Ray Jones and Phoning Ian Bone

Having originally bought the book at the anarchist book fair it wasn’t until six months later that I finally began to read and laugh along with the stories of Ian’s life, what stuck out for me was the clear narration – angry and in your face yet humorous and witty at the same time – I jokingly thought wouldn’t this make a funny film. It chronicles 30 years of radical British history. It would be an epic challenge but wouldn’t it be wonderful to bring that recent past into the present in an engaging, enlightening and entertaining way. As I read on a name rang a bell – Fabian Tompsett – a guy I’d met when I made a short film about the 121 Centre in Railton Road, it was part of a drama documentary module at film school, everyone else was making costume dramas so fuck it I thought I’d make a short film about a squat and it’s eviction. This was the first time I came across Class War in a copy of Decade Of Disorder found in the library when researching my student film called Section Six. After film school in 2003 I met Fabian again, our film collective which we had set up, cleverly called Collective Vision ran “Free Cinema” nights at LARC in Whitechapel. It was at one of these very screenings I met a big, burly man called Martin who would sit around the projector and smoke dope with us. A real friendly geezer. And as I am reading Ian’s book this character Martin Wright is mentioned – a fearless and semi-psychotic character – it can’t be can it…

Get lost in the completion of “Kapital” for the Manchester International Festival premiere. Write a new script set in Soho. But the book is still in the back of the mind. I am a massive reader, always have been since a kid, always trying to escape. Read more books than I watch films in all honesty. But I had never thought I would want to make a book into a film. But there was something there that ignited a spark in the Hall imagination. I Present a “No-Budget Filmmaking Masterclass” at the Portobello Film Festival 2007 in August – chatting with the festival director Jonathan Barnett he tells me he knows Ian Bone and might be able to get hold of his number – stroke of luck for asking. And the luck continues. Ten minutes later smoking a cigarette outside Westbourne Studios and Jonathan introduces me to the Roughler TV duo who want to do an interview – behind the camera Piers Thompson – and the interviewer was none other than one of the books characters former Page 3 singer Ray Jones. I’m pretty drunk by this time and find Ray absolutely hilarious – bubbling with enthusiasm and optimism – the interview goes really well. And its great promotion as The Plague was making it’s TV debut on BBC2 as part of the British Film Forever season two days later. I tell Ray about wanting to make Bash The Rich into a film. He loves the idea. Phones Ian there and then. Hands me his home phone number saying that Ian is expecting my call.