Early Worm: First Steps of Spydeee and Genesis // Spydeee Gasmantell and Ben Waddington

Sun 15th Sept // 1pm // 110 mins

Meet: entrance to Coldlands Woods, next to 80 Buryfield Road, Solihull B91 2DQ

Hull City of Culture 2017 showcased an epic retrospective exhibition of COUM Transmissions; the taboo-busting performance collective that preceded the formation of Industrial music icons Throbbing Gristle.

Unexpectedly, this story begins not in the communes and disused buildings of Hull in the 1970s but rather in the aspirational suburbs of 1960s Solihull. Close friends Genesis P-Orridge and Spydeee Gasmantell - together known as Worm - attended Solihull School there until 1968.

This guided tour begins in the childhood woodland haunts of Worm, then moves through the suburbs of Solihull to the town centre, to revisit and reconstruct some of Worm's teenage pranks, with tales of mods and beatniks, the influence of William Burroughs and of course the occasional black mass in the park.

This walk expands Flatpack Film Festival’s event last year; please be prepared to add your voice to woodland and urban field recordings, working towards two new sound pieces by Spydeee. The walk is intended as a live narrative of the Solihull environment past and present, and we encourage your active observations and enquiries.

Please join us at the Masons Arms in Solihull town centre after the walk for rest, refreshments and further conversation.

• Route includes a section of woodland with uneven, muddy ground.

• Please wear sensible shoes.

• Full instructions on how to get to the meeting place will be sent to ticket holders.

• Early Worm first ran during Flatpack Festival in 2018, led by Ben and with a guest appearance by Spydeee