Welcome to the world premiere screening of Hoppy - Underground Head! The long-awaited documentary on underground mover and shaker John “Hoppy” Hopkins.
Hoppy was one of the most crucial British figures of the Sixties. A charismatic live wire character, much of alternative London was created or inspired by him.
In league with Joe Boyd, Hoppy founded UFO; London’s first all night psychedelic underground club, giving Pink Floyd their first London residency. Hoppy co-founded countercultural newspaper International Times, that set the tone for modern UK media. He was a prime mover in underground collective the London Free School which created the Notting Hill street Carnival which continues to this day.
Hoppy was a pioneer of independent video, co-founding the groundbreaking TVX, CATS (the Centre for Advanced Television Studies), and Fantasy Factory. He was targeted by the Establishment and imprisoned on a trumped-up drugs charge. And all this having started out as a nuclear scientist and celebrated photographer.
Hoppy's life as a cultural polymath was hugely influential. However his refusal to stay in one place has made his history elusive and fragmented. Until now.
For the first time Hoppy – Underground Head! tells the full story of Hoppy and the scenes he helped create and inspire. The first feature length film to be made about Hoppy’s life; Malcolm Boyle and Carl Stickley’s documentary lets the candid voices of Hoppy and underground contemporaries give uninterrupted authentic accounts of the scene that transformed Britain.
British and international festival and cinema screenings are planned soon. But first we're offering a unique opportunity to come to the world premiere screening at a special one-off club event at London's Tabernacle on Friday May 24th 2024!
For one night only, the Tabernacle becomes UFO. Tickets bought online or guest list tickets will be exchanged at the door for facsimiles of original UFO club membership cards - the perfect memento of the occasion.
The original UFO featured film, psychedelic oil wheel light shows and macrobiotic food served up by Craig Sams. And so it will be at this one-night UFO event! Craig has promised authentic recipes from the original UFO menu.
Whilst there's no live music, the scenes in Hoppy - Underground Head! that capture the original UFO and the 14 Hour Technicolor Dream recreate the atmosphere of being at the heart of 1960s psychedelic rave culture.
Before the screening "UFO" members will be treated to a lightshow from 60s liquid lights veteran Neil Rice. Afterwards there will be a Q&A panel with film-makers and friends and collaborators of Hoppy's from throughout his life. Then the event will wrap up in good time for last trains and connections.
The living underground legends featured in the film will be on the guest list, but we are offering a limited amount of tickets for sale. For a chance to be a part of this unique one-off experience, just pick up your tickets here on Eventbrite online. On arrival offering proof of purchase, you'll receive a one-off temporary UFO club membership for the night.
When Hoppy passed away in 2015, the diverse and renowned faces who came to celebrate his life told their own story of how this remarkable renaissance man changed British culture.
Hoppy - Underground Head! gives a unique insight into Hoppy; the benign cultural revolutionary whose influence is still felt today.
Be one of the first in the world to see it! Come and rejoin UFO on 24/5/24.
