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						Johnny 80s squat
			´I´d be domestic for tonight´ says Jonathan,  attired  in Coronation Street floral print dress and horrible-housevife headscarf.  His elephantine ´tail´ (black rubber with studs) that he wears when playing keyboards for Batcave band The Specimen remains hung up with his Sue Clowes trousers. I inspect the room while Jonny pours some plonk and pretends to be hoovering.  The walls are coverd with black plastic bin-liners.  I make a jock about lining the bin with bin-liners.  Jonny laughs politely and saysthat the furniture will be here in a minute ... the slight unease I had felt when approaching this graffiti-ed bullring of neglected pre-war block ( framed like a thunderclap of decay between two withered trees at the entrance)  now increade as I clocked the Batcave posters,  the Bat-shaped cushions, the red paint splashers on black plastic... what was this ´furniture arriving´´ lak about ? ? Not coffins or Gravestones,  surely ? ? One by one, also adorned in binliners,  the furniture tranports itself into the room :  ´H´  the telly ( Hazel,  who works in Boy),  Fanny the lamp ( Amanda, a model)  and Tracey the table ( Debbie,  on the dole ) Do you hire this...furniture,  Jonny ? ´´No,  it´s all my own,  It´s a sort of job creation scheme´´ It turns out the telly,  lamp and table are all inhabitants of a riotously happy community scattered throughout the block,  whose other illustrious inhabitants include bands like Corpes as Bedmates,  Madame X,  and Flesh For Lulu.  They draw cartoons of each other,  meet in the backstreet pub opposite and go to the Batcave on wednesdays.  By the end of the evening,  I was searching the rest of the block for a spare squat to move into....... words by TIM GRAHAM  -  picture by STEVE SHIPMAN  -  BLITZ magazine - 1984 back to  SPECIMEN  menu