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Showered in Shale

One man’s circuitous journey throughout the country in pursuit of a minor obsession – British Speedway

Review

The legendary sports journalist, Frank Keating, wrote in The Guardian:
“At the end of the month, William Hill announces the shortlist for its sports book of 2006. If the author Jeff Scott’s impulsively oddball doorstop is not already in pole position, then it jolly well should be. Showered in Shale is a strikingly hectic labour of love, an urban odyssey, a bucking, breathless round-Britain whizz in pursuit of his obsession. To log this dense but irresistible social documentary, last season Scott travelled more than 10,000 miles to watch 1,100 races at speedway’s 30-odd tracks. From Glasgow to the Isle of Wight, Newport to Sittingbourne, Workington to Poole; he talked, obviously, to riders and fans, but also to promoters, programme-sellers and the bloke running the hot-dog stand – the last three often one and the same.

I have never been to a meeting, but I’ve got the picture all right after this captivatingly cranky revelation into one of the most cloistered, concealed and dimly lit recesses of Britain’s sporting culture.”
Frank Keating, Tuesday October 3, 2006

When Eagles Dared

A Whimsical Account from the terraces behind Board 51 (and lurking at tracks elsewhere) of a Triumphant Eastbourne Speedway season with ultimate success missed by a merest Cat’s Whisker that features those handlebar heroes: Nicki, Floppy, Mooro, Deano, Watty, Shieldsy plus bosses, Cooky and Geery, and a vital yet innumerable cast of others – the whole experience crowned with the unique aural accompaniment of MC KC, oh, and not forgetting our own inimitable “Arena track specialist” Mr Steen Jensen… but sadly missing a chat with the Dugards’

Shifting Shale

Preface

Like the modern-day gladiators of motorcycle speedway, author, observer and minutiae obsessive Jeff Scott goes round in circles, Shifting Shale – just like his fearless heroes.

Only the shale he is shifting is not the pinky gloopy stuff which adorns the tracks in the rundown stadiums of broken dreams but his masterwork Showered in Shale – a 320,000 word analysis of what once was “Britain’s second largest watched sport” (after football). He sets off again around all the tracks in the country to ‘press the flesh’, meet his public and most importantly, sell some books.

So, not only is this another unique speedway observational book – but a book that will appeal to anyone who has promoted their own work. Scott sets up his stall in the shadows of these mostly decaying yet hugely attractive full-of-triumph-and-tragedy corrugated arenas to sell his wares. His only weapons are charm, humour and unsold volumes.

Above: Speedway Fan, ILP Crook (aka Mushy Pea), proudly sports his copy of Shale Britannia.

And it is mostly from this table-side vista a freshly askew insight into the joys of watching four riders race four laps on an uncertain surface on a methanol guzzling 500cc two wheeled monster with no brakes. It’s a spectacle that defies logic insomuch as firstly, four riders try to squeeze into the first bend when there is only space for one and secondly, to turn each corner, the rider actually accelerates and steers to the right. Although he’s turning left …

Which, in effect, is the power of this new book – built as a blog, but now read as a book. Reading Jeff Scott, there are no brakes. To stop, you have to throttle off and put your foot down. But the buzz is so captivating, it is a very hard thing to do. And when he leaves his tableware to the elements and wanders into the pits, the bar, car park, centre green or up to the referee’s box, once more, you are actually there.

Elsewhere, he enjoys being a guest of Sky Sports at the prestigious Speedway Riders Association end of year bash, a day astride an actual speedway bike at Sittingbourne Speedway, comparing sales figures with legendary former riders, hobnobbing with riders on the Isle of Wight ferry and even spending the night sleeping with two speedway riders at the Norfolk Arena …

With his books Showered in Shale, When Eagles Dared and Shale Britannia, Jeff Scott’s appreciation and wonder of this dangerous sport and his ability to describe and narrate the minutiae and entirety of the Speedway experience deservedly won him plaudits far beyond the specialist media.

A Photographic Book: Shale Britannia

The Scrutineer has been even more closely involved with this little photographic picture book – she was its photo editor too.

Publicity for: A Sideways Glance at Speedway

The most unusual speedway photography book ever published will feature shots of every track in the country and be available for purchase from the start of June. The book will tell the story of a typical meeting starting with empty stadiums, it will cover all aspects of the build up before moving onto an exciting finale.

It’s a unique document that will probably amuse, baffle and delight in equal measure but also provide a window on the fascinating world that makes up the particular culture of modern British speedway. Those who’ve already seen it have praised the picture quality, the selection of photographs and impressiveness of the book itself, while they tried to guess the various locations! How many will you know or recognise?

Jeff Scott’s candid digital photographs offer us an intriguing glimpse of Speedway in the early 21st Century. Scott has travelled to tracks around the country, standing on terraces with the fans and in the pits with the riders and mechanics, as he pursues an interest that borders on the obsessive.The 245 photographs here reveal but a small sample of the collection that chokes his computer.

Scott’s pictures bear little relation to the images of sport photographers. He doesn’t stalk his subjects with a telephoto lens, and the rather matter of fact archival quality of his images lend his photographs an authentic appeal – more of the family photo album than the sports media’s managed icons.

Through Scott’s work, which inhabits the area of documentary, we can start to examine the working-class culture of this local community sport. From riders and start-line girls to mechanics and fans, he captures the personality and character of the tracks, as well as portraying the fans’ relationships with their teams, in the context of the relentless decline of British regional identity. Speedway tracks and their surrounds may lack the sort of crowds that the corporate media values, but they are nonetheless densely peopled with the ghosts of a proud history. With these images, Scott reveals with tender melancholy a community as it struggles to recapture the glories of its past.

With his books Showered in Shale, When Eagles Dared and Shifting Shale, Jeff Scott’s appreciation and wonder of this dangerous sport and his ability to describe and narrate the minutiae and entirety of the Speedway experience deservedly won him plaudits far beyond the specialist media. This is his first book of photographs.

Methanol Publicity

Purchase these Methanol Press books direct from their site…

Tags: Book Publicity, Frank Keating, Jeff Scott, Martin Parr, Methanol Press, Shifting Shale, Showered in Shale, Speedway, When Eagles Dared, William Hill Book Prize