The following interview, originally published in Italian in the current (third) issue of the magazine Garageland, was conducted during the preparational stages for new edition of Gavin Watson’s classic photo book Skins, which has since come out on ACC Art Books. The original 1994 edition was printed by ST Publishing, which was run by George Marshall, author of the seminal Spirit of ‘69 – A Skinhead Bible (1991).
Although Skins remains his best-known publication, Watson is also the author of other volumes, such as the recent highly successful Oh What Fun We Had! (2019), which focuses on his group of friends from High Wycombe, an ethnically and subculturally inclusive crew.
Watson’s work is important for a number of reasons: firstly, it’s an insider’s view of the scene and therefore of great documentary interest. Secondly, looking at his pictures we can follow the evolution of the crew and their changing preoccupations and interests from the punk and skinhead era all the way to the rave years. Another significant trait of Watson’s work is the proximity of his hometown of Wycombe to London. As those who live in suburban areas know, being close to a big city can be an advantage – you can see a lot of gigs if you travel a relatively short distance, for example. But the suburbs are still the suburbs, and as such they’re inevitably cut off from many positive features that the big city has to offer.
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Creases Like Knives 