Last Saturday night Scotland’s soi-disant premier art zine Yuck ‘n Yum held its inaugural AGK at the Chambers Suite in Dundee. The event took the form of a conventional AGM with one key difference. The K stands for karaoke, and the country’s finest creative minds all got busy creating some spectacular videos to perform to.
The Yuck ‘n Yum editorial team were first to deliver their points on the agenda.
Andrew Maclean performed Queen’s classic Flash, his video a cartoony mash up of science fiction spectacle and adverts for household detergent.
Next up was myself, Ben Robinson, delivering a stirring rendition of the Whitehouse noise anthem Just Like a Cunt. This was played out before a film of harrowing scenes from a slaughterhouse.
After the intensity of this action Graeme Plunkett and Alexandra Ross duetted to Don’t You Want Me. Their chemistry was palpable.
Following the zine’s laudable opening statements, it was then time to hear from the artists. First up in the spotlight was Richie Cummings with Stacey Hunter and Ross Mclean who performed the theme tune from Cheers to a video set in Dundee’s Art Bar and starring an array of local drinkers.
Next on stage came Sinead Bracken and Fiona Gordon who gave us Milky the Milk Carton (from the original music video for Coffee and TV by Blur). This cheeky character walked away with 6 tickets for the private and very exclusive Karaoke rooms at Electric Circus in Edinburgh, a prize generously donated by The Skinny.
Dawn Campbell sang I’m Gonna Be (500 miles) to a video that showed Stephen Sharp walking barefoot from Dundee to Edinburgh, an admirable effort.
Alasdair Smith brought us Lemon Sole, a misty-eyed hymn to the doomed affair between a man and a fish. One member of the secretive Caledonian outfit The Sang Brothers was channeled for the performance.
Catherine Weir smoldered through Smoke Gets in Your Eyes and there wasn’t a dry seat in the house.
Sam Blair chipped in with What Would You Do / Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, a medley of 90s hip hop and 80s hen-night singalong
Derek Lodge and Andrea Sayers created an animated video for Birdhouse in your Soul. “This centered on the ‘blue canary’ of the song’s lyrics which was inspired by the songwriters’ childhood nightlight.”
The Deliberate Crumbs enchanted the audience with their heartfelt ode to the tribulations of allotment management for elderly characters. The Crumbs (as they’re known to their fans) were awarded advertising space in a future issue of The Skinny to use as they see fit. This 126mm x 76mm blank canvas will be seen by an audience of 160,000 readers and is worth £325.
Runner up for Best Video AGK 2010: Andy Sim with Fear Wasabii – Debaser
A 2 year MAP subscription was the prize!
The final section of the karaoke cavalcade was given over to videos whose creators were not present to perform. Members of the audience took to the stage in a moving affirmation of the true spirit of karaoke.
The agenda went as follows:
Alex Hetherington – You Gotta Problem / Dance Yrself Clean (Medley)
Abi Lewis – Rehab
Andy Macvicar Jammied Ma Pelvis (Suspicious Minds)
Jem Mackay – Sonnet 18
Pernille Spence – Here /Comes\ Goes Bod
And finally… who’s the AGK champ? For there can be only one true winner. “Who? Who?” you cry, the tears welling up in your eyes. The winner of the 2010 Yuck ‘n Yum AGK is………………………….
AGK champ 2010: Rachel Maclean
The top prize for best video and the title of 2010 AGK champ went to Rachel Maclean. She won £300 and a mini residency at the Hannah Maclure Centre performance and cinema space for her supercool video I’m Your Biggest Fan (Paparazzi).
“I’m Your Biggest Fan sucks the viewer into a morphing toy town, a sexy sugary space which reinterprets ‘Lady Gaga’s’ hit ‘Paparazzi’. Alluding to the recent internet scandal questioning her gender.”
And so it ended. There’d been laughter, there’d been tears, and the only thing left to do was to dance.
See you all next year, and remember… BELIEVE IT AND SHOW IT!
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Yuck n’ Yum’s AGK was one of the projects awarded cash from the Central Station Members Fund.
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