Yesterday the sad news came to us through Instagram that the Dustbowl has now joined Needleside and The Joint on the list of Leeds DIY skatespots which are no longer with us. Photos of workmen with tools were followed by ones of rubble strewn ground where there used to be quarterpipes and eventually a clip or two of the crew skating the remnants and giving it a boozed up wake.
Having been up there four days ago, dodging showers for what would turn out to be the last days of it being skateable, this was a surreal sight to open the browser to. Obviously DIY spots usually have a limited lifespan, but there’s always a glimmer of hope that one or two will go the distance and even be turned legit by the council. This one was not to be, though, and Tesco sending in the hard hatted troops means that it’s on to the next one – dust never sleeps! Leeds spots both street and DIY might be disappearing at a rate of knots at the moment (see our last ‘Gone’ feature on the iconic Man Bank), but the group behind the Dustbowl aren’t stopped that easily.
The first post-Clam edit from Josh Rose – get hold of a recent zine package and DVD with new edit via paypal at [email protected]
Buy the crew a few beers if you see them building near you or go out and get started on your own – in the meantime, enjoy a selection of photos collected from back issues of the mag, coverage of the Halloween and Clam Jams and more. Hangup also have their own retrospective up if you crave more clam…
PS – Tesco will never be RWTB!
