[charlie]

Hard to believe, but it was ten years ago today that I joined a couple of others outside a certain pop-up shop on Berwick Street.... happy to say I still have the CYW up on the wall.

The rest as they say is history!

(I do miss those overnight queues  )










and the next morning after the legendary rush across town

[artdelight]

Wow amazing shots!!

[Criminal Mischief]

Awesome to see, thanks for sharing the flicks and memories.

[eyectopus]

Thanks for posting this. Great to see it. I wasn't there but was keeping up to date via the forum while it was on.

Some excellent pieces in the photos. Looks like a version of the "No Future" stencil in the background. Another version was being discussed today on another thread about it being copied.

Love seeing the Petro's also.

[iamzero]

Some hardcore art fans in that queue.

[vandamme]

Thanks for sharing but the way the print is stuck to the wall is a sin, even ten years ago 🤣
Fantastic pics though 👌

[dukeofwybourne]

Cheers, great photos! 17 years ago, 17 year old me and a couple of mates happened to wander into Santa's Ghetto in Kingly Court, off Carnaby Street. Despite the West End location it was basically deserted. My friend couldn't believe I was spending £50 on some random Pulp Fiction print 😂 Wish I'd taken photos.

[tab1]

Now someone post a picture of today’s banksy buyers 🤓

[yellow]

very nice 😊

[Lroy]

Yes great shot thanks !
I never understood why Target by PIns, - that was my first bying - has never been sold out !
It's so actual, out of times, in our Police countries...
and colors and kind of mixing great too...

[gd79]

Dec 11, 2020 3:54:30 GMT 1 dukeofwybourne said:

Cheers, great photos! 17 years ago, 17 year old me and a couple of mates happened to wander into Santa's Ghetto in Kingly Court, off Carnaby Street. Despite the West End location it was basically deserted. My friend couldn't believe I was spending £50 on some random Pulp Fiction print 😂 Wish I'd taken photos.

He had a good point... You would have done better if you'd have bought some Apple shares

Nice work though

[theclash]

Dec 11, 2020 11:09:18 GMT 1 gd79 said:

Dec 11, 2020 3:54:30 GMT 1 dukeofwybourne said:

Cheers, great photos! 17 years ago, 17 year old me and a couple of mates happened to wander into Santa's Ghetto in Kingly Court, off Carnaby Street. Despite the West End location it was basically deserted. My friend couldn't believe I was spending £50 on some random Pulp Fiction print 😂 Wish I'd taken photos.

He had a good point... You would have done better if you'd have bought some Apple shares

Nice work though

Not true actually. If you bought Apple shares and reinvested dividends today you would have made 376x your £50 investment so £18.8k. Unsigned Pulp fiction c.£80-100k in last couple auctions

[gd79]

Dec 11, 2020 11:17:41 GMT 1 theclash said:

Dec 11, 2020 11:09:18 GMT 1 gd79 said:

He had a good point... You would have done better if you'd have bought some Apple shares

Nice work though

Not true actually. If you bought Apple shares and reinvested dividends today you would have made 376x your £50 investment so £18.8k. Unsigned Pulp fiction c.£80-100k in last couple auctions

I had it as >50k with divi reinvested as you go along and the FX moves... and factored in insurance costs, framing, fees and the like

More importantly, I wasn't being serious and would be far happier with a pulp fiction than a few hundred apples shares.

[theclash]

Fair enough, you have had a 25% depreciation in GBP so unhedged would be £23.5k from Apple. Better be quick though who knows what Bozo will do this weekend. 

[tonys]

you can't really frame share certificates tho

[stillborncrisps]

I can't remember how I managed to miss both queues, but I did.

What was the timing of events?

Did we know there was to be a pop up shop but not where? Or maybe we knew location but not when it would drop? If people were queing from early Friday night I probably saw it and thought fuck that.

How did word of the queue jumper edition come about? ISTR stories of people grabbing taxis from Berwick St and bombing it over to POW offices.

[lee3]

Dec 11, 2020 10:46:33 GMT 1 Romulus said:

Interesting photos, thanks. I remember being desperate to travel to London once word was out of the print release, but by the time it was, it was far too late to have been in with a shot.

Who is the BORING picture by?

Boring and the rest of that foursome (0% interest, jailbreak and that cloud) on the wall are all Banksy.  It's a bit strange to look back and consider that was the turning point with mobs and no more nice things with print queues.  And somehow a decade on, those are the good old days. Thanks for posting the photos, Charlie. 

[nex]

LA Show wasn’t it

[charlie]

Dec 11, 2020 17:21:51 GMT 1 stillborncrisps said:

I can't remember how I managed to miss both queues, but I did.

What was the timing of events?

Did we know there was to be a pop up shop but not where? Or maybe we knew location but not when it would drop? If people were queing from early Friday night I probably saw it and thought fuck that.

How did word of the queue jumper edition come about? ISTR stories of people grabbing taxis from Berwick St and bombing it over to POW offices.

I ended up queuing behind another couple of forum members on Berwick St outside the pop up at about 2pm on the day I think, I think it was barbarabush  (in the big red jacket in the photo!) and Slammer. Had turned up with overnight kit on the off chance that the release was imminent. About 20 mins later another person joined, in true British style, once three people lined up it was a 'queue' and things took on a life of their own.

About 4 hours later, maybe a bit more, the message came that PoW were going to release at Commercial St, not the pop-up, so began the Challenge Anneka race across London. I'll never forget it, and got to the 'new queue' in about position 50, but the guys at the front were cool enough to recognise the few of us who'd been there at the start and made space for us up front.

QJG was the result of some very vocal people who didn't make it to queue no 2 in time....

Don't think I'll ever sell it, too many memories (having also done NBG the time before!)

[mrizzle]

Dec 11, 2020 20:40:56 GMT 1 charlie said:

Dec 11, 2020 17:21:51 GMT 1 stillborncrisps said:

I can't remember how I managed to miss both queues, but I did.

What was the timing of events?

Did we know there was to be a pop up shop but not where? Or maybe we knew location but not when it would drop? If people were queing from early Friday night I probably saw it and thought fuck that.

How did word of the queue jumper edition come about? ISTR stories of people grabbing taxis from Berwick St and bombing it over to POW offices.

I ended up queuing behind another couple of forum members on Berwick St outside the pop up at about 2pm on the day I think, I think it was barbarabush  (in the big red jacket in the photo!) and Slammer. Had turned up with overnight kit on the off chance that the release was imminent. About 20 mins later another person joined, in true British style, once three people lined up it was a 'queue' and things took on a life of their own.

About 4 hours later, maybe a bit more, the message came that PoW were going to release at Commercial St, not the pop-up, so began the Challenge Anneka race across London. I'll never forget it, and got to the 'new queue' in about position 50, but the guys at the front were cool enough to recognise the few of us who'd been there at the start and made space for us up front.

QJG was the result of some very vocal people who didn't make it to queue no 2 in time....

Don't think I'll ever sell it, too many memories (having also done NBG the time before!)

What a fantastic story and amazing end result. Looks absolutely perfect and definitely one to treasure.

[FЯ]

Dec 11, 2020 20:40:56 GMT 1 charlie said:

Dec 11, 2020 17:21:51 GMT 1 stillborncrisps said:

I can't remember how I managed to miss both queues, but I did.

What was the timing of events?

Did we know there was to be a pop up shop but not where? Or maybe we knew location but not when it would drop? If people were queing from early Friday night I probably saw it and thought fuck that.

How did word of the queue jumper edition come about? ISTR stories of people grabbing taxis from Berwick St and bombing it over to POW offices.

I ended up queuing behind another couple of forum members on Berwick St outside the pop up at about 2pm on the day I think, I think it was barbarabush  (in the big red jacket in the photo!) and Slammer. Had turned up with overnight kit on the off chance that the release was imminent. About 20 mins later another person joined, in true British style, once three people lined up it was a 'queue' and things took on a life of their own.

About 4 hours later, maybe a bit more, the message came that PoW were going to release at Commercial St, not the pop-up, so began the Challenge Anneka race across London. I'll never forget it, and got to the 'new queue' in about position 50, but the guys at the front were cool enough to recognise the few of us who'd been there at the start and made space for us up front.

QJG was the result of some very vocal people who didn't make it to queue no 2 in time....

Don't think I'll ever sell it, too many memories (having also done NBG the time before!)

was bluddy hilarious to watch. Turning up to a comfy queue in soho, people in chairs offering beers with random people on a night out in soho pushing past.

from that to shouting, people legging it and a scene from rat race with people running in front of taxis and pelting into tube stations and buses. Couples being bribed to get the fuck out their taxi. 

then turning up to the next queue everyone red faced, sweaty and swearing as they are now 180th. Not so cheery anymore eh. Then the cold night and gangs kicked in. Rest is history.

[stillborncrisps]

Dec 12, 2020 0:34:18 GMT 1 FЯ said:

Dec 11, 2020 20:40:56 GMT 1 charlie said:

I ended up queuing behind another couple of forum members on Berwick St outside the pop up at about 2pm on the day I think, I think it was barbarabush  (in the big red jacket in the photo!) and Slammer. Had turned up with overnight kit on the off chance that the release was imminent. About 20 mins later another person joined, in true British style, once three people lined up it was a 'queue' and things took on a life of their own.

About 4 hours later, maybe a bit more, the message came that PoW were going to release at Commercial St, not the pop-up, so began the Challenge Anneka race across London. I'll never forget it, and got to the 'new queue' in about position 50, but the guys at the front were cool enough to recognise the few of us who'd been there at the start and made space for us up front.

QJG was the result of some very vocal people who didn't make it to queue no 2 in time....

Don't think I'll ever sell it, too many memories (having also done NBG the time before!)

was bluddy hilarious to watch. Turning up to a comfy queue in soho, people in chairs offering beers with random people on a night out in soho pushing past.

from that to shouting, people legging it and a scene from rat race with people running in front of taxis and pelting into tube stations and buses. Couples being bribed to get the fuck out their taxi. 

then turning up to the next queue everyone red faced, sweaty and swearing as they are now 180th. Not so cheery anymore eh. Then the cold night and gangs kicked in. Rest is history.

So this was queing from 2pm Friday, knowing the drop was gonna be Saturday?

Congrats for sticking it out charlie, and with the NBG too. I remember joinging that queue, and after half an hour I was too cold so went home coz I was bordering on the cutoff point anyway. Couldn't have stuck that all night not to get anything coz of queue jumpers. It was about 2°C ISTR, poss down to zero in the small hours.

[LonelyFarmer]

Dec 11, 2020 1:52:39 GMT 1 vandamme said:

Thanks for sharing but the way the print is stuck to the wall is a sin, even ten years ago 🤣
Fantastic pics though 👌

....could be worse, in a lot if cases it was.

[vandamme]

This is very true

[Sundowner]

Was a very funny night. Watched the fun unfold from the comfort of my sofa until about 5pm and then decided to hotfoot it to the West End to join the queue. Was about 60th by the time I got there. Was very good natured until 10pm when the POW email came out advising the print release was at Commercial Street and mayhem ensued trying to get taxis/buses/tubes (I even saw someone jump in a rickshaw and then jump out again 30 seconds down the road).

I pity the poor sods who took ages to get to Commercial Street and were then so far back in the queue that they missed getting a print and then got sent back to Soho to try and get one of the Magenta, Lemon or Slate edition.

[charlie]

Just found this photo, from very early on,... that's me leaning against the window 🙂

[Winter]

Can’t believe it’s been 10 years since the release of Choose Your Weapon. I don’t remember there being a dip in interest in Banksys works any time since then.

[Dexter Bulldog]

Dec 11, 2020 20:40:56 GMT 1 charlie said:

Dec 11, 2020 17:21:51 GMT 1 stillborncrisps said:

I can't remember how I managed to miss both queues, but I did.

What was the timing of events?

Did we know there was to be a pop up shop but not where? Or maybe we knew location but not when it would drop? If people were queing from early Friday night I probably saw it and thought fuck that.

How did word of the queue jumper edition come about? ISTR stories of people grabbing taxis from Berwick St and bombing it over to POW offices.

I ended up queuing behind another couple of forum members on Berwick St outside the pop up at about 2pm on the day I think, I think it was barbarabush  (in the big red jacket in the photo!) and Slammer. Had turned up with overnight kit on the off chance that the release was imminent. About 20 mins later another person joined, in true British style, once three people lined up it was a 'queue' and things took on a life of their own.

About 4 hours later, maybe a bit more, the message came that PoW were going to release at Commercial St, not the pop-up, so began the Challenge Anneka race across London. I'll never forget it, and got to the 'new queue' in about position 50, but the guys at the front were cool enough to recognise the few of us who'd been there at the start and made space for us up front.

QJG was the result of some very vocal people who didn't make it to queue no 2 in time....

Don't think I'll ever sell it, too many memories (having also done NBG the time before!)

Awesome story, great pic-put it in the Xmas tree thread