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BACK IN THE DAY

From gun-toting gangsters to beauty queens these stunning images show London’s black communities in the 1970s and 80s

A show launched ahead of the release of Idris Elba's Yardie explores the vibrancy and tensions among a marginalised people

AN evocative exhibition provides a snapshot of life for black Brits in the 1970s and 80s, from sound clashes to street parties.

The show was launched ahead of the release of Idris Elba's directorial debut Yardie to explore the vibrancy and tensions among a marginalised people through iconic photography.

A balaclava-clad boy wields a weapon in Young Gun, taken in 1969. The photo was taken by the Jamaica-born photographer Dennis Morris when he was just nine years old
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A balaclava-clad boy wields a weapon in Young Gun, taken in 1969. The photo was taken by the Jamaica-born photographer Dennis Morris when he was just nine years oldCredit: © Dennis Morris / Autograph ABP

Like Yardie, which explores the life of a young Jamaican man in 70s and 80s Hackney, these shots also explore life in London for underrepresented individuals.

One of the 25 photos on display reveals two men smoking a spliff in a bedsit, both in the shirts and flares of the 70s.

In another, a young boy stands before a brick wall, effortlessly cool in his white-framed sunglasses and immaculate buttoned-up shirt.

Dennis Morris, who took that photo, moved to Britain from Jamaica in the early 1960s and began taking photographs from the age of eight.

Sybil McLean smiles after being crowned Miss Black & Beautiful at Hammersmith Palais in London, 1972. The late Raphael Albert spent more than three decades documenting numerous black British beauty pageants and other cultural events
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Sybil McLean smiles after being crowned Miss Black &; Beautiful at Hammersmith Palais in London, 1972. The late Raphael Albert spent more than three decades documenting numerous black British beauty pageants and other cultural eventsCredit: © Raphael Albert/Autograph ABP
Two men smoke spliffs in a bedsit in Untitled, from the series The Black House, 1973-1976. Colin Jones was commissioned by the Sunday Times to take the photos for an article on the Harambee project in Islington, a government-funded housing project which aimed to support disillusioned black adolescents
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Two men smoke spliffs in a bedsit in Untitled, from the series The Black House, 1973-1976. Colin Jones was commissioned by the Sunday Times to take the photos for an article on the Harambee project in Islington, a government-funded housing project which aimed to support disillusioned black adolescentsCredit: © Colin Jones/Autograph ABP
Crowds gather for Carnival Sound System. Photographer Armet Francis was fascinated by representations of the black Diaspora on a global scale, and returned to Jamaica in 1969 to start a cross-cultural project entitled The Black Triangle, photographing black communities in Britain, Africa, and the Caribbean
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Crowds gather for Carnival Sound System. Photographer Armet Francis was fascinated by representations of the black Diaspora on a global scale, and returned to Jamaica in 1969 to start a cross-cultural project entitled The Black Triangle, photographing black communities in Britain, Africa, and the CaribbeanCredit: © Armet Francis/Autograph ABP
Colin Jones captures a group posing while smoking and looking bored, some leaning on trash cans. The photo Untitled, appears in the series The Black House, 1973-1976. Colin spent his childhood in working class East London while dancing for the English National Ballet
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Colin Jones captures a group posing while smoking and looking bored, some leaning on trash cans. The photo Untitled, appears in the series The Black House, 1973-1976. Colin spent his childhood in working class East London while dancing for the English National BalletCredit: © Colin Jones/Autograph ABP

In the exhibition he also documents London's sound system music scene - a subculture which first developed in Jamaica as DJs rivalled to build the best speaker system for their performances.

His snap of the Four Aces Club in Hackney celebrates a place where leading DJs held sound clashes playing the latest reggae and ska records.

The role of music in black communities is also highlighted through Arnet Francis' Carnival Sound System, where people crowd next to massive speakers outside homes.

While Raphael Albert's stunning shot showcases beauty queens of 1972, with a beaming Miss Black & Beautiful Sybil McLean congratulated by her fellow contestants on either side.

Four Aces Club in Hackney, where leading DJs held sound clashes playing the latest reggae and ska records. Taken in 1971
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Four Aces Club in Hackney, where leading DJs held sound clashes playing the latest reggae and ska records. Taken in 1971Credit: © Dennis Morris / Autograph ABP
Tex Ajentunmobi's photograph shows three friends hanging out in the East End in the 1970s
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Tex Ajentunmobi's photograph shows three friends hanging out in the East End in the 1970sCredit: © Bandele Tex Ajentunmobi/Autograph ABP
Skully Roots (Jeff Walwyn) with Majestic Sounds on his Militant Entertainment Tour in Leeds, 1979
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Skully Roots (Jeff Walwyn) with Majestic Sounds on his Militant Entertainment Tour in Leeds, 1979Credit: © Syd Shelton/Autograph ABP
Enjoying a day out in the East End, 1970s. Photographer Bandele Ajetunmobi – known as ‘Tex’ –was born in Nigeria in 1921. At the age of twenty-six he stowed away on a boat from Nigeria where he was an outcast on account of having polio as a child
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Enjoying a day out in the East End, 1970s. Photographer Bandele Ajetunmobi – known as ‘Tex’ –was born in Nigeria in 1921. At the age of twenty-six he stowed away on a boat from Nigeria where he was an outcast on account of having polio as a childCredit: © Bandele Tex Ajentunmobi/Autograph ABP

Other photos absorb London's street life, with groups of bored-looking, fashionable men posing in East London, one plonked on a dustbin.

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A darker side of community life is shown through a candid shot of a boy wearing a balaclava, waving a gun right next to the camera.

The works, which were selected by Hackney arts charity Autograph, set out to address the politics of race and representation.

Back in the Day: The autograph Archive X runs at Hackney Picturehouse until September 2. Entry is free.

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