Paper Anarchy for the UK: Michael de Larrabeiti’s Borribles, punk and protest Alison Baker, University of East London This paper will discuss the political, social and cultural background of London in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and how it operated as a background to the Borribles trilogy by Michael de Larrabeiti. The trilogy was published in a time of intense political and social upheaval in the UK. The first novel, The Borribles, was published in 1976, the year of a heatwave and severe drought, a change in leadership of the governing Labour party, riot at the Notting Hill carnival and the release of what is considered the first punk single in the UK; New Rose by the Damned. De Larrabeiti was in his 40s when he wrote and published The Borribles; a veteran travel and thriller writer, he failed his 11+ exam to grammar school. He had led a varied and interesting career in the 9 years it took him to pass his A levels- he kept having to leave technical college to earn money. He grew up in Clapham and Battersea, where The Borribles begins. Borribles could be described as feral Lost Boys and Girls from Peter Pan. They are runaway children, who have all had a Bad Start. Normal kids turn into Borribles very slowly, almost without being aware of it; but one day they wake up and there it is… A child disappears from a school and the word goes round that he was “unmanageable”; the chances are that he’s off managing himself. They are identified by their pointed ears, which they cover with knitted hats; like Peter Pan they never grow up. They live by squatting in abandoned buildings and by stealing what they need; in this way they have predecessors in Mary Norton’s The Borrowers (1952), Elisabeth Beresford’s Wombles (1968) and JRR Tolkein’s Hobbits, more of whom later. In de Larrabeiti’s obituary, the Daily Telegraph described the setting of The Borribles as “grim and unremittingly violent futureworld” (May 8th 2008). A contemporary review of the first novel from the LA times described it as a “dystopia”. However, in the summer of 1976 during a drought, there was a refuse collection strike. In her memoir, Viv Albertine describes the West End of London: Outside, Oxford Street looks Dickensian. Most of the shops are boarded up, there are mountains of rotting rubbish piled along the edge of the pavements because of the dustman’s strike and half the street lamps are off due to electricity rationing. What the LA Times of 1976 and the Telegraph’s obituary writer in 2008 considered dystopian was the reality of London on the verge of political change, with increasing unrest due to unemployment and lack of opportunities for young people. 1.5 milliion people were classified as unemployed in 1975. Homelessness was also high, and as a result, squatting was for many people a necessity. In the second book in the trilogy, The Borribles go for Broke (1982) de Larrabeiti writes: Running away from home, squatting in derelict houses and taking orders from no one is not neat, nor is it tidy (pg 6). De Larrabeiti describes the Borribles as delighting in freedom and having no real leaders, although “someone may pop into prominence from time to time, perhaps because he has had a good idea and wants to carry it through” (1976, pg 14). This is reflected in the anarcho-punk movement that followed, particularly when seen from a feminist perspective. Ruth Elias from Hagar the Womb remembers the genesis of the band in 1980: At the time, we girls were really pissed off with the guys who had elected themselves the movers and shakers in the Wapping Anarchy Centre… They had an attitude and an almost unshakeable sense of authority and we, the few girls there, were finding it really hard to get ourselves heard or involved in any sense…” (2014, pg 154). The first novel of the trilogy, The Borribles, de Larrabeiti refers to stories as the oral tradition that the Borribles use for self-expression, reinforcing their identity, protest, exhortation, example and celebration. In the second novel, The Borribles Go For Broke (1981) song is used spontaneously by Borrible Knocker to celebrate the end of an adventure: Hip hip hooray- we’ve won the day! We ride victorious from the fray! Three cheers for Knibbsie! Three cheers for Ben! And Donner and Blitzen! Three cheers for them! Defying the odds they’ve brought us free Of Sussworth, Hanks and the SBG. Toast them in beer for all they’ve done- Honorary Borribles, every one! This song is reminiscent also of the songs from Tolkein’s works; in a 1978 interview paraphrased by his obituary in the Times, de Larrabeiti remarked that The Hobbit and other children’s adventure novels were “a bloody long way from Battersea”. Upon the hearth the fire is red, Beneath the roof there is a bed; But not yet weary are out feet, Still round the corner we may meet A sudden tree or standing stone That none have seen but we alone. Tree and flower and leaf and grass, Let them pass! Let them pass! Hill and water under sky, Pass them by! Pass them by! (Tolkein, 1954) The overt political protest in this second novel, and the third, The Borribes across the Dark Metropolis is striking in a children’s novel. The SBG in 1981’s The Borribles Go For Broke (Special Borrible Group, formed to stamp out Borribles by catching them and clipping their ears) is clearly a comment on the Special Patrol Group, a controversial division of the London Metropolitan Police whose role was to counter protest and civil disorder, who were implicated in the death of New Zealand teacher Blair Peach at a protest against the National Front in culturally diverse Southall, 1979. The final book’s publication was delayed until 1986, as it was felt to be politically inflammatory after the riots in the early 1980s: Inspector Sussworth’s name comes from the ‘sus’ laws- stop and search under suspicion that a suspected person was in breach of the 1824 Vagrancy act. This was used disproportionally against young men of colour. Songs and oral traditions- rhymes, proverbs and stories- are also used in the second and third novels by other characters, notably Inspector Sussworth and the repulsive Queen Mum, an alcoholic gang boss living under St Pancras station. When used by these characters, song has an almost Brechtian effect of alienation, slowing the action down and revealing their motivations: To make a new society We must reform the human race If the world were just like me The world would be a better place… I hate the fools who won’t obey The rules we set for them to keep It’s criminal to err and stray- Good citizens behave like sheep! sings Inspector Sussworth (1981, pg 76). Viv Albertine, guitarist of punk band The Slits, states that nursery rhymes and playground songs, such as clapping games and skipping rhymes, are an inherently female form, passed on from older girls and women to younger ones (pg 232). As Alison Lurie states (1990, pg 19) those rhymes are often much less innocent than adults think; such as the lyrics from this popular skipping rhyme: Not last night but the night before 24 robbers came knocking on my door As I ran out, they ran in And this is what they said to me: Little Spanish lady turn around Little Spanish lady touch the ground Little Spanish lady do the splits Little Spanish lady show your knicks (knickers). Ruth Elias from Hagar the Womb remembers singing a subverted children’s song as part of early sets: Puff the Magic Dragon lives by the sea He doesn’t have much to do but he believes in Anarchyyyyyy (2014, pg 159). This song stood alongside more obviously political songs such as Dressed to Kill, Today’s Miss World and For the Ferryman. To conclude, the political situation in the late 1970s and early 1980s, including the ending of heavy industry, the lessening of the power of unions, the rise of neo-liberal politics and privatisation under the successive Conservative governments that led to mass youth unemployment, the Falklands war and the use of police powers to stop and search young people of colour is the background to both the Borribles books and the contemporary punk scene, particularly the woman fronted bands. The Borribles are back in print, with a forward by China Mieville, who is a great admirer. References Albertine, V. (2014) Clothes Clothes Clothes Music Music Music Boys Boys Boys London: Faber & Faber De Larrabeiti, M. (1976) The Borribles London: Piper De Larrabeiti, M. (1981) The Borribles Go For Broke New York: Ace De Larrabeiti, M. (1986) The Borribles Across The Dark Metropolis New York: Tor Glasper, I. (2014) The Day the Music Died: A History of Anarcho-Punk 1980-1984 Oakland, CA: PM Press Lurie, A. (1990) Not in front of the Grown Ups: Subversive Children’s Literature London: Bloomsbury Mieville, C. (2001) Introduction to The Borribles http://www.tor.com/2014/03/13/the-borribles-excerpt-introduction-china-mieville/ (retrieved 24/7/17) The Telegraph obituary of Michael De Larrabeiti http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1935822/Michael-de-Larrabeiti.html (retrieved 24/7/17) The Times’ obituary of Michael De Larrabeiti https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/michael-de-larrabeiti-p8cjfh5zl00 (retrieved 24/7/17) Tolkein, JRR. (2012, 1954) The Fellowship of the Ring London: HarperCollins 6