Simon’s Crew
Simon loved skateboarding with a passion…This section is dedicated to just that, his love of skateboarding and his friends who shared that love with him. One love!
gettin thru the winter
The Hull scene video, gettin thru the winter was previewed at the Lamp, in Hull on 14th September 2005. The skate video, made by Mike Foreman, Marc Banks and Simon was watched by a crowd of around 200 people. The place was packed out and the video went down a storm. Everyone loved it. There were huge cheers and applause when Simon’s section was aired. Profits from the video will also be donated back to the And Albert Foundation.
A review by someone who was there on the night!
On Wednesday the 14th of September, at the blue lamp in Hull, a premier version of the up-coming dvd getting thru the winter, was shown to what was estimated to be a crowd of between two to three hundred people. The video was shown at about nine o clock, and by then the crowd were screamin at Foreman to get it on, so without further ado it went on, after a short crowd amping and a general "if Simon appears on the screen, we are screaming the house down" attitude being pumped around, the vid started.
The first person to appear on screen is David Bellamy, (patron of the And Albert foundation) with a quick intro for the video, followed by heavily respected skateboarder Marc Johnson with a few of his own words to say, "LETS DO THIS, LETS DOOOOO THIIIS."
The intro to the video itself is very well put together and certainly gives a glimpse of the flavour of what to expect from the video. The first section up is Bellamy professed, Northern vagabond, Mike Foreman, now before I go on im going to say this, I personally am not going to give all this away, im not going to tell you any tricks or ruin it for anyone who cant remember because they were pissed up or because they were not there, what I will tell you is this:
- Mike Foreman - very good section, highly watchable, sick finisher
- Nobby (aka Rich Hardy) ‐ balls out, in parts his apparent consistency for bein able to just throw himself at stuff is insane, you’ll see what I mean, (picnic bench)
- Friends - a lot of good and great stuff on this section, with cameos from the likes of, Magee, Baines, Clint Peterson, Shier, olly todd, and many, many, many more!!!!
- Simon Murden - highly emotional for a lot of people, great guy, great section, great music choice, to quote Bellamy, "Simon Murden, what can I say!!??, he says it all, for himself."
- Doc Jnr and Blaze - the bev connection, all time fun filled section, good skatin and good times.
- Locals - some really good stuff on this, hopefully to be added to a bit before the dvd
- Parks - everybody who has a section has a separate park section on this section (how many sections in one sentence??) which plays host to some exellent park skating.
- Paul Regan and Marc Banks - These two share the end section, Flip sorry style, a good use of a parody if ever I have seen one, between them, they are amazing, with some seriously pro standard shit goin down in this mixed ending, exellent, well done and again great music.
- Credits - as far as I know these were not the final credits, but lookin good and professional so far, with a big Mischief promo at the end, it looks as if the makers are continually pissed of with the presence of chainstores and really want to get behind the little shops. SUPPORT SKATER OWNED. So i’ll take there advice and pass it on, give Bingo a call at Mischief on 01642 608400
When the video came to an end, there was a few words by Simon’s Dad, which were serious, positive and truly emotional. Love to that man and to his family. Mike Foreman also said a few words, and by the end of it looked truly worn out, and confused as the crowd in front of him started chanting, put it on again, put it on again. He obliged, the night went on and everyone drank till the early hours, great night. Thanks to Lamp and Foreman/Banks for getting it all together. Foreman also asked me to thank Cabroni Blanco for helping out getting it all sorted to dvd. So cheers Cabroni Blanco. Overall I must personally say I think the night went really well. I have been told that the dvd should be out in the first couple of weeks and will apparently be packed with extras. Im lookin forward to it, so should you.
See Simon’session from the DVD here
Skate4Simon - August 2005
The Skate4Simon event at Beresford Park, Hull on the 28th August was a resounding success. Thanks to everybody who contributed and took part. Footballers, skaters, breakdancers, stallholders and to all friends and supporters of Simon’s Projects. Thanks to especially to Matthew for creating the fantastic graffiti mural and to all of those who attended and made a contribution.
Our objective was to raise £2000 to send Simon’s container to West Africa, and we acheived it. For the last several months we have been collecting computers, sewing machines, bicycles, radios and other such items deemed "old and useless" by us but invaluable in a place such as Ghana or Burkina Faso. We now have enough to make up a container and thanks to everybody at the skate4simon event who conributed we now have the funds to send this container.
This was acheived with £1500 raised on the day from the sales of food, crafts, SimonMurden.com T-shirts and raffle tickets with proceeeds and donations also being collected from the skate events and the football tournament. A further £500 was also donated by Michael page. Thanks to them.
The day also marked the unveiling of a plaque at the skate park in memory of Simon. This site, known as "the Pond" was one of Simon’s favourite skate venues and features heavily in his session on the upcoming "gettin thru the winter" dvd. The Plaque is inscribed with the words, "To the memory of Simon Murden…a Hull/Beverley legend, he was all about the skate…he will be ever rolling in our hearts". It was unveiled by Simon's Father, David, his Mother, Dorothy, and his Brother, Jonathan. Look North and Hull Daily Mail also showed up at the event with their cameras and followed up with stories over the next couple of days. Thanks to them for reporting this event to everyone and the publicity they have given us beforehand.
We had several stalls running all day as well as sporting competitions. There was a craft stall selling Trading Roots items, the organisation which Simon worked for. There was also a T-shirt stall selling "SimonMurden.com" t-shirts. These proved to be very popular and the stall sold out by the end of the day. There was also a stall selling burgers and hotdogs which did very well and ran out of stock halfway through, as well as crisps and soft drinks kindly donated by Murden’s in Hull. Cheers to Robert.
One of the Highlights of the day was the graffitti mural which was painted by Matthew, one of Jonathan’s friends form London. The Mural features the word Simon, done in eyecatching orange and pink followed by the reggae symbol of the lion, under which is inscribed "One Love, Bruv". Some of the words from the plaque are also repaeated above the lions head and the dot in the "i" of Simon features the words "love always".People enjoyed watching Matthew at work and a lot of the young skaters were getting him to sign their boards for them. This is a masterpiece of graffiti which just says everything. Cheers Matthew.
Amongst the other attractions there were breakdancers, who managed to keep going all day long and proved wonderful to watch with demonstrations of agility and skill that left most people amazed. A skate tournament also took place featuring groups of five skaters competing at a time earning there way though to a final by pulling off better tricks and skills than their opponents. This proved popular and pulled a large crowd and culminated with the famous sticker toss which sent the young crowds wild.
The most spectacular and competitive event at the Skate4Simon event was undoubtedly the five-a-side football tournament. Ten teams competed in two leagues of five, for the limited edition bronze trophy, "Woman Against the Wind", from Burkina Faso in West Africa. After hours of league matches, the final was eventually reached, with the local boys, "the Priory Park Panthers" facing the team of "Five Star Ghana", a group of ghanaians working and training in Hull. After the score was still nil on both sides at the end of full time, extra time was initiated and it looked as though it was going to go to penalties until a heavily contested hand-ball in the final minutes gave Priory Park a penalty and the winning goal. Five Star Ghana were somewhat dismayed and have already requested the rematch.
Once again, thanks to everybody who attended, took part and contributed. Skate4Simon was a fantastically successful day all around. Everyone who took part, helped. Simon would’ve been proud.
See some more pics from the event here
Forever in our Hearts - A Tribute to Simon
On Tuesday 22nd March 2005 one of our crew, Simon Murden was tragically killed by armed Police officers on the outskirts of Hull. All the initial unfounded reports portrayed Simon in a very poor light, but we, as all his friends and family and anyone who had met Simon knew a tragic injustice had taken place. We don’t wish to go into great detail regarding the fatal shooting but an Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) enquiry has been set up. This will hopefully prove that Simon did not deserve to have his life taken from him, never mind in such an abrupt and violent way. We, as well as all his friends and family, are doing all we can to make sure he is remembered for the way he was and not the way initial reports portrayed him to be.
Simon was a great person to be around, His laugh was infectious, he was mild mannered, unassuming, modest and not self absorbed in any way. A very liked and loved person by everyone that knew him, his attitude to life was an inspiration to us all and this shone through in all that he did. His skateboarding - Hull/Beverley Legend He was all about the skate, adding that vital energy to any session with his relaxed style always topped off with a smile, pushing himself and others around him, taking the slams, never stressing and always having a laugh, enjoying skateboarding and all that comes with it. Simon will be forever rolling in our hearts. No session will ever be the same.
His work - His dad, David, started up a charity called And Albert Foundation. This has been existing in one form or another for almost two decades and dealing in grass roots village self help projects. Since then David has also started up a wholesaling branch of it "Trading Roots". This has been set to help people suffering in third world countries. Trading roots trades in fair trade goods and is an ethical/fair trade label and not for profit company. Simon was heavily involved with this charity and very dedicated to his work. The work they have done over the years has made a real difference to people’s lives less fortunate than ourselves. Simon would almost get embarrassed when you asked about the good work he had done and would never take any of the credit, but this was Simon all over.
Although Simon was only with us for short while, his impact on us and many more, will last longer than any life time, we are all honored to have been his friends and are better people for knowing him. Simon lives on in all our hearts.
Justice for Simon, Peace. One Love. Hull Crew
Above from left to right: Scott Palmer, Nobby, Mike Foreman, Scott Palmer (again!) and Banksi
If you would like to find out more about the Projects in Africa that Simon was passionate about, visit the And Albert website or simply send us an email to davidmurden@africalandstrust.org.