Penny Rimbaud and his imaginary punk
On my way back from the Rebellion Festivals this year, I was fortunate enough to spend some time with a true living legend and dear friend, Penny Rimbaud. He was gracious enough to not only cook me the best meal I had on that trip, but also took the time for an extensive series of interviews. During these conversations, we delved into numerous subjects, including his collaborations with saxophonist Louise Elliott, composer and pianist Peter Vukmirovic Stevens, cellist Kate Shortt, his work with One Little Independent Records, and the launch of his new label, Caliban Sounds. We also discussed his fondness for Steve Ignorant, his dislike of Bill Gates, living at Dial House, and his new axe (the wood-chopping kind, not the guitar kind). So watch for those in the future.
But the topic that particularly struck me came up after we wrapped. Penny casually mentioned an imaginary punk persona that had influenced him profoundly during the CRASS years. I had to ask him to pause. I hit the record button and pressed him to elaborate. He did so, and also delved into his thoughts on domestic violence and its influence on the punk movement, and more on his time with Crass.
Penny Rimbaud artist, poet, philosopher, musician, activist, gardener, chef and sexy beast - All photos ©dickslaughter.com
“Oh, the Punk thing”
I mean, I'm not part of that; I don't belong there anymore myself. Well, I do by their generosity. When I go to Rebellion, I am always really generously treated by the punks there, because they know they don't much like what I do now. And I certainly know they don't much like what I do now. But that hasn't spoiled that connection. and I've got a terrific affection. I almost cry with my love for those people because they're still in that spot, and it's not one I'd want to be in myself. I've spent a long time, 40 years, trying to develop a different form of peace, a different form of belonging. But I understand why they all turn up there and they're with their family there, with their band, with their gang, whatever. People need that. I know that. I don't know whether I'm fortunate or because of my hard work or anything, but I feel now the whole world is my gang, or I'm of the whole world so I don't need to look for identity. I don't need to, and I'm not saying that in the negatives. I'm saying needing to look. We all want to belong. Everyone wants to belong somewhere.
Cellist Kate Shortt and Penny performing at Rebellion 2018
And it's increasingly more difficult for people to do that. These communities are broken up. Families are broken up or forced together into impossible situations like lockdown, etc. I mean, the violence, domestic violence rocketed under lockdown. And there's no more damaging violence than domestic violence, because it's something you can't remove yourself from. It's worse than the worst war, really, not that war doesn't damage. It horribly damages. But domestic violence is a massive trauma. It doesn't need to be that intense for it to be a massive trauma anyway.
There's no wonder that so many punks were people that are disenfranchised: they're lonely, really lonely in the world that they can't make any sense of. And they meet another guy or girl on the corner, and they're lonely, can't see anything. And then somehow or other, there's a union there. What can we do about this? That was what punk was, that's what the whole true body of punk was. As people who knew everything was all wrong but didn't know quite how to put it together. And so all together, we did try to put it together. Crass existed, and maybe we were a bit of a figurehead and a sort of leading force, but, I mean, we weren't leading a force because what really drove me was an inner punk.
I used to have an imaginary Glaswegian punk, and that's how I metered my behavior throughout those seven years. I would think, 'Oh blimey, Mother has given me some money; maybe I'll go on holiday on the coast of Bravo or something. But I couldn't do it because that imaginary punk couldn't. We lived our lives that way, really. I don't know how the others felt on that sort of level, but that's the level I lived my life—on the poorest of the poorest punks we met. Was I he or she?
Sculpture in the garden of Dial House possibly of Penn’s Glaswegian Punk
Well, actually, I was he because I imagined him as a bloke and if he couldn't do it, I wasn’t gonna do it, you know, in the material sense. And that was a good exercise, really.
Penny preparing to perform in 2018 at Royal Festival Hall
And that made us, gave us a reality. There aren't too many of the many, many punk bands who actually, you know, the talk was there, but the walk wasn't. And I was always certain about the walk. I thought, and think the walking, it was more important than the talking of it with Crass, We were really hard line with ourselves, and that's why, if you like, it's still an important force. It was a demonstration of what seven or eight or nine people can do. Through complete dedication, because that's what it was. Complete dedication. Every bloody hour of the day, really, and most of the hours of the night as well, 'How do we make this better? How can we offer something more, or more to my Glaswegian Punk? Who has got fuck all except a damp, miserable life anyway.’
Penny taking a break from chopping wood at Dial House, Gee photo bombing. All photos ©dickslaughter.com
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