Crass made music that had the power to change lives – and, indeed, Steve Ignorant avows that joining Crass saved him from his difficult teenage years. It’s hardly surprising then, that Ignorant has ended up working on a lifeboat that itself is independent, both from the British coastguard and mainstream rescue service, the RNLI. It’s not an anarchist lifeboat, per se, but just like Crass, is an organisation run by individuals from all walks of life, united by a common cause – saving and changing lives.
A few years ago Luke Turner and Ethan Reid headed up to Sea Palling on the North Norfolk coast to speak to Ignorant about his work on the lifeboat, the practicalities, the emotions, and why if push comes to shove he’d still have pulled Margaret Thatcher out of the water.
Ignorant told The Quietus that when he’s on the Lifeboat nobody is paying attention to his past in Crass: "This skinny little runt from Dagenham who goes to America, does all this stuff, and used to be the lead singer in Crass, is now just number eight in the crew,” he said. “When I’m on the boat, there’s no Steve Ignorant. There’s no airs and graces, you just do it."
To read Luke Turner’s profile of Jim Sclavunos, visit the Lush website. The Quietus at Leisure was produced by Turner and shot and edited by Ethan Reid. The series is produced in association with Lush.
