Last week Blood Red Shoes rustled up doting fans, dawdling teenage misfits and our jetlagged intern to perform terribly destructive acts to make the video for upcoming single ‘Heartsink’. In colour coordinated black and blue, our sprightly Anna Cooke dived deep undercover, for seven stinking hours, to find out how many fame hungry fellows would readily destroy sentimental possessions for a bit of TV time and their love of Blood Red Shoes. Righto kids, it’s smashy smashy time.
The Lowdown:
“Have something sentimental with you to BREAK (like a photo of yr ex, yr mum's favourite plates, CDs, ANYTHING so long as it MEANS something to you to smash it to pieces)” - Blood Red Shoes
The Location:
The shoot took place at a locked-up demolition site in Colliers Wood, South London. Once we lowly bit-parts (including a Hawaiian shirt wearing pensioner) got in the large metal gates, the location was amazing; it was a disused car park that was falling to pieces with a huge pile of rubble at the front. When rounded up, we were given a disheartening little pep talk given by one of the directors: “Have fun, enjoy the day but, please, don’t die! This is my job, I like my job. If you die, I lose my job and no one’s happy.” Comforting.
The Extras
Once taken over to the biggest pile of rubble with our objects and given a place to stand, we couldn’t help but eagle-eye at the huge array of objects to destroy. While some brought electronic junk, from old computers, DVD players and PlayStations, a surprising amount of people brought the personal items BRS’s demanded. One girl had hospital papers from when she was ill, the band’s makeup artist brought an old doll with no eyes, with limbs falling off unsuspectingly, and another brought a large teddy bear that after being ripped to shreds in a rather Lord of The Flies fashion, the remanding head was worn by one of the extras.
Ine, 21, Belgium
Item To Destroy: A piggy bank
Reason: Given to her by an English boyfriend who wanted her to use it to save money to visit him, she had almost enough saved when she found out he had another girlfriend. Ine came from Belgium especially because had a dream that she was in a Blood Red Shoes video before she had even heard about the shoot, so she had to go!
Anna, 24, London
Item To Destroy: A vase filled with dead roses.
Reason: The roses were from her present boyfriend. She asked him before she smashed them so he wouldn’t be offended!
George, 17, London
?Item To Destroy: An old alarm clock
Reason: None given, though he ended up with cuts on his face after the final destruction shot.
Barney, 19, Manchester
Item to Destroy: He brought a garden gnome to smash.
Reason: It guards his cactus at home and he brought it because he loves the cactus too much to smash that. Barney woke up at five AM to come down from Manchester especially for the video. Blood Red Shoes are one of his favourite bands and he wanted to come to support the band.
Emmely (left), 19, New Cross
Item To Destroy: Brought light bulbs and a hammer to smash them with.
Natalie (right), 20, New Cross
Item To Destroy: Meringues with a mallet she brought.
Charlotte (left), 17, Camden
Item To Destroy: Wine bottle
Kieron (right), 18, London
Item To Destroy: An old vinyl
The Filming
Give a chance for some lay about youths to let out their inner chaos and pyro “let’s set shit on fire” demons and blood will be shed. After getting off to a slow start, staring zombified in one direction while the band got their music on, everyone became passionate for the final shot - breaking their object, from crying guitars to rosy typewriters while Laura from Blood Red Shoes attacked Steve’s drum kit.
During a much needed break from standing on uneven rubble and the many barking orders from the directors, we stars returned to find some smart-alec had changed the padlock code, and we were locked out. While some risked a daredevil infection by sliding under the metal gates, whom else but a friendly homeless chap turned up on his bike, with unlimited tools in his dodgy red rucksack and broke us in. Sadly the said Fagin fellow was turned away from filming.