ELAINE CONSTANTINE Burn up, Northampton 1997

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ELAINE CONSTANTINE Burn up, Northampton 1997

ELAINE CONSTANTINE Burn up, Northampton 1997 is a Café Royal Books publication.

Burn up, Northampton 1997 is 14cm x 20cm and has 36 colours pages.

“In 1997 I shot a large gathering of ‘boy racers’ in Asda’s car park in Northampton. The Criminal Justice Bill had been passed in 1994, restricting numbers of people coming together in a public place, so there was a bit of trepidation on my part given past experiences with the police while attending scooter rallies around the country in my youth.

I arrived with my camera to find a 300-strong crowd and about a hundred souped-up cars, mostly hatch backs and pimped to the max. Ford Fiestas, VW Golfs, Vauxhall Novas, Astras. These kids were there to admire or show-off features like derestricted exhaust systems, honed-out manifolds, enlarged air-filters, chipped fuel injection systems and expensive tyres. Body work too, custom spray-jobs in all colours. It wasn’t long before two police cars showed up and cruised into the throng. When they started taking down number plates the crowd loomed-in chanting and signing.

Two police from the first car climbed out wearily and the chanting got louder. Resigned at the size of the mob, one cop’s face said it all but the stand-off suddenly reached tipping point when a young guy in Fila lay on the Panda’s bonnet mischievously stroking its contours.

Thankfully, elsewhere, an engine revved high, making its gears scream and signalling an imminent burn-up. The crowd disbanded and flocked to a red car on the promise of a quick thrill… Who wouldn’t want to help shred tyres while holding down bumpers en-masse and disappearing in a huge cloud of smoke? Well worth the spectacle even if the tyres were very pricy continentals.”

Café Royal Books

Café Royal Books is an independent publishing house set up by Craig Atkinson in 2005. He is based in Southport, England. CRB has released regular publications on the broad subject of British Documentary Photography since 1960. This includes international photographers who work within the British Isles, alongside photographers from the British Isles who work internationally. There are a few exceptions, with titles that sit alongside this general theme.

This type of work has historically been neglected by both photographers and institutions. Café Royal Books’ aim is to source, gather, and re/present this work as a collective whole. And, thus, give it a wider audience. CRB publish at least one title every week, presenting, generally, one series by one photographer.

The books combine elements of zines, photobooks, artist books and educational resource. The books are affordable, democratic, utilitarian and useful. They come out regularly and in small editions. So, it’s great to collect.

Have a look at the selection of Café Royal Books we have in stock.