Billy Childish

Billy Childish (real name William Charlie Hamper, or Steven John Hamper) (born December 1, 1959) is an artist, singer, and guitarist, hailing from Chatham in Kent, England.

Related Topics:
December 1 - 1959 - Chatham - Kent - England

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He left secondary school at 16, an undiagnosed dyslexic. Refused an interview at the local art school he entered the naval dockyard at Chatham as an apprentice stonemason. During the following six months (the artist?s only prolonged period of employment), he produced some 600 drawings in "the tea huts of hell". On the basis of this work he was accepted into St Martin?s School of Art to study painting. However, his acceptance was short-lived and before completing the course he was expelled.(1982). He then lived on the dole for 15 years.

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He was a major influence on the artist Tracey Emin who met Childish after his expulsion from St Martin's when she was a fashion student at Medway College of Design. Emin ended their friendship in 1999.

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Childish is a poet and novelist who has detailed his love life and childhood sexual abuse, notably in his early poetry and the novel My Fault. He has published more than 40 collections of poetry, written three novels, recorded more than 100 full-length independent LPs and produced more than 2,500 paintings.

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Among his many groups from 1977 include the Pop Rivets, sometimes spelled the Pop Rivits (with Bruce Brand, Russell Wilkins and Russell Lax). He later formed The Milkshakes with Micky Hampshire, Thee Mighty Caesars, The Del Monas and Thee Headcoats. In 2000 he formed The Buff Medways, named after a type of poultry bred in his home town.

Related Topics:
The Pop Rivets - The Milkshakes - Thee Mighty Caesars - The Del Monas - Thee Headcoats - The Buff Medways

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Childish has been namechecked by a number of famous musicians including the late Kurt Cobain, The White Stripes (Jack White had Billy's name written in large letters on his arm for an early Top of The Pops appearance) and Kylie Minogue who named an LP after his book Poems to Break the Harts of Impossable Princesses.

Related Topics:
Kurt Cobain - The White Stripes - Jack White - Kylie Minogue

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A consistent advocate for amateurism and free emotional expression, his aesthetic beliefs lead him to co-found the Stuckist art-movement with Charles Thomson, partially as a reaction against the perceived overemphasis on sophistication and theory in contemporary British art. He left the movement in 2001. Billy Childish continues to live and work in Chatham.

Related Topics:
Stuckist - Charles Thomson

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