myself, but we can makemoney out of Temple Works and that’s what makes it interesting for everyoneinvolved.” The biggest concern is the large cracks that have appeared in the main room.

Susan explained: “We have a really serious structural problem here. So our bigtask really is to restring the building – which will take a lot of time andmoney. The big question is who is going to pay for the repairs? Just because thebuilding is privately owned, it doesn’t mean to say that they are obliged to footthe repair bill for a massive national monument – there’s a public responsibil-ity as well.” Temple Works is a place that few Leeds residents know about – but when

they do, it’s difficult not to fall in love.Vist www.templeworksleeds.com for more information.

View from the roof

5

Temple Works

Page 5_Page 5 03/05/2013 15:25 Page 1

Any more

Perhaps it came as no surprise when women’s weekly magazine more!tweeted: “@moremagazine:Today is a very sad day in the more! office.Thanks for all your tweets and support today - and over the years.”

Last week publisher Bauer Media announced that the women’s weekly glossy wouldclose after 25 years of pages filled with fashion, beauty and advice. It had seen a 37.6per cent decline in sales at the beginning of last year.

Renowned for its ‘position of the week’ feature more! and other women’s lifestylemagazines including Just Seventeen, Bliss and minx who added playful humour andhonest advice to the selection of consumer glossies on offer to young women.

When More! launched in 1988 it was aimed at an older teen audience to informthem about issues that actually affected them in a vibrant and energetic way. In 2002 itre-launched to target the twenty-something market and compete with Look magazine,the change in design and focus onto more celebrity culture lost them a lot of regularreaders.

Ex Seventeen magazine journalist Amy Lund now senior lecturer in journalism atleeds Trinity said: “More! really stood out in the way it approached relationships,when it re-launched it did lose some of its personality. Losing more! is a reflection ofthe changing industry.”

Both the magazine and newspaper industry have been hit hard by declining circula-tion figures. The first quarter of 2012 saw a further drop in figures, even Glamour, themost successful women’s magazine still dropped 11.5 per cent to just 470,138 readerswhich is nothing compared to the heyday of more! who could shift well over one mil-lion copies a month.

Other familiar names on the newsagent’s shelves such as Cosmopolitan, Look,Grazia and Elle have all struggled with decreasing readerships.

Company magazine decide to rebrand in 2012 but circulation figures ever since havenot lived up to what they were expected to be. A spokesperson said: “Company al-lowed the content to speak for itself and reduced marketing promotion in the first halfof 2012, 97 per cent of readers who tried it for the first time in May have said they willbuy it again.”

Blogger for the F-word, an online feminist magazine, Laura Woodhouse, 28, believesadvertising companies are to blame: “Women’s magazines are constrained by adverts,they are funded by beauty adverts who push a certain ideal of what a woman shouldbe.

“I do read some magazines every now and then and some of the stuff they do likeCosmo’s campaigns are positive but these magazines have to start reaching out to

As More!magazine closes takes a look at the industr

“The magazines mixedplayful humour and

honest advice”

6

@workingsupermum:Too many injuries as a result of #posi-tionofthefortnight? #harkingbacktomytwenties Seriously, that's a

shame.

Mellieha Lacy: Can you please make a book of all your 'menoverheard'?! Some of them have me in tears! I'm gutted! More is

the best mag of them all!!!

@GOGO_PHILIP: Such a shame :( Thanks for everything guys -we'll miss you! xxxxxx

Amanda Williams: Used to loved this mag but it's rubbish nowso I don't buy it any more not relevant to today's modern woman

shame really cos it was a good mag up until a few years ago

Rachel Frith: Bad news re job losses but I stopped buying it afterit changed.x

@JenSt1993: I dunno what am gonna do without Men Overheard:(

Loz Garnett: Is anyone really surprised? Going downhill for ages

women who don’t fit the beauty standards. They should focus more on mi-nority issues, they could do more to promote feminism and a wider range ofwomen.”

It used to be that what magazine you bought every week or month would saya lot about you – they could even be described as acting like the wiser older sis-ter or reassuring best friend.

Describing her time working on Seventeen Amy said: “There was a big debateabout whether we should put Jennifer Lopez on the front cover as there was alot of controversy over her association with rapper P Diddy because Seventeenwas seen as a wholesome teen magazine. We went ahead with it in the end and Ithink that was something that was a huge part of launching her into the main-stream.

“It’s probably not going to look good if I say this but I remember meetingWestlife and telling them where they could go out to drink while they were inNew York because they were under 21 like me.”

The fun, quirky magazine offering genuine advice to young women and nottaking itself too seriously has all but disappeared, now pages of the glossies arefilled with celebrities and advertising budgets dictate the content. The daft, in-teresting and downright eccentric of the writers are online and some of it is ab-solutely brilliant.

Rookie Mag, the brainchild of teenage blogger Tavi Gevinson, is an onlinepublication for teenage girls featuring writing, photography, illustrations andvideos. It reached one million page views within five days of launching. JanePratt, founding editor of American teen monthly Sassy which has been calledthe greatest teen magazine of all time, helped create Rookie.

Since May 2011 HelloGiggles, set up by actress Zooey Deschanel, has tried tocreate a place where women can talk about a range of topics within a positivesetting. It can sound a bit twee but they cover DIY and crafting projects, beauty,friendship, sex and relationships, pop culture, and loads more in a very honestand heart-warming way.

Some webistes also provide serious news along with the fashion and celebritygossip. Increasingly popular sites such as BuzzFeed juxtapose the viral contentwith original reporting, which seems to be working well as it attracts more than25 million unique visitors a month.

What women want from a magazine is the difficult question to answer whenevery topic, issue or interest is covered by the internet from any perspective.The most upsetting thing about more! closing are those readers who have losttheir favourite magazine and will have to look elsewhere to get their position ofthe week.

“The daft, interesting anddownright eccentric of the

writers are now online”

Have your say...

for any More? s the book Sallie Gregson

ry today

7

8

Audi A1 1.4 TFSI 122 SportPrice £16,205 (as tested)0-60mph 8.9 secondsTop speed 126mphEconomy 53.3mpg (combined)CO2 124g/kmKerb weight 1125kgEngine 1.4 TFSIPower 122bhp @ 5000rpmTorque 148lb/ft @ 1500rpm

- 5000rpmGearbox 6-spd manual

Audi A1 1.4 TFSI SportReview by Tom Swain @tjoswain

A1 looks good inred, but 16” alloyscan look a bit lost.

Audi superminicorners well, and throttle

response is good.

Audi’s A1 has been on sale since2010, and has sold pretty well inthe time since. It offers pre-mium brand allure in a super-mini package, and the draw ofthose four silver rings can’t beoverstated. It’s a new option fortrendy Mini owners, and eventhose drivers looking to movebeyond the ubiquity of a FordFiesta.The A1 is available with a choice

of four trim levels, and a range ofpetrol and diesel engines. Pricesstart at £13,640 for base SE spec,rising to £22,190 for a Black Edi-tion.But how does a mid-spec example

stand up? As tested, this 1.4 TFSISport comes with 122bhp and somenice dynamics. It corners well, re-acts to bumps with ease, anddoesn’t make too much fuss underhard acceleration. The benchmarksprint to 60mph comes up in a brisk8.9 seconds, and the speedometerhalts at a reported 126mph.In Sport trim, the dual-clutch S

Tronic gearbox is a cost option, butthe standard 6-speed manual is a

fine offering. Changes feel preciseand smooth, and gears are wellspaced for a decent range of driv-ing.The four-cylinder, 1.4 litre engine

has a pleasingly aggressive note, andany acceleration feels quicker thanit probably is. 122bhp seems pes-simistic.To put the Audi through its paces,

I headed over Askwith Moor, leav-ing Otley from the north and head-ing towards Blubberhouses and theA59. From the moor road, wonder-ful views of Ilkley extend away tothe west and to the north, views ofthe Nidd Valley and the Dales be-yond. Driving over the dams at Thr-uscross and Swinsty reservoirs is anovel experience well within reachof the Askwith Moor road.Over the 50 mile test run, econ-

omy hovered around 45mpg –without suitably varied test drivingtechnique, however, 60mpg is emi-nently achievable. The car respondsextremely well to careful accelera-tion and prudent deceleration, with70mpg popping up on free-movingstretches of dual carriageway.

As with all turbocharged engines,the TFSI 4-cylinder unit suffersfrom turbo lag at motorway speeds.Moving out to the fast lane requiresa downshift to bring the revs up topowerband, but the car feelsplanted and stable throughout.Here are the burning questions

though. Is the A1 an attempt to getyoung buyers into the Audi ecosys-tem in order to move them up themodel range? Almost certainly. Isthe A1 a viable alternative in thepremium supermini sector? Ofcourse it is. Will the A1 continue tosteal fans away from the other Ger-man brands? Probably. But I don’tthink it’s quite good-lookingenough, not quite fashionableenough, to overtake the market.I’m sure sales of the A1 will con-tinue to boost Audi coffers, but I’mnot sure how many buyers will bedissuaded from sticking theirmoney on the established competi-tors. After all, the facelifted FordFiesta looks like an Aston Martin,the new Mercedes A-Class looksgreat, and the Mini is classic mod-ern-retro.

page 8_Page 8 03/05/2013 15:32 Page 1