I first met Winstan in 2005 when he was making his documentary about Dalston’s legendary Four Aces Club. At that time I was leading the OPEN Dalston campaign to try and save the former 1886 circus building at 14 Dalston Lane where the Four Aces Club had its home for 33 years. Winstan identified with the local community’s desire to preserve our local architectural and cultural heritage and made the film “Save our heritage” which told the story of our campaign. We later collaborated on a second documentary film “Hands off” which was made on behalf of the women who owned and others who performed in two striptease bars in Shoreditch which the Council tried, unsuccessfully, to ban.
During the period of Covid lockdown in 2020 Winstan made a series of short art films at home in which he experimented with colour, light and liquid. I was pleased to be asked to write the music for two of them which feature my saxophones and keyboards.