Directed by: Lisa Barros D’Sa, Glenn Leyburn

Starring: Richard Dormer, Jodie Whittaker, Liam Cunningham

It was a lazy Sunday evening yesterday and while trying to find something useful to watch on the tv I ran into this movie that just started showing. Since I never before heard about it, I said to my girlfriend, let us watch this, it looks interesting. Basically it is a real life story about life and times and deeds of one Terri Hooley(born in 1948) and his record store called Good Vibrations, who was called the godfather of Belfast punkrock scene in the late 70-ies and early 80-ies. Hooley was responsible for making Belfast punk scene known and significant in the world and especially in Britain.

Terri Hooley discovered bands like The Undertones, Rudi, Protex and The Outcasts to name only a few. The movie shows all the hardships he indured through the years with no labels wanting to do anything with punk bands, the hardships of living in Northern Ireland where people died every day in bloody bombings, assasinations, shootouts between the catholics and the protestants up to 1998.when peace talks finally ended the hostilities. The movie also shows how famous John Peel became Good Vibrations label fan after he played the Teenage Kicks song twice in a row during his famous show. The cast is excellent, especially Richard Dormer as Hooley and when the movie ended I was so sorry that it was over so soon, because time really flies by when you watch something so good.

What touched me personally is that Terri Hooley never lost faith and belief in the scene, even during the hardships when the bank intended to sell his shop and house and he and other organized a benefit gig in Ulster Hall, that was the emotioanl and touching peak and ending of the movie. He also endured skinhead attack when two skinheads kicked his ass wickedly and ruined most of the records in his shop. I can almost admit that Terri Hooley became on of my inspirations and role models after seeing this movie, making me want to go further, harder and more with this zine and with this underground scene that I love so much which has been a part of my life for almost 25 years now.

On Saturday we went to drink some beers with my friend Marko, drummer of Bakterije/Partleki, two great punk bands from my hometown and we discussed how and why some people get out of the scene and say that they are no longer part of it. We just couldnt understand that. Okay, we all have some personal changes and priorities in our lives, some of us get married and have kids, some have to go work somewhere else, I dont know, but if your heart was ever in it, the scene will remain in you no matter that you dont play in a band anymore, no matter that you dont go to gigs as you used to anymore, no matter that you just have some other life priorities, somewhere in you the scene will always stay in your heart and you will never say “when I was a punk or metalhead or something we used to…”. That almost feels like betrayal. That means that your heart was not in the right place from the start. Clothes and hair dont make you a punk or metalhead(but they sure look nice), even labeling yourself as a punk or metalhead or skinhead or something else is not important. The only thing that is important is that you never forget and sell out the scene, because in the end you have only sold out yourself.