Editors Note: To celebrate the news that the restored sections of the historic and legendary Southbank Undercroft will be open to the public from 20th July, here’s our interview with Long Live Southbank – who raised over 1-million pounds to accomplish the project – from Issue 3 of SKATEISM (January 2019). It’s amazing to see another groundbreaking mission accomplished in this crazy little world we call skateboarding.
There are few spots more recognisable than London’s Southbank. Spaces like this have been claimed, transformed and worn like medals of honour by skateboarders for years, and there are only a handful which have survived long enough to call themselves true veterans of our culture. The war is often tough, and Long Live Southbank – the organisation started by Londoners to defend their central sanctuary, The Undercroft – understand the struggle better than anybody. After six years of campaigning, Southbank is just £100,000 away from its goal amount which will see it expand by 400-m2. Sounds like a lot? Not when you consider that in just 18 months they’ve raised just-shy of 1-million. I caught up with one of the LLSB team, Louis Woodhead, to shake his hand and pick his brain.
INTERVIEW BY OISIN TAMMAS / FEATURED IMAGE: STÉPHANE DECOOL
Hey Louis, let’s start at the beginning shall we?
Yeah, so Long Live Southbank was set up in 2013 in response to a planning application which would close down Southbank completely and forever. Having spent a year and a bit campaigning and eventually saving the space, in late 2014 we started thinking about the possibility of reopening further sections, to restore the Undercroft to how it was before closures in 2005.
In for a penny, in for a pound! Respect for pushing even further.
Yeah, so we budgeted it up, and in June of 2017 we launched our fundraising campaign. So that’s a year and six months now.
What were the most difficult challenges of saving it originally?
The biggest challenge is always to have a strong voice. To constantly get a message out there about the importance of your space, and yet keep it legit. It’s a tricky balance, since we’re all skateboarders, of what is “keeping it real” and what isn’t.
Yeah, I think it’s weird since Southbank is such a tourist attraction – both for skate tourists and regular tourists – that they ever tried to get rid of it?
It would have been complete madness, culturally. Look at cities across Europe who are trying so hard to keep the pieces of their culture, even in a rapidly modernising age – it’s crucial that London maintain spaces like Southbank which give the city roots in that way.
“Southbank is the absolute real deal!”
London is losing these roots?
Without a doubt. And I think Long Live Southbank has found its voice when it comes to discussing cultural changes in London, and the way the city is moving generally. There is a massive elephant in the room: that Zone 1 (The City of London and West-End) is completely inaccessible to young, creative people, doing community based things. It’s income-stream based, so without that there is no way you’ll set it up in the centre of London. That straight away makes the centre of London a black-hole.
It’s incredible Southbank has remained as a hotbed of creativity, right across the river from the biggest financial institutions, and in the middle of the National Theatre, Southbank Centre and BFI. It’s a strange place, really. And London’s got to embrace it, especially now the catchment rings are moving out, and creativity is being pushed further away from where we are.
Are these changes reversible?
It’ll be very hard, so it’s important that people are aware now, and pick up on these issues while we can.
This increase in activism in skateboarding is fascinating. A bunch of skaters invited into parliament to fight for this space, it’s the antithesis of the culture in one way, and yet it fits so well…
Yeah, I think it’s a natural progression from being that 15 year-old kid who sees nothing wrong with skating the stairs outside a law-court, and cannot understand why a security guard has a problem – when the entire City of London is empty every sunday. Thinking more broadly about issues of space and creativity comes from that frustration. But it’s also important that skateboarding remains skateboarding, and there’s nothing more beautiful than bombing a hill…
You’ve had incredible collaborations with artists, skaters, brands (corporate and independent) – so a lot of people seem to get the message.
It’s been bizarre. I never would have expected to meet David Beckham through Long Live Southbank. But to be honest, the best thing is still just skating Southbank. I could never pick out one collab to praise higher, since it’s been really sick working with every single one.
So flash forward, you need 1.1-million pounds!
Yes. Though I’ll just say, we’re getting our exact quotes from the contractor by the time this interview is out – so the budget will be definitive soon.
That’s for reopening 400-m2 of space in Southbank, which has just been lying empty?
It was storage, empty, then for a while it was a pop-up bar. But it hasn’t been popping for a while.
“It was a pop-up bar. But it hasn’t been popping for a while.”
And like the rest of Southbank, it’ll be perfect for skating?
Yeah, I mean it’s the same as the rest of Southbank. In the 70s, it was designed as a space to be interpreted, without an intention. It was an architectural experiment. And those first skaters who put roller skating wheels on the bottom of planks of wood, discovered it was perfect for skateboarding. That extra space was skated until 2005, when it was closed off.
Do you think you’ve won the battle?
You know, Southbank is Southbank. It’s had so many stages in its evolution – I think when this opens, we will be at a new stage. It’s important to remember that it’s one of the most culturally important skateboarding spots in the world. It’s inevitable that it will have skaters invest time into it, just as they will defend it if it comes under threat.
Your work is not done?
We’re in the early stages of planning an exhibition which will celebrate the history of Southbank, and talk about the campaign. It will also hopefully inspire others to protect creative spaces, or open new ones. Community based projects like this require people to come together after all. Beyond that, we will continue to exist in some shape or form. We’ve come too far to dissolve now.
But you guys must be keen to let this take you elsewhere?
Personally, I’m quite keen to go even beyond skateboarding. But in terms of the skill-sets we’ve built – organisation, communication, campaigning – perhaps most important is learning how to have a coherent conversation which talks to both those who have power and those who do not. Managing to bridge that gap, keep it as real as possible in every instance, that’s the most important thing we’ve learned.
So after this long old journey, what is the thing you are most proud of in the London scene?
I think the thing I’m most proud of is how diverse Southbank feels. I’ve said this for a long time and think it’s 100% true. It has one of the most genuinely diverse communities, in terms of financial, family, social and ethnic backgrounds. Not everyone skates, you’ve got an equal amount of people who come there for other reasons, and I’m incredibly proud that the London scene has managed to evolve a space like that. Southbank is the absolute real deal.
And what are you least proud of?
I’d like to see Londoners go on more missions. I mean, a Megabus to Paris at this time of year is probably only gonna’ be £15.99 – anyone want to come with? You know what I mean? It taught us a lot going on missions. One thing we’ve learned from working with, say, the guys from Malmö; is that leaving space for expression, leaving a public space open to interpretation by skateboarders, or creatives generally, is so important. The more every square inch of a city has its value maximised, the more young people you have letting their imaginations loose.
Speaking of missions, what would you say to anybody about to embark on a mission like you have with Long Live Southbank?
Just go for it. Approach it with maximum confidence. Don’t pull any punches, if you believe what you’re doing is right, then see it through. And feel free to get in touch with us, because we’re always happy to help people in similar situations.
