The man who made Soho glow
For much of the 20th century the streets of Soho were awash with dazzling neon displays advertising the many clubs, adult shops and saucy cinemas which characterised the area in its seedy heyday.
Soho as seen in Softcell’s 1981 video, ‘Bedsitter’
One of the greatest neon sign makers was Chris Bracey, a born and bred Walthamstow lad who sadly died of cancer in November 2014 aged just 59.
Chris Bracey
Chris was born into the neon business on Christmas day 1954. Two years earlier, his father, Dick (a former Welsh coal miner) had established the company Electro Signs, which specialised in creating displays for fairgrounds, circuses and arcades.
At first, Chris was reluctant to follow in his father’s footsteps, preferring instead to concentrate on a career in graphic design. His mind quickly changed however in 1969 after being inspired by an exhibition of the American artist, Bruce Nauman.
Neon sign by Bruce Nauman, 1970 (image: Guggenheim Collection)
Chris’s first commission was from none other than the ‘King of Soho’ himself, Paul Raymond for whom he created a ‘Girls, Girls, Girls’ sign advertising the infamous Raymond Revue Bar.
The Raymond Revue Bar (image: The Telegraph)
By the 1970s, Chris was responsible for making just about every sign in Soho. Despite the sleazy nature of his clients’ businesses, he viewed his work as a truly creative art-form and was greatly motivated by the city in which he worked. “London is and always will be the greatest inspiration to me,” he once said. “It gives me everything, love, hate, hell and heaven.”
A neon shrine featured in Chris Bracey’s collection
Nicknamed both the ‘Neon Man’ and the ‘Master of Glow’, Chris’s skills were soon spotted by the film industry and from the 1980s onwards he was tasked with creating displays for a host of movies, one of the earliest being Blade Runner (please click below for a clip).
Chris’s work can also be seen in Mona Lisa, Superman III, Eyes Wide Shut, Charlie & the Chocolate Factory and a number of films in the Batman and James Bond franchises.
Screenshot from ‘Mona Lisa’ (1986)
Renowned fashion designers such as Vivienne Westwood, Stella McCartney and the late Alexander McQueen also approached Chris for his expertise, and one of his more unusual designs was a large Ziggy Stardust lightning bolt, commissioned for 2013’s David Bowie exhibition at the V&A.
Chris Bracey’s ‘Ziggy Stardust’ bolt at the V&A (image: The Mirror)
As Chris once said, “Neon is in my blood, it is my life force. I live and breath neon”. It is perhaps not surprising therefore that he was a keen collector of these ‘liquid fire’ signs and eventually amassed the largest selection outside the USA.
Panorama of ‘God’s own Junk Yard’ (please click to enlarge)
Known as God’s Own Junkyard and based in Chris’s old Walthamstow studio, this dazzling collection is open to the public and is a true treat for the eyes. The gallery is also home a beer garden and the punningly named Rolling Scones Cafe.
Please scroll down to view items from the collection:
God’s Own Junkyard is run by Chris’s wife and co-worker, Linda and is open on Friday and Saturday from 11am to 9pm and on Sundays from 11am to 6pm.
God’s Own Junkyard. Unit 12, Ravenswood Industrial Estate, Shernhall Street, London. E17 9HQ
A page in Chris’s memory for donations to Prostate Cancer UK can be found here.
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The Salters Return (Part 2)
Three years after it was desecrated by callous scrap metal thieves, I am delighted to announce that the ‘Dr Salter’s Daydream’ installation is now proudly back in place at Bermondsey Wall East.
The new Dr Salter statue glimpsing at an image of his late daughter, Joyce
In the first half of the 20th century, Dr Alfred Salter and his wife, Ada were Bermondsey legends; a deeply committed couple who devoted their lives to helping improve the lives of the poor by providing free healthcare (unheard of at the time) and improving local housing and amenities.
Dr Alfred and Ada
Working together as a team the couple lived alongside the folk of Bermondsey, amongst whom they were fondly known as Ada and Alf. Their daughter and only child, Joyce was also adored by locals, earning her the nickname; “Our little ray of sunshine.”
Tragically, Joyce contracted Scarlet Fever and died aged eight.
Statue of Joyce
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First created by artist, Diane Gorvin in 1991, ‘Dr Salter’s Daydream’ portrayed an elderly Dr Salter sitting on a bench, wistfully waving at an image of his daughter, imagining happier days, long gone by.
Diane Gorvin with her original Dr Salter sculpture in 1991
On the night of the 20th November 2011, the statue of Dr Salter was stolen (luckily the culprits didn’t manage to get their hands on the statue of Joyce and her little, pet cat which were quickly placed into safe storage by Southwark Council).
Joyce and her cat in November 2014, back where they belong
The anger felt in the aftermath of this cruel crime rapidly transformed into a campaign to reinstate the statues and within just three years enough money had been raised to recreate the sculpture- as well as a new one of Ada Salter, thus bestowing London with the first public statue of a female politician.
Ada Salter’s statue being unveiled by her grandniece, Janet
At 2pm on 30th November 2014, the new installation- by the same artist, Diane Gorvin– was unveiled in the presence of relatives of the Salters and the Rt Hon Simon Hughes MP for Bermondsey and Old Southwark.
Welcome back, dear friends.
My previous articles on the Salters can be read here and here.
The Salters Return
Nearly three years ago when this blog was in its infancy, I wrote a piece about ‘Doctor Salter’s Daydream’ statue; a public sculpture which was sadly stolen (most likely by scrap metal thieves) in November 2011.
The statue of Dr Salter which was stolen in 2011 (photo by Jim Linwood)
The statue’s theft was all the more cruel considering the background of the man whom it represented; Dr Alfred Salter, a humble Quaker born in Greenwich in 1873.
Aged just 16, Alfred won a scholarship to study medicine at Guy’s Hospital where he proved to be an outstanding student.
Doctor Alfred Salter (image: The Religious Society of Friends in Britain)
After qualifying as a doctor, Alfred and his beloved wife, Ada vowed to dedicate themselves to helping London’s poor and set up a practice on Bermondsey’s Jamaica Road, then at the heart of a deeply impoverished area.
Ada Salter
Their practice was revolutionary in that Dr Salter charged little or nothing at all for his services; a sort of prelude to today’s NHS.
In their quest to help London’s many downtrodden inhabitants, Alfred and Ada also turned to politics– and with great success, Alfred served on Bermondsey Borough Council and later went onto become MP for Bermondsey West in the 1920s.
Dr Alfred Salter canvassing in October 1909- as depicted by the ‘London Illustrated News’
Ada too served on Bermondsey council- becoming London’s first female councillor in the process and, in 1922 was elected Mayor of Bermondsey- thus becoming the UK’s first female, Labour Mayor.
Ada Salter with George Lansbury in 1930 (image: Southwark Local History Library & Archive)
Alfred and Ada lived on Stork’s Road, Bermondsey amongst their friends and patients and in 1902 had a daughter whom they named Joyce.
Loved by locals, the folk of Bermondsey fondly nicknamed Joyce, “our little ray of sunshine.”
Tragically Joyce died of scarlet fever at the tender age of eight.
Alfred and Ada never truly overcame their grief and placed a fresh vase of flowers on their mantelpiece every single morning in their daughter’s memory.
Dr Alfred Salter with his beloved Joyce
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In 1991, artist Diane Gorvin created an installation for Bermondsey Wall East featuring the kindly Dr Salter in old age, sitting on a bench which the public were invited to share.
Dr Salter’s original statue before its theft (image: The Salter Statues Campaign)
The sculpture of Dr Salter was waving at an image of his daughter, Joyce and her pet cat playing beside the Thames. Sadly, as the sculpture’s ‘daydream’ title suggests, the two little figures are simply memories; shadows of things that have been as Alfred remembers happier times.
Joyce and her cat. Luckily these two sculptures were not lifted by the scrap-metal thieves
This sculpture was by far my favorite in London and I was devastated when I discovered its cruel violation.
However, thanks to the marvelous work and fundraising of the Salter Statues Campaign, a replacement how now been created.
Artist’s impression of the new installation (image: Salter Statues Campaign)
Dr Salter has been recreated by Diane Gorvin and the original sculptures of Joyce and her cat (which the thieves thankfully didn’t bag and have been kept safe by Southwark Council since 2011) will be returned to their location.
Even better, Ada Salter will also be included- which means London will receive its first public statue of a female politician and trade unionist. Improved security will be installed to protect the figures.
The new and thoroughly deserving artwork will be unveiled on Bermondsey Wall East at 2pm, Sunday 30th November 2014.
Location of Dr Salter’s Daydream statue
I’ll certainly be there with my camera and I hope you can make it too to witness this wonderful event!
An article which I wrote back in May 2013 for LTDA Taxi Magazine details the story of Alfred and Ada and can be read below (please click to enlarge).
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View from the Mirror 