Exclusive Nick Love interview for 80's Casuals.
January 2006 sees the release to DVD of 'The Business'. A journey of gangsterism from South London to the South of Spain. Set in the heady Thatcherite days of 80's excess, the film takes us on a trip of fast cars, money, drugs and clothes. Clothes maketh the man, but in this tale, clothes certainly maketh the film. The look that defined a generation is imaginatively captured against a backdrop of 80's music. Writer/Director Nick Love gives Dave Hewitson an exclusive insight into his love affair with 80's clothes and music.
Nick Loves two previous films were 'Goodbye Charlie Bright'. A humourous tale of two teenagers on a South London estate chasing girls, partying and being involved in petty crime. As with each of Nicks films, style is of the essence with Charlie and his mates taking pride in their designer wardrobe.
'The Football Factory' based on the acclaimed novel by John King follows three central characters who get their kicks [sic] from football violence. Love it or hate it The Football Factory stands as a social document of a 90's culture which many film Directors would not contemplate putting on the big screen.
As Thomas Dolby once said 'tell me about your childhood’
Thanks for your time Nick cheers dave
1] As a teenage Casual, who influenced you to dress that way?
As a teenage Casual the people that influenced most were the older kids from our estate in Thames Street (Deptford/Greenwich area in South East London. They were all Millwall boys and were the first from our neck of the woods to get up to Nick Nacks and Lillywhites which were the two main places in London to buy casual gear in 79/80/81
2] What was your favourite gear from the 80's?
My favourite gear from the 80's was both Fila and Sergio. I think the fact they were Italian tennis gear made them exotic. Fila BJ was the holy grail, Terrinda and the Sergio Dallas in light blue and cream was of another planet. I also liked some of the Fila colours from 83/84 when they got a bit nutty with colours, although I think I'd rather shoot myself than wear some of that gear now - but I still have a Terrinda in dark blue (worn by Charlie in the business) a Sergio Dallas and red Fila wham top (white stripes on left arm) in my wardrobe!
3] and the most expensive in your wardrobe?
I think the Terrinda was the most expensive but as a kid I was a thieving little cunt so I didn't pay for much of it!
4] Where d'ya get yer trainees from?
Back in the day I got trainers from Lillywhites or Olympus Sports on Oxford Street. They both had all the Diadora range and in those days you could slip on a nice pair of Borg Elites and do a runner from the shop (leaving a fucked pair of adidas Kick) for the shop assistants.
5] What were your first trainers?
My first trainers were always adidas. Kick, Samba, TRX, Mamba. The problem with Kicks were the toe scuffed badly the first time you played football in the playground with them.
6] Do you collect any of the sportswear from that era?
As I said before, I've still got a Terrinda, a bit of Sergio and a couple of BJ warm ups, but having made the business I feel like I'd seen enough to keep me happy for a couple of years. Sergio made some really cool limited Business tracky tops and I'll be keeping those for ever (but I may have one spare to stick on the web site if you want - for charity or something)
7] Did you make any fashion mistakes?
Fashion mistakes? I'm from South East London. We never made mistakes. We ARE fashion.
8] Does the title come from the drug business or 'looking the business'?
The title of the business is supposed to be a bit tongue in cheek - a bit of everything really - the 80's was, as you know, the era of looking the business and hopefully the film itself, is the business. For some people anyway!
9] Also the saying 'Be Someone', how did that come about?
The 80's was always about being someone. I think Thatcher gave us the idea we could be anyone we wanted to be - although she was totally insane, she did have some bright ideas about the working classes being able to crack on in life. Also, it's a fantasy moment - and I always try to lift my films slightly out of the ordinary so they don't feel like depressing council estate dramas. All three of my films have odd moments and lots of bright colours which hopefully gives the audience a feeling of strange cinematic world as opposed to the norm. Things like 'Be Someone' really jar some people but others love it. You can only make what you see as good and not be swayed but what other people think.
10] Tell us about the clothes, where did the tracksuits and sportswear come from, and how much did you pay, was there any product placement?
The clothes essentially came from eBay and various shops from across the globe. I was buying gear from eBay before I wrote the script as I knew the film would be set in the 80's. Anyone that knows me knows I have an obsession with the 80's clothes and music and it was only ever a matter of time before I made a film using all my nostalgic knowledge! Sergio helped us out with some of their old gear but Fila had a fire at their museum warehouse in Italy so had none of their decent gear left. They did offer to buy any of the gear we used in the film from us as they needed to re-stock their warehouse. Sadly, apart from the boys at Sergio who are top lads, the people running the PR departments in these companies are young and just don't get the 80's fashion thing. People like you and me could be talking for days about the casual scene and they would be bored out of their fucking minds!
11] The music is from different years throughout the 80's, so it's hard to define a year, but was there was a reason for this?
The music being from different era of the 80's was down to money. We just didn't have the cash to be picky. The whole film was made for under two million pounds and some bands from the 80's want £250,000 to clear just one song. We were really lucky to have EMI on board and bands like Frankie and Duran Duran gave their songs for a fraction of what they're worth. But it's all about cash at the end of the day.
12] At the start of the film, Charlie wears an open neck shirt, but by the end all the gangsters are running around in designer tracksuits, was this something you had in mind from the start?
I suppose Charlie's appearance change is a metaphor for his state of mind. He starts off looking very cool and by the end of the film he's running around in a fucking awful adidas electric pink tracky. It was to show his decline.
13] You obviously wanted to do an 80's film with all the designer sportswear but was it always going to be a gangster film?
Good question. The main reason the film became a gangster film was because I wanted to set it outside England for the look. I didn't want to make a grey inner city 80's film (as we all remember it) - I wanted to make it look really flash and over the top so I decided to set it on the Costa del Sol, and as we all know there was a big community of gangsters living it up down there in the 80's - so that's why it was a gangster film. I wanted to show the rise and fall of Thatcherism and where better to do it than somewhere that was full of flash people with bundles of cash.
14] In hindsight, would you change anything about the film?
I would change the Carly character a bit. I'm crap at writing women and if I could do it all again, I would have made her a more rounded character, rather than a sex object. She should be brighter than she is and that's my fault. Apart from that, I love it. It's not everyone's cup of tea as some people hated the 80's and wouldn't watch on that aspect alone, but flipside to that coin is, a lot of people love it as it's the first retro film about the 80's in England, and as you and me both know from things like this website - it's a big movement thats growing and growing.
15] Any more plans for fashion type films as all three of your films are very style conscious?
My films will always be fashion aware as I am as a person. My next film Outlaw is about people from several different classes and walks of life, so it will interesting to approach the fashion in it. I am thinking Stone Island and CP goggle jackets, crossed with Turnbull and Asser suits and made to measure wing tip shirts! Should be fun.
16] What are your plans for 2006?
2006 is all about Outlaw. Check out the website from jan 30th www.outlawthemovie.com - It's a film about England melting into a chav and gang run horror show, and a group of vigilantes that decide for a number of different reasons and motives, to form an outlaw posse and deal with the criminals themselves. It's a naughty story that needs to be told and the film will be full of the old ultra Violence.
17] and finally Nick, what trainers do you wear nowadays?
These days I'm a Spring Court man. Simple french pumps with peppermint soles to prevent smelly feet. Also, as I am from South East London, I still have white Reeboks!!!!!!!!!
Cheers Dave - Hope this is of some help to you.
Best.
NICK LOVE. 80s CASUALS 2005