Pègre

1968 · 153750 — London: 1968. Let's smash the great deception. Light up Oxford Street dance around the fire A handbill by the radical group King Mob distributed during their anti-capitalist interruption of Christmas shopping at London's Selfridges department store in 1968. King Mob sought to ignite a proletarian revolution. They distributed their ideas through posters flyers and their magazine King Mob Echo notorious for exalting "celebrity" murderers like Jack the Ripper Mary Bell and John Christie. Drawing inspiration from the Situationists in Europe and the Black Mask in the US King Mob endeavoured to stage public events in the hopes of sparking anti-capitalist riots. While few events made it past the planning stages in December 1968 a group of 25 members infiltrated Selfridges and caused havoc among the Christmas crowds. The King Mob members including Peter "Ben" Trueman dressed as Santa Claus and "out of his head on speed" Libcom online distributed Selfridges stock as Christmas presents to unwitting children while handing out copies of this broadsheet. Store detectives were alerted police arrived and the authorities were forced to spend much of their day taking toys from children. Malcolm McLaren the music manager of the Sex Pistols was among the King Mob members present. The handbill is a polemic against consumerism and capitalism that begins: "It's lights out on Oxford Street this year. No more midnight neon. No more conspicuous glitter for compulsive sightseers to gawp at the wonders of capitalism. Even the affluent society can no longer keep up with its electricity bill. You don't deserve Christmas this year. You haven't worked hard enough. You haven't trotted fast enough through the in-put out-put clock-on clock-off the vicious circle of production and consumption save and spend screw yourselves into the ground in preparation for the one time in the year when you're allowed to let go feast yourselves overreach yourselves in a frenzied effort to enjoy-and spew it up afterwards". Broadside 250 x 330 mm printed in black on Victor Bond watermarked paper. Illustrated with Christmas decorations. Fine. unknown