With Coe on alto saxophone and ‘additional cacophonies’, Louis Colan on bass and Gene Velocette on drums, Xero Slingsby and The Works were a much-loved fixture of the jazz bars and clubs across the north of England, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands in the early 1980s, releasing two albums ‘Shove It’ and ‘Up Down’ in 1985 and 1986 respectively.
Next year, 2023, will mark 40 years since Coe formed Xero Slingsby and The Works.
The feature-length documentary directed by Robert Stanley Crampton celebrates Coe’s short but stellar life and career – lovingly chronicled by his bandmates, friends and family. From his start busking on the streets of Leeds and West Yorkshire (for which he was arrested over 40 times) to The Works’ success on the live circuit across Europe, we witness his tirelessly passionate spirit first-hand through high-energy concert footage and interviews.
Coe died aged 30 of cancer following a brain tumour in 1988, yet his music and unique style of playing the sax is still influencing musicians far and wide today.
‘Shove It – the Xero Slingsby story’ is an independent production from The Stanley Studio (thestaneystudio.com). The film was financed through a crowdfunding appeal in March 2022, and was shot in Leeds, Newcastle upon Tyne, Skipton, London, Ghent and Amsterdam in May and June 2022. The film premieres at the Leeds International Film Festival in November and has its North East premiere at the North East International Film Festival later the same month.
‘Shove It’ features many well-known faces from the music
industry who either knew, played with or have been influenced by Matthew,
including actor and musician Jimmy Nail, saxophonist Snake Davis,
free jazz musician Alan Wilkinson, and Dutch jazz star Benjamin
Herman. Friends and family featured in the film include Leeds artist Charlie
Burman, jazz musicians Paul Hession, Richard Bostock and Ansell
Broderick, Works bandmates Louis Colan and Gene Velocette, Matthew’s
mother Sheila Coe, sister Sophie Sinclair, and widow Sally Coe
– who co-produced the film.
As part of the crowdfunding appeal Crampton and Sally Coe
asked Slingsby fans for any unknown additional material relating to the band,
and were happy to receive a number of bootleg recordings from gigs in the
Netherlands, as well as numerous never-before-seen photographs of the band– many
of which feature in the finished film together with rare archive footage of the
band performing live, Matthew busking on the streets of Leeds, and home-movies
originally shot on Super8 film.
Says Robert Stanley Crampton:
“Matthew Coe’s genius deserves to be celebrated. The film is the story of his music, his musicianship, his influences and those he has influenced. It’s a story about creativity in the face of adversity, about living to make music, and making music to live. And it’s also a very touching story about love and friendship and memory: one of the most striking things I found when making the film was just how much love for Matthew, for the man not just his music, is still out there – nearly 40 years after his death. It’s testament to him and his energy that here we are all these years later still talking about him, still listening to his music and still finding it fresh and exciting.”
Matthew’s widow, Sally Coe, adds:
“Matthew was an inspiration to many through his music. Still, today, he’s important to musicians in Leeds and in the jazz bars and clubs in Europe, and this film is the perfect way to ensure Matthew can inspire a new generation of Xero Slingsbys – his story is an important part of Leeds music heritage. Next year, 2023, will be 40 years since he formed Xero Slingsby and the Works: the film is a perfect way to mark the anniversary, and will be an important contribution to the ‘LEEDS 2023 Year of Culture’ celebrations.”
Director Robert Stanley Crampton is an award-winning filmmaker and has previously made films for Guinness, South Australia Tourism, Visit Finland, Inntravel, and many TV commercials – ‘Shove It’ is his first feature-length documentary. Crampton studied at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne and had plays performed at the Gulbenkian Studio Theatre. Born in Liverpool, his early years were spent in Chester-le-Street before moving to York. He now lives and works in Oxfordshire.
Shove It – the
Xero Slingsby story, UK 2022
Nov. 19: Jam Jar Cinema, Whitley Bay. 7:30pm.
Nov. 20: Star & Shadow Cinema, Newcastle. 1:00pm.
English language
Running time approx. 100 minutes, Colour and Black & White
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