Bill was well known online but I never met him in real life so have asked a friend of his to say a few words about him.
Bill was a lovely bloke who really made an effort to keep the strip industry up to speed on
all the nonsense that goes on in our business
He was a good hearted man who knew the industry well, including all the legal implications.
All his time and effort were giving freely..he was always available for a chat and was a wealth
of information
He will be greatly missed
For me even when we disagreed about venues I respected the time and effort he put in campaigning for the industry. Never one to mince words he would be forthright but that was part of his charm. His knowledge went back into the 70's. Yet he would dig through reports and figures to get the truth and I very very much repect him for all that he has done.
If people want to leave anecdotes or messages it would be a nice tribute to a man who gave much of himself to supporting the strip industry.
TonyN
This might seem, 'out of space', given its factual analysis but; as someone who has never met the man, for some reason; he has left me feeling out of space with his departure. RIP Tyke!
ReplyDeleteI always connected 'Tyke' with a Barnsley origin given my own time being dragged up in the alleys of the, 'Socialist Republic', before emigrating to Shoreditch & hence, all its delights for which Tyke & I bound.
So, yes, from an unknowing fellow, good luck upstairs 'Tyke', your words & presence of words are already missed. And.
A sadness prolongs, so here's to a very special private dance to you fella!
The painter.
I have met Bill on several ocaisions and he was always, polite, professional and without any ulterior motive or seeking personal gain (rare in our industry). Above all, he cared passionately about our industry and the people in it, whilst often others (even club owners) were waiting for someone else to do the hard yards. He will be sorely missed and I other my condolences to family and friends alike.
ReplyDeleteMuch respect - Simon Warr
Tyke's passing has left a bit hole to fill, assuming strip magazine has passed with him the round up of gossip from the industry will be missed. The focus of this blog has always been the challenging of those who wish to close/ban venues so some of the stuff Bill covered will come up but a lot will be missed.
DeleteWhile I could never fill Bill's shoes anymore than Chasmal's I will continue to fight for the pubs and clubs to stay open and challenge misconceptions.
TonyN (tonyprince@acdcfan.com)
I don't think that anyone knew as much about the striptease industry as Bill. I couldn't say that I knew him well (altho' he came out to High Wycombe once or twice)but his on-line presence was mighty and he was hugely supportive and informative wwhen asked. A huge loss for everyone...
ReplyDeleteI have copies of a couple of his researches and they have helped me with my own. If this was a sport they would be retiring his jersey.
DeleteThis is Chasmal and I just wanted to add how shocked I was when I learned of the news of Bills death. I only met him once, but read his comments and articles avidly. I will remember him as being really one of the first people to stand up for the industry and he will be sorely missed.
ReplyDeleteI was very sad to hear about this news. Tyke has for the past few years been a real supporter of my research at the University of Leeds - very helpful on the phone and sending information about the history and current issues in the industry, He also sent me a copy of his book which we are citing alot in the book we are writing. He was always a real gent and believed in spaces for people to think, express and challenge. We will certainly be thanking him in our future publications.
ReplyDeleteBill Martland (Tyke) our long time writer off the London Gossip and big contributor to Strip-magazine.com, It is a big loss for all of us that hes gone. Tyke had alot of knowledge about UK Striptease industry, a better way of saying it would be that "he knew it all" .
ReplyDeleteHe delivered the London Gossip and often several other articles every month for over 10 years, never missing out once. He helped me allot with Strip-magazine.com, from the early beginning. We worked together and where in contact every month, but we never met in real life, there was never any time for that unfortunately. I cant say how sorry I am for that today.
Bill will be deeply missed and I know that hes spirit will live on in all of us that got inspired by him!
This is the last London Gossip that he wrote just before he died:http://www.strip-magazine.com/memory-tyke
Magnus S Morland
Publisher of www.strip-magazine.com
It was indeed a shock to hear about Bill's sudden death, and although the two of us never met in real life and didn't always see eye-to-eye on every aspect of the industry, his presence is sorely missed by me.
ReplyDeleteI recently managed to track down a copy of Bills book, no longer available from Amazon, but Lulu.com still sell it on demand. It's worth a read as it is not only a good history of striptease in the UK, but it's also an intensely personal story of his involvement with clubs since 1976.
ReplyDeleteTime passes too quickly it seems, especially as we get older, but to have Bills experiences and memories preserved in print is quite frankly priceless.
I can’t exactly remember when I first met Bill – but it was over 10 years ago at one of the London strip pub venues.
ReplyDeleteHe was always very generous with his friendships and although we saw each other no more than 2 or 3 times a year – we kept in touch over the years, having a mutual interest in beer , rugby , fast cars and faster women .
He was great company . Being well read and an encyclopaedic memory for all things, he could talk knowledgably and with enthusiasm on almost any topic . He had a view on everything – and this was put forcibly put in colourful language and with a little poetic license , but with good humour. Not everyone would agree – but that was his charm.
As a long time strip pub customer he was never afraid to put his head above the parapet and be willing to have his views recorded .The trouble is in the current environment too few customers are prepared to stand up publicly for the industry and its left to the dancers and a few club owners to fight our corner. Tyke was one of the few exceptions.
I love reading his personal history of the London Strip Pub scene – partly as it brings back a good many happy memories but partly as a record of what I missed in the late 70’s & 1980’s - by my taking too much notice of what I thought other people might think before stepping inside my first strip pub.
G
It's sad to learn of Bill Martland (Tyke)'s death. I came across In the Beginning There Was Theresa online by chance a couple of years ago, & his writing - incredibly well-informed, humorous & generous in his judgements - vividly brought back many memories of my time going to London's stripping pubs (late 1970s to early '90s). I felt here was a kindred spirit. An enthusiast for the scene (but a realist), his writing is an invaluable record, especially of those years, & he also puts the rise & decline of pub stripping in a sociological context. His characterisations of the pubs & his (usually warm) portrayals of the dancers usually raise a smile of recognition. His knowledge was much more comprehensive than mine. My views on one or two strippers differ from his, but that's just an accident of personal taste & circumstance. I don't think I ever met Tyke, but we must have been in the same pubs on occasion. I'd entertained the hope that one day I might be able to contact him & compare notes, so it's additionally sad to learn that even as I first read ITBTWT online, he had already passed on.
ReplyDeleteI've written a novel about a heroine one of whose personas is as a London pub stripper, which I'm finally getting into print, & although the writing of that long predates my discovery of ITBTWT, reading Tyke's account was not only a welcome confirmation of many details, but also a kind of moral boost. Above all, ITBTWT is a tribute to a much-neglected, derided & disapproved-of world, written with humanity, wit & sharp observation. I hope the print edition is still available, because I can't find it online any more.
Lastly, a quote from the Theresa of the title (I hope she doesn't mind me using this, wherever she is now): "I'm disgusting, aren't I, Tim? But it's nice, isn't it?" Which seems in one way to sum up the pub stripping scene.
Tim Curtis
I may have met him but always read his words on Undressed to Kill. He didn’t rate the Flying Scotsman (a place I loved) but just google “the Scottish Stores” and you will see what it has turned into! A sad sign of the times
ReplyDelete