2012

DAMASCUS in LONDON - In March 2011, Bill Drummond was supposed to lead a performance of Score 328: SURROUND around the top of the medieval city walls of Damascus. This was part of a tri-nation festival organised by Reel Festivals. The three nations were to be Syria, Lebanon and Scotland. The Lebanese and Scottish legs of the festival happened. The Arab Spring caused the Syrian leg to be postponed. It was also supposed to be part of The17's City-to-City world tour

While Syrians are slaughtered on their city streets and the world looks on wondering what it should do, Reel Festival have decided to organise a festival in waiting with the Syrian refugees and exiles who are currently living in London.

Between 1pm and 3pm on Sunday, 18 March 2012, Bill Drummond lead a performance of the same score he was going to do in Damascus. This score is usually performed on the circumference of a five-kilometre circle. As stated above it was to be performed around the city walls of Damascus, which are also five kilometres in circumference. Drummond drew an outline of the Damascus city walls on a map of London and lead this particular performance following the outline on the London streets. 

The 100 members of The17 that took part in this performance were primarily drawn from the Syrian refugee and exile community in the UK. 

All those taking part got a DAMASCUS in LONDON T-Shirt and pamphlet.

To celebrate the performance of Score 328: SURROUND in London, the pamphlet DAMASCUS in LONDON has been published for all those taking part in the performance. It may be made available to others via Alimentation in the future.

Ragworts is the title of an exhibition by Bill Drummond. The exhibition is spread across numerous locations in Sheffield.

In early May 2011, Drummond was the composer in residence for the Sensoria Festival in Sheffield. During this time he composed several site specific scores to be performed in Sheffield by members of The17.

The exhibition comprises of printed versions of these scores either framed and hung in the specific places or fly posted at pertinent locations in the city.

As part of Sensoria Festival 2012, the Site Gallery - 1 Brown Street, Sheffield - exhibited the original scores as well as photographic documentation of the exhibition by Tracey Moberly, and a film by Andy Benfield that explores and documents the process of Ragworts.

Bill Drummond gave a walking and talking lecture on the 21 April.

Ragworts is also the name of a flowering weed that can be found growing up through the cracked paving stones and waste ground of Sheffield.

Tracey Moberly led a performance of Score 321: SHOW in Jinja, Uganda as part of the Un-Convention conference that was happening in the city. This performance is part of The17's Coast-to-Coast world tour and is being twinned with a performance of the same score in Milton Keynes.

The fruits of this performance will be used on beer mats that will be distributed in bars in both Jinja and Milton Keynes in 2013.

This graffiti was made by Tracey Moberly on a bridge over the source of the Nile, Jinja, Uganda, to celebrate the performance of Score 321: SHOW the previous day.

To celebrate the opening of the Kunst Reserve Bank, Bill Drummond was invited to lead a performance of Score 328: SURROUND by the Dutch members of The17. This was also part of The17 City-to-City world tour.

A dozen Sheffield members of The17, who are also sixth form students doing A-Level Art at King Edward VII School, Sheffield, all individually performed Score 388: GET ON A BUS. Their performance started and ended at the Sheffield Interchange bus station.

These students were also invited to perform Score 387: MORNING the following morning. There is no record of these performances happening.

As part of The17's Coast-to-Coast world tour Bill Drummond was supposed to be leading a performance in Belfast of Score 327: DIVIDE & COMBINE which would have been twinned with a performance of the same score that happened in Beirut in 2011. For last minute political reasons it was felt that it would not be wise for this score to be performed in Belfast.

On the same day of making the decision to cancel the Belfast performance, Drummond was asked to do 'something' at the Drop Everything festival on Inis Oirr - the smallest of the three Aran Islands, off the west coast of Ireland. Drummond decided to do there what he would have been doing in Belfast.

IMAGINE graffiti in Irish, made by Bill Drummond on the gantry between the two fresh water tanks on Inis Oirr, Aran Islands, Ireland; this being the only bridge-like construction on the island. This was done to celebrate the performance of Score 327: Divide & Combine the previous evening.

Julia Kratz & Stefan Schwietert married on the 26th May 2012, in Berlin. Bill Drummond led a performance of Score 13: CELEBRATE to celebrate this union. This performance by 100 or so of the Berlin members of The17, was also part of The17's Coast-to-Coast world tour. It was twinned with a performance of the same score in Derry on 15 October 2008

Bill Drummond lead the annual performance of Score 8: TAKE at the Almendres Cromlech standing stones  near Évora in Portugal. This performance was also part of The17's Coast-to-Coast world tour and is twinned with a performance of the same score, performed in June 2010 at the Callanish Stones on the Isle of Lewis, Scotland.

IMAGINE Graffiti in Portuguese made by Bill Drummond, under bridge on the A6 near Almendres Cromlech, Évora, Portugal. It was done to celebrate the performance of Score 8: TAKE in the previous hour.

IMAGINE Graffiti in Welsh done by Bill Drummond, under in underpass by Fabian Way, Swansea (Abertawe), Wales, The Atlantic Archipelago. It was done to celebrate the performance of Score 359: IN YOUR MOTHER TONGUE withinn the Atlantic Archipelago of 1812

Drummond performed Score 398: AT THE AGE OF 59 between noon and the following 1am live on air on Resosnance FM. While doing this he also made one of the Forty Beds. Throughout the first 12 hours, listners could buy virtual raffle tickets for £1 each, in the hope of  winning the bed. There were only 1,000 tickets available. If the winner lived within the M25, Drummond would deliver the bed within 24 hours; in the UK within one week, the rest of the world within one year. Drummond drew the winner's name from a real hat around midnight and announced the name of the winner's name live on air.  Her name was Sally Jeff.

This performance may be made available as a pod cast at a later stage.

The17 will perform the world premier of Score 4: AGE within the Curfew Tower. This is part of The17's Coast-to-Coast world tour and part of the Heart Of The Glens Festival 2012.

The17 performed Score 11: COMBINE in five different places of worship in Istanbul, Turkey at various times in September and October, 2012.

These performances are also part of The17’s Coast-to-Coast world tour and is to be twinned with a performance of the same score in the London Borough of Hackney in January and February 2013

The Istanbul performance will be led by Mark & Hande Love, Alp Yavuz and Hülya Küpçüoğlu. The Hackney performance will be led by Bill Drummond.

Mark Love and Alp Yavuz vandalised a wall in Istanbul with an IMAGINE graffiti. This was done to celebrate the world premier performance of Score 11: COMBINE. It was also done as part of the construction of the FORTY GRAFFITI sculpture.

Contemporary Music Today was the title of a symposium on music held as part of the festival Wien Modern

Part of this symposium was entitled Is There and Underground? Bill Drummond was invited to give a presentation about The17 and address the question there being an underground or not. His presentation included leading The17 in a performance of the score BEFORE ANY MEAL and AT THE CONCERT

The17 performed Score 368: The17 VERSUS GUITARS at the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art in Helsinki, Finland on the early evening of 17 November 2012, as part of the Sounds Like Work three day event.

This performance was also part of The17’s Coast-to-Coast world tour and as such is twinned with a performance of the same score in Aberdeen on 19 January 2011.

The17 also performed Score 361: AT THE CONCERT

Sounds Like Work is described as: an event on artistic labour and sound art, where the rustling of paperwork and the beat of ticking schedules is subverted into melody: ask for a CV and a protest song is what you will get.

Sounds like work has been / is being curated by Äänen Lumo, Kimmo Modig and Jenna Sutela.

For further information visit www.soundslikework.biz

Bill Drummond vandalised a wall under Hakaniemi Bridge with an IMAGINE graffiti. This was done to celebrate the performance of Score 368: The17 VERSUS GUITARS. It was also done as part of the construction of the FORTY GRAFFITI sculpture.

The17 performed Score 328: SURROUND in Geneva, Switzerland on the afternoon of Saturday, 24 November 2012.

This performance was the ninth in The17’s City-to-City world tour

The17 also performed Score 361: AT THE CONCERT

Both of these performance were also part of an exhibition entitled BALISES at the Piano Nobile Gallery.

CANCELLED - The festival One Of These Days was cancelled thus The17 performance in Blackpool never happened.

Thus The17 never performed Score 324: NIGHTCLUBBING as part of the Un-Convention at the One Of These Days festival in Blackpool. This performance was to be part of The17's Coast-to-Coast world tour. It was also to be twinned with the performance of this score in Zurich on 28 March 2009.

The performance may be rescheduled for a later date.

Bill Drummond vandalised a wall under the  East Cross Route with an IMAGINE graffiti. This was done to celebrate a performance of Score 11: COMBINE that he  hopes to be leading within the London Borough of Hackney in January and February 2013. It was also done as part of the construction of the FORTY GRAFFITI sculpture.