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6 - Get up, Stand up! Matta Fancanta wins Heritage Lottery Funding

The recent history of a 1970s’ black-led youth music movement, Matta Fancanta, is to be documented in a project funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Northamptonshire Black History Association has been granted £47,000 to explore the history of Matta Fancanta through film documentary, with interviews of founding members of the group and through a touring exhibition and stage production.

The group, which grew to a membership of almost 600, gave a voice to those who felt marginalized by the society of Northampton at the time. Events held in the town became well known with Saturday night dances attracting people from all over the country .The big sound system was also toured around to other groups and Matta Fancanta earned a reputation for providing cultural music to a wide range of young people.

The Northamptonshire Black History Association will engage volunteers in collecting and collating the press coverage from the time and will collate memories from participants and members of the community about the role that Matta Fancanta played in the development of a rich, cultural heritage of the black community.

The living memories will also be used to inspire today's young people to create theatrical performances.

Nikki Taylor of the Northamptonshire Black History Association said: “We are delighted to get the grant from The Heritage Lottery Fund. We have found renewed interest in this recent episode in our history and we wanted to show how we can use the past to reflect on the changes that have taken place politically and socially with young people. People want to tell their side of the story and it will show the younger members of our town how it was for the generation before theirs”.

Emma Sayer, Regional Manager of the Heritage Lottery Fund in the East Midlands commented: “People think of heritage as being something that's a long way back in the past, but it can be much more recent than that. This project will demonstrate that something that raised eyebrows at the time can actually show how a whole generation forged a community using music as a common thread”.

Horace Cohen was a founding member of the group and he said: “When we were young we travelled up and down the country with our sound systems and were welcomed into different communities. Nowadays young people are stabbed for stepping outside their postcode. We can show how it can be done differently”.

Nikki Taylor added: “It was a time when young people made a stand for their community, not by rioting or causing trouble, but by reaching out with music to help marginalized young people feel as if they belonged. Perhaps we can learn from this.”