John “Hoppy” Hopkins �...

Hoppy, one of the legendary figures of the British underground of the 1960s, is someone I’ve wanted to interview for years. The publication of his brilliant book of black and white photos ‘From The Hip’ provided the hook and the occasion to do so.

(A detailed review of this book of ‘lost’ photos, shot from 1961 to 1966, can be found here on The Generalist main site. Worth perhaps reading this first before settling down with the interview].

Information on Hoppy in print is relatively scarce. As he puts it: ‘I have walk-on parts in other people’s movies, which suits me fine.’ I gleaned what I could from Jonathan Green’s two seminal works ‘All Dressed Up: The Sixties and the Counterculture’ and ‘Days In The Life: Voices from the English Underground 1961-1971’, Barry Miles excellent memoir ‘In The Sixties’ and various other memorabilia from the HQINFO archive.

This interview adds to the record a lot of new background material about Hoppy’s early years and the path that led him to develop an interest in jazz and a period working for the Atomic Energy Authority, before getting involved in bohemian and underground scenes whilst becoming a successful photographer.

It concentrates on the period from his birth in 1937 to approx 1961. I think it really gives an impressionistic flavour of the mix of elements that made up the culture of the time, most of which Hoppy was involved in at one time or other.

The interview tries to hold onto a chronological sequence but there were many entertaining digressions en route and many possible story pathways. In addition, there were numerous topics to discuss about the photobook itself and the many interesting photos and characters within it. In the end, I just ran out of time.

So this is very much an hors d'œuvre, as the main course – Hoppy’s seminal activities in the 1960s underground – the UFO Club, the Roundhouse, International Times, the Notting Hill Free School etc. So watch out for Part Two.

Files

Interview, MP3 Size: 40.56MB, Length: 59:10 - CDN Link - Direct Link