We recently covered the launch of Crack & Shine, the first book covering London graffiti. After checking the book out

I caught up with Fred, the man behind the book for a bit of Q & A on the project.

First of all, congratulations on the book coming out. It must be good to see something you’ve put so

much hard work into finally become a reality. How long did it take to put together from start to finish?

Thanks, it was great to see the final thing in my hands after so many setbacks and struggles to get the right content.

The whole project took a little short of 2 years. I began contacting people in September 2007 and met

Will Robson-Scott through seeing his website on HurtYouBad in October and began working with him from then on.

2 years is a long time for any project, did you ever get to a point where you felt it wasn’t going

to happen?

I knew it would get done, I was just never too sure when it would be done. I could’ve spent another 2 years

on it if I had to but I was definitely glad to have it wrapped up.

A lot of people’s criticism of the book will no doubt be based around who was included and

who wasn’t in the book. There, for example, isn’t any mention of GSD who have undoubtedly

made a big impression in the London graffiti scene over the years, not to mention Tox. How

much of that stuff was politics and how much was to do with writers not wanting to get involved?

I tried to get a really rounded collection of the all the writers you would expect to have in the book but some

weren’t interested and some I just couldn’t get in touch with. Some sent me content and then pulled out.

I think ultimately though there is a broad selection of writers involved, and the people who are involved were

really dedicated to making their part in the book as good as possible because they knew that the book would be a classic

Politics aside what were your original aspirations for the book when you first set out? Was the

plan to document the London scene as a whole and from the start or was it meant as more of a

snapshot or a group of writers during a specific era?

I tried to just focus on interesting writers who have something to say about the culture from a different angle.

It was fascinating for me to hear what writers had to say after I had heard so many stories about them growing up.

Each section has a tight formula which I stuck with from the beginning where the opening spread would

introduce the writer, with a portrait from Will and a short piece of writing. I didn’t want to do too many Q&A

interviews so I gave writers the chance to write about something and let their individuality come through. Every

writer in the book tells a story which articulates their relationship with the culture in a way that allows people see

how important it is to them. I was surprised by the sincerity of the writing as it came in and I think the stories are

something that people will really enjoy.

Will’s photography was an important factor in the whole theme of the book, as well as the portraits for the individual

sections we worked together to find writers who would pose for portraits for his own section which he then edited down

to the more unique ones.

The aim from the beginning for his own section was to show a different style of photos to what you would usually

expect from writers, we tried to get them to open up a little and show another side of their life. Will is a really talented,

young photographer and his shots add something to the book which you don’t usually get from a book about subcultures,

it shows the people behind it and the lives they lead.

From a personal point of view, I always wanted to self-publish. I wanted to work on all aspects of the book and

not have to answer to anyone when it came to decisions about the design and content. I think that because it is self-published

it allowed it to be a hardback and limited edition book, which adds value to it.

I had a real desire to document a culture that I loved since a young age so I’m glad I’ve able to give something

back to it, and hopefully the writers I grew up admiring are proud of the book.

LDS produced some line dancing choreography for their section, along with photos of their trains

- were there any parts in the book you had to omit due to being too ‘out there’?

Haha- the Ginger Prince section! It was far too graphic.

We all know most writers can be unreliable and difficult to get hold of at the best of times, who

was the hardest to pin down and give you flicks?

In London there is a culture of writers either not taking photos of their work or never wanting to give it away,

I guess that is why a book like this has never been done before. But the fact that writers hold back their photos

adds to the value of the unseen stuff in the book.

I think because I am a relative outsider in the culture there was an issue of trust to begin with, but I overcame

that by being so persistent.

A lot of foreign writers have come over to London and done their thing over the years, Banos,

Egs, Jaya to name a few. What made you choose Revok for the book?

There needed to be some bits on foreigners and out of towners as it shows some different styles and points of

view that you wouldn’t usually get with local writers. Revok was the most active foreign writer in London at the

time of producing the book, he is considered to be one of the most talented writers in the world and he painted

a lot of great spots in town and I thought it was nice to show the stuff he did whilst he was here.

Sput from Eastern Europe is also in the book and gives a very funny account of being a foreign writer living in London.

Jamie Brown’s illustrations and logo set the tone nicely for the book and are a departure from

what you’d expect from a book named after one of the most iconic styles in London graffiti history.

What made you choose this direction over a more typical ‘graff’ route?

The typical ‘graff’ book cover with masked writers, train yards and outlines has been done before, so from the

start I wanted to have an illustrated cover as it is something very different from what you normally see on a

graffiti book. I have always been a fan of Jamie and he shared the same ideas, so he was the perfect person to

design the cover.

Having people like Jamie and Jon Weatherley, the designer, work on it gave it a more considered and structured

design and made it look like a more collectable product.

Any plans for more books in the future? What do you follow something like Crack & Shine up with?

I have already been working with some of the people involved in the book who work as illustrators and fine artists

outside of graffiti to produce screenprints and original works for a new website which will be up next week

www.topsafelondon.com. It is a really exciting project that I want to evolve and develop in the next couple of years.

The plan is to work with more artists and photographers from abroad and promote them and their work through the

website and exhibitions.

As for more books, I will definitely be embarking on something new in the near future. I hope and expect this will

involve Will, and perhaps it will focus on another element of graffiti in London.
Whenever I talk to anyone about the book they think it’s crazy that a city so rich in art and culture like London doesn’t

have any documentation of its’ graffiti culture. That is why Crack & Shine is so significant, it’s mad to think that one

of the biggest cities in the world has never had a book like this when every other major city has books out consistently.

Crack & Shine is only available at  www.crackandshine.com