Left Field on Film

Left Field: The film

Brian Eno interview

Waterstones book launch, 5 May 2016

Craig Murray at Left Field Waterstones launch

Miss Sarajevo 

Miss Sarajevo 2 

Help album; Dream a Little Dream

Pavarotti & Friends

The Healing Drum

Dodgy, Mostar Keep Smiling

Rock the Casbah 

LEFT FIELD: slideshow

                                                                                     
further films to follow shortly (with Amir Amirani and music from Eugene Skeef, Deicola Neves, Vanessa Lucas-Smith, Peter Wilson)

To buy Left Field - The memoir of a lifelong Activist, by David Wilson go to Waterstones, Amazon, WH Smith, Penguin Books and most good retailers. Best offer to date is from Public Reading Rooms at £13 including p&p

Julie Christie and Brian Eno's legs at Downing Street

Buy 'Left Field' on Amazon or at any Waterstones store but it's cheapest at WH Smith

Kieran Conlon's film of the 'Left Field' Waterstones launch is now in production. Talks, music and interviews. These include ex-ambassador and whistleblower Craig Murray with whom I share that experience, film director Amir Amirani, (Director of "We are Many") who will be speaking alongside me in July at the South Bank Centre and at WOMAD and of course musicians Eugene Skeef, Vanessa Lucas-Smith, Deicola Neves and Peter Wilson. As you will see, what an amazing performance they gave. Craig Murray 'brought the house down' with his Julie Christie/Brian Eno leg story and there is a great interview with Tiffany Drake, who I hadn't met for 20 years and 4 kids later. Adele Drake went home and sent me this sad and astonishing photo of Mostar. I am very moved by the number of emails and text messages I'm receiving from those of you already enjoying the book.

"I am so elated to have read Left Field. I feel like a child at the fountain of narratives. David Wilson is truly one of the greatest storytellers I have ever met or read. For me he is right up there with Alice Walker, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Mandla Langa and Ariel Dorfman (Writing The Deep South) in his ability to enchant the reader while telling about harrowing and politically charged life experiences." Eugene Skeef

Left Field: THE FILM

This is the collage image used for 'Left Field' by Waterstones

Bristol? £8,000

I spent the weekend at the Calais 'Jungle'. Yes, it's still there. Several thousand people who have fled the chaos caused by those who have plenty of money for wars in the Middle East and Africa, and now for barbed wire on the channel coast. I met some wonderful people: Abidkhan, Azama, Atieyb, Agely, Passel, and many others. I went there with Calais Sessions musicians, brilliantly organised by Vanessa Lucas-Smith, Carl Burgess and … the list is long. Much of the weekend sessions were recorded by Danny Rowe who managed to contribute bass guitar to his recording work. The 'studio' was a makeshift hut whose plastic roof flapped its rhythm to the music below. I spent some of the time 'teaching' guitar, but quickly roles were reversed. After 30 minutes of C, G, A and F chords, Assi thanked me, smiled and asked if I'd like to learn Ethiopian Tizita pentatonic scales. I wrote them down and am already playing them – badly! The conditions there are terrible and the stories I listened to as bad. Atieyb who had brought his guitar on the long journey north. It only had two strings. Next visit – take some strings. One young Syrian didn't want to play guitar, but told me he liked to be close to music. 'It gives me', he said, 'sanity'. Why did he want to get to the UK. All his family had been killed – 'I don't want to talk about that, but my sister is in Bristol. I want to go therel.' Can anyone give me one reason why he shouldn't? His only chance right now is to find £5000 for the armed smuggling gangs whose white vans can be seen 'hanging out' on the surrounding roads. Guaranteed passage is £8000. But payment in cash and up front. The situation is disgusting. I would like to force David Cameron to learn some guitar chords and send him to Calais to teach. Wait a minute. I wouldn't wish to be responsible for adding to these people's misery. More photos later (thanks Sarah Smith for this one) and here is Calais Sessions:  www.thecalaissessions.com

photo: Sarah Smith