A VHS Copy of Truth or Dare (1980)
It’s been a busy month at Under the Counter HQ. I did two sell-out talks, one for the Soho Society…
Archive Launch and Soho History Talk
At UTC headquarters we’ve been busy preparing for two upcoming events taking place in London. On Thursday 25 September I…
The Van Driver and the Danish Import: Freelancers in Britain’s Hidden Porn Economy
Not everyone who kept Britain’s under-the-counter porn economy moving in the 1970s was a full-time smut peddler. For some, it…
The Bookshop Chair: Joey Janes and the Costs of Cover
If Soho’s adult bookshops of the 1960s and ’70s were part of a hidden economy, then men like Joey Janes…
Roller A-Z: Conquest Films
Every so often, a new roller label surfaces from the murky history of Britain’s 8mm under-the-counter trade — and recently,…
From Birmingham to Soho: The Rise and Fall of John Darby
Who is this man? In grainy footage from John Lindsay’s 1973 documentary The Pornbrokers, we catch a glimpse of someone…
Size isn’t everything: The Long Shop
Soho’s bookshops have always had a unique charm, but none more so than the Long Shop — a tiny, five-foot-wide…
Roller A-Z: Blue Boy Films
I discovered the label Blue Boy Films after Under the Counter had gone into production, which meant that it was…
Lost continental footage found
It’s amazing what you can find in the basements of old cinemas. Several months back I was able to save…
Introducing the Under the Counter archive
I am delighted to announce the Under the Counter archive is finally accessible at the Bishopsgate Institute in London. One…