GLASGOW vs BIRMINGHAM

Legend Joe and his tiki Hut Building skills

1st ever B.Y.O.P party (PINEAPPLE for anyone who don't get it)

At last got chance to get round to updating the epic battle that took place in Glasgow on September the 4th at the Glasgow Clutha Vaults!

The Birmingham team have updated their blog (Group 2) with flicks of the night as our photographer was a no show and with it being so packed it was next to impossible to realise this till next day...but no worries! Our film crew captured it on film on the night.

First of all allot of respect and huge shout out has to go out to the Glasgow Secret Wars team member 'Vues' who was the main influence and man who really helped make this epic party happen with it being his venue and amazing contacts (sorry again big man for not enough coverage of you being on the vid... too busy turning the chicken on the BBQ!) Don't want to get into thanking everyone..as its a huge list!and there is always someone who accidentally gets missed out or name misspelt.. Check vid credits for the shout outs!

The night was epic, allot of blood, sweat and pineapple juice went into making this night happen, truly the best party to happen in Glasgow this Summer. Besides the fresh and good upbeat vibe from the party, the Artists all round put on a great show with impressive art on both sides and both teams played beautifully on how our team Glasgow realised it was the end for us!

With team Glasgow stating 'Game Over' with our team mates all crying and giving up...team Brum pulled out an hilarious concept based on a helicopter search that happened the previous night before involving someone jumping into the Clyde (not that that particular incident is funny of course!) all in all, with everyone so hyped and for most people who most likely couldn't hear me (conzo) with my scarecrow choking on a curly wurly shouting voice ( due to law, amplified sound was not aloud outdoors in beer garden..we couldn't get hold of Megaphone we were promised on the night) the final score was 2:1 to Glasgow... but regardless..Brum team had more points overall so went through into the Semi Finals!

Cheers for a quality battle Brum!

Big thanks to everyone and Secret Wars fam and fans.... till next year we will be dabbing our markers waiting to fight again.

TEAM GLASGOW

p.s any one who got good flicks of the nights..please pass on link!

Secret Wars Euro League 2010 - GLASGOW vs BIRMINGHAM

MALMÖ vs GLASGOW, 24th July

The final battle of group 1..
We've been on a six month roller coaster of art! ..and on Saturday it was time to wrap this stage of the Euro League.

As Warsaw had beaten Bristol 2-1 earlier in the week, neither Malmö or Glasgow could miss out on a place in the quarter finals. This battle was for honour and the group win only.

The setting for this event was (after some problems detailed here and here) the last ever Möllevångs Festival. A somewhat early start just after the big carnival parade produced a curious but not so enthusiastic crowd. No matter! The power of Secret Wars soon had everyone hypnotized by the white wall.


The Scots were looking for revenge after going down on home soil to an all-female Malmö team back in cold February. The weather has certainly changed since then and maybe the Glaswegians fortune was about to...as they ripped straight into a very funny Swedish-chef-from-the-Muppets-piece. Nice clean lines and a very coherent image - and a really funny concept! (bonus points for being the first team NOT using any kind of viking reference when battling Team Malmö..).
The home side's response was all about energy and style - using the Möllevångs festival itself as the inspiration and producing all kinds of crazy characters.


Very intense battle with two completely different approaches. After 90 min it was time to produce a winner and whatever happened it was sure to be interesting..
First up was the crowd's vote. Glasgow got a very good 108,1 and maybe Malmö was about to lose the crowd for the second time running!? Non-battling Malmö team member Pistolina looked desperate as she jumped up and down screaming her lungs out for the top spot...and it worked! 108,7 - close, but none the less 1-0 to the Swedes.
First judge was local artist and columnist Behrang Miri. He made it 2-0 to Malmö and all the tension was gone. Möllan legend Dick from Impala also cast his vote for the home team and what could have swung either way had ended a comfortable 3-0 victory.


A very nice and intimate outdoor event. Around 300 people gathered for the judging, and another few hundreds passed through during the ninety minutes. Secret Wars in Malmö is normally all out craziness, but we enjoy mixing it up now and then.. :)


A few words to be said about the judging and in particular the difference in art style between countries..
Through working with Secret Wars I regularly deal with a great number of both British and Scandinavian artists and I have noticed some very distinct differences in what is considered good Secret Wars art. British artists tend to value technical skill and clean styles, while Scandi artists seem to value individuality and energy above other things. This obviously creates a lot of raised eyebrows when it comes to something as difficult (impossible?) as judging art...but I guess that is the beauty of Secret Wars. A finished battle board that doesn't spark a discussion is not good enough if you ask me!

We want to thank everyone who supports Secret Wars in Malmö and in particular Pierre, Hanna, Möllevångsfestivalen, The Boom Bap, Behrang Miri, Dick från Impala, Sonny, Reebok, Edding, Casio, Terry, Ro and of course everyone who attended Saturdays event!
(All pics by Sonny Johansson)

GLASGOW vs. BRISTOL - VIDEO

MALMÖ vs WARSAW; F**K THE POLICE!

Okay.. People wanna know what really happened last week..


Let's start with the important bit:

MALMÖ vs WARSAW 2 - 1


Team Malmö claimed a third straight 2-1 victory in this exciting meeting of the two so far undefeated sides.
For reasons explained further down the start of the battle got a bit rushed, but once up and running both teams looked comfortable.
The all-female (!) Malmö team tried a fun approach, playing hangman with the audience.. In the end the polish characters got hanged and the letters spelled out "Absolut Kurwa" (translation unnecessary..). Team Warsaw replied with some expert penmanship - creating a very interesting piece using the good ol' viking dizz.


This was a very tight battle and when it was time for the winners to be picked it was clear it could go either way.
First judge, Secret Wars harshest critic, Kajsa from Popponny stepped up and voted for Malmö. Next was the crowd's vote....and Warsaw got it with a massive margin!! Whaaat?!
1-1 and time for young graffiti connoisseur Morgan to cast the final vote. Took some time for him to get on stage cus he was out the back snogging his gf! Finally he got up and after some serious thought it was Malmö aaall the way.. 2 - 1 to Team Malmö!


This leaves Malmö alone at the summit of group 1. Can they be stopped from reaching the playoffs or is it gunna be plain sailing from here? It's all up to revenge hungry Team Bristol this weekend, not to be missed!!


The dramatic bit:

With a track record any nightclub in the world would be proud of Secret Wars has given the Malmö art lovers a peaceful way of enjoying themselves for over two years now. Nine massive events and NOT ONE single incident worthy of police attention! We honestly thought the long arm of the law understood..
..but No! Last Saturday just before midnight the police showed up armed with a prosecutor and an unhealthy attitude problem.
While Markus MacGyver tried to stall the police outside the venue yours truly ran in and started the battle. None of the teams were ready to go but we had no choice, only some paperwork stopped the police from clearing the venue immediately and the battle had to get done - stress!
With the six artists finally treating the white wall to some black ink I got down from the stage and was greeted by 120 kg of police officer and a ride to the station..
After questioning, urine sample (fingers crossed that joint in 2003 is through the system..;) and even being held accountable for Markus's turquoise baseball bat (!) I was back on the street...but in a completely different part of the city!? With 20 min until end of battle and not a single taxi available I had no choice but to put my Reeboks to the test: 2 am, running through the streets of Malmö, on my phone listening to Markus arguing with the police chief - stupid situation.

In the end I managed to hijack a pre-booked cab and I literally jumped out of the car and ran straight on stage to start the countdown. Imagine my surprise when there was still 600 people cheering the artists on and dancing like crazy!
BIG up to our loyal fans that refused to stop partying. In the end the police closed it all down and threw everyone out, but we still had a great night!


Thanks to Filip, Pierre, Viktor, Antti, Hannah, Lina, Sonny, The DJ's: AKAI One - Simón De La Onda - Rob Love - Kristian från Discobelle, Reebok, Edding, Casio, Flip Video, our mothers and of course everyone who came out to pARTy with us!! Thank you.

A few hours to go..

MALMÖ vs WARSAW count down!

The Polish team has arrived (we think.. no-one has seen them!?). The venue has gone through a very extreme makeover. The Malmö team wants blood. The sun is shining.
YES tonight is gunna be MASSIVE!

ÖSTRA VARVSGATAN 21



Being part of Secret Wars is all champagne, fast cars, fast art and glamour..


..and a tiny bit of hard work. See you tonight!

BRISTOL vs GLASGOW - 2-1

n unofficial update on the Bristol vs. Glasgow game, images are ll from phone will be hi-res full shots from the Bristol team eventually to have a gander at.

Our team (Glasgow) decided to skip the flights and just drive down to Bristol so we could stop for some krispy kremes on the way!

After we checked in it was straight to battle at the 'Start the Bus' venue.

It was a tense and sweaty battle, the Bristol gents went big and bold and fast, covering the whole wall nicely with funny Glasgow disses.

Our team decided to do something a bit different than the usual take a diss at a stereotype of that country or City which has always been the main ammunition for Secret Wars. We played on the fact that the Bristol team at the time had been bet by every team and only had 2 points, and made this into a representation with balloons, each with 1 point on them and how they were being given out to every other team besides Bristol. So we have an Inkie ladyboy with a boob job using up their only 2 points for himself, leaving his baby team all in a pram taking a fit and crying wanting some too.

In the end, the Bristol team won 2 -1 and earned and deserved the points.

And Inkie! what happened to our free booze eh? ;)

GLASGOW vs. BRISTOL - 3 - 0 to Glasgow!

One of the most interesting and feared matches for Glasgow so far, when we found out we were up against ‘Inkie’ ‘Andy Council’ and ‘Cheo’ you would of thought the Glasgow team would have been well prepared with sketches/concepts an compositions against these talented adversaries … No…we were not!

Artist ‘Elph’ nearly not making night at all (being on a holiday caravan trip past week! thinking battle was the original date Thursday 29 still) and artist ‘Rekor’ being stuck working on his workshop with his gallery Recoat an it didn’t help with me being the promoter still flyering clubs/bars/colleges/art school as well as carrying and nailing the 8x4ft boards for the battle beforehand! So within minuets of the battle starting the Bristol team had clearly rehearsed in their heads with what they were doing, solid lines where straight up, within moments, Inkie had his girl up wowing the crowd. Where our team, were waffling about scratching our heads getting an idea down!

30mins in, we started to add our solid lines up with a concept decided on too, we were still behind. It’s safe to say we were all touching cloth!

Eventually after an extremely fast 90min, we finished! Leaving last bit of text till last ‘Living in the Shadow of Banksy’ with a huge gorilla built rat casting a shadow on the Bristol artists fleeing and Bristol doing what seemed like a positive pro Scotland piece which I only got round to realising the next day when I became sober!!

Our judges ‘Daro’ from Monster-color paint and legendary old school Scotland graffiti artist ‘Gaz Mac’ both going for Glasgow, with one controversial judge vote stating they would of went for Bristol if it was just Inkie. Glasgow won the crowd vote by 10decibels. Giving us 3points!

Big shout out and thanks to the Bristol Artists for an amazing battle, Spectrum Dj’s, B- Tone for dropping a heavy bassy sick set during the battle and throughout the night. Convoi Exceptional with their amazing blends of live singing of Hip Hop/Electro. Camera guy Colin Wood! Carrie and her Camera Crew too, Photographer ‘Mateusz Sleczka’ the Host Bob and everyone who help out with PR also our sponsors and finally Golder who was my human ladder from the crowd to reach the high spots!

Next battle For Glasgow ‘MAY 14^th’ BRISTOL ROUND 2!

See ya there!

Conzo – Glasgow Team

GLASGOW vs. MALMO video

MALMÖ vs BRISTOL, 2nd Round - March 27th

The third year of Secret Wars has kicked off in Malmö, the art capital of Sweden!

Team Bristol lost a very controversial home game in the first round and they travelled to Sweden looking for revenge and some well needed points. Team Malmö on the other hand had surprisingly won away in Glasgow and could already smell the scent of the play-offs...great chance to stamp some authority over Group 1 with a another win..

Secret Wars Malmö has provided a tour of the city's derelict industrial buildings the last few years...and thanks to Smutsiga Södern's own Markus MacGyver the address for another crazy warehouse was discreetly revealed the night before the battle. Good job we didn't advertise it any more as over a thousand people turned up!!


After fielding a very successful all women team in round one, Malmö's coaching duo decided to give experienced reigning city champion Ossian and new boy Pagliuca the chance to shine before the home crowd. Together with Camilla they didn't hold back as her majesty the Queen got bundled with CCTV, sexual inuendo and the almost obligatory bad teeth-dizzz..

The Bristolians came back with a IKEA flatpack punchline involving the Malmö team's female viking/valkyrie character from the first round.
Halfway through the Englishmen looked to have the upper hand. More precise lines and great stage presence was weighing heavily in their favour...but as the (Casio) clock approached 90 min the Malmö team began putting their scattered bits and pieces together. In the end a very nicely composed battle wall with a great atmosphere emerged.


The judging got very dramatic as the first judge voted in favour of the away team! The crowd levelled the score before the last judge made the crowd go wild by flippin a board that said "I love Malmö".. 2-1 to Team Malmö!


That was the cue for some crazy partying and when we closed at 7am over 1000 people had been through the doors - whaaat a night!!



A big shout out and a super-thanks to Filip, Pierre, Hannah, Lina, Viktor, Antti, Martin, Karolina, Ehsan, Simon, Bengan, the amazing DJ's: Rob Love from Liljellylove, Simón & Akai One from La Onda...and everyone else that helped out!!


(Pics by Tommi Ronnqvist, Olle Guldöga & Karolina Wojcik - more to come!)