"It's like a heat wave, burnin' in my heart"
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the only two issues of Heatwave, edited by Charles Radcliffe and including contributors such as Christopher Gray, who were for a short time some of the few English members of the Situationist International – though Heatwave was produced before they joined the SI in October 1966.
Intriguingly, it was produced by members who were associated with the Industrial Workers of the World and the surrealist movement, thus being one of the few groups which attempted to bridge the gulf between Marxist class consciousness and (anti) art / culture – something which Situationist theory and praxis could still achieve. Though short-lived, Heatwave is perhaps best known for its positive reference in the key Situationist booklet On The Poverty of Student Life and influence on later radical avant-garde political groups.
The first issue of Heatwave included, among a lot of fascinating material, an interesting article by Radcliffe in which he looks at the various mid 1960s groups of disaffected youth in Britain including mods, rockers, peaceniks etc. The inclusion of such pieces on popular culture is important because these were issues that the working class were experiencing and formulating. The analysis of the Amsterdam Provos, Dada, unitary urbanism are also particularly noteworthy.
The original Heatwave magazines have been scanned on Charles Radcliffe’s blog which is listed below, while the links provide further reading on the group and publication.
http://charlieradcliffe.com/heatwave/
https://libcom.org/library/heatwave-radcliffe-uk-1960s-situationists-rosemont-iww-surrealiism
http://www.notbored.org/heatwave.html
