“Apart from these, let all others remain to guard our glorious banners.”
Giuseppe Garibaldi
NOTTINGHAM FOREST AND FOOTBALL CULTURE
When talking about his beloved Nottingham Forest a smile as wide as the City Ground appears across Simon Bristow’s face.
It was the late 80s when he was seduced by the red and white of Brian Clough’s army, falling in love with a club whose second home seemed to be Wembley.
It was an idyllic start to a relationship, a permanent honeymoon you might say, where the good times would surely last forever.
“I probably had it too good in those early years,” laughs Simon, “As the next 30 were pretty horrific, aside from a couple of brief returns to the Premier League and an entertaining run in the UEFA Cup.”
The beautiful game is a cruel mistress at times, but despite its hardships, it is one we are bound to for better or worse.
Simon, wouldn’t have it any other way and it was his love of football that led him to a career in sports marketing, “I had ten years at two agencies in London, getting to work with The Football Association, various football clubs and sports brands and also at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
“Following that I secured a dream move to work for adidas as Global PR Director at their HQ in Germany and then an equally exciting opportunity to work at Forest as Head of Marketing.”
It was during his time at adidas, that Simon became aware of the wider culture surrounding football, realising that the game was so much more than 90 minutes; It was the fans, tifos, fashion, and photography. It was a sense of belonging to a community and this inspired Simon to create, ‘Our Glorious Banners.’ a platform dedicated to his love of Nottingham Forest, and capturing the action off the pitch.
“Inspired by all the creativity I’d become so interested in, I bought a camera and started taking it with me to games. My idea was to capture the culture that surrounded Forest games, the pre-match get-togethers, the long bus trips and the scenes in the stands.
“I obviously understand why the focus of TV cameras and professional photographers is the action on the pitch, but I honestly believe the scenes in the stands are equally as captivating.”
Simon’s, ‘Our Glorious Banners’ project led to the creation of two zines that documented Nottingham Forest’s return to the Premier League and would help raise £100,000 for good causes.
Over the past year, Simon looked into the possibility of building something off the back of ‘Our Glorious Banners,’ a project that was a wider celebration of football culture.
“I’ve become obsessed with all the amazing people that publish content about football – and fan – culture, and all the wonderful creativity that exists around football.
“I’ve thought for some time that there is an opportunity to create something that champions this creativity and celebrates football culture, which has led me to create Added Time Club.”
“I’m launching Added Time Club with the idea of creating events and projects that document and showcase football culture. I also want to use it as a platform for football creatives to get paid commissions and generally opportunities to showcase their work.
“Football is a unique phenomenon, impacting people’s lives like nothing else. On the pitch, the beautiful game creates moments that send fans into ecstasy, and agony. Those 90 minutes transport people into a different world.
“But football is much more than 90 minutes. Beyond the pitch, there is something even more powerful. A unique, rich and diverse culture that shapes communities.
“Added Time Club has been created to document and showcase the unique phenomenon of football culture.”
Added Time Club launches its first event at the Backlit Gallery on September 26-29th, where entry is completely free.
The exhibition will celebrate Nottingham Forest fan culture, featuring photography, fashion and design, as well as taking a look at the club’s rich and unique history. It will be a nostalgic walk down memory lane filled with romanticism.
ADDED TIME
Added Time Club, isn’t of course just all about Nottingham Forest. They are currently working on their first official project with an organisation called Ipswich Central. who work tirelessly to improve Ipswich town centre, making it a more vibrant, welcoming, and fulfilling place
Over the course of the season, Ipswich Central will undertake a range of activities that link the business community to football in order to understand the knock-on effect of visitors and fans coming together around the town.
Football culture photographer, Adam Rosenbaum, has also been commissioned to capture a series of portrait photographs of the people working at local businesses. These will be accompanied by short Q&As from the business leaders to detail how Premier League football has impacted the town.
This will be supported by an independent study looking at the economic impact that Ipswich’s first season of top-flight football since 2002 has over the coming ten months. Fans will also be given the opportunity to get involved with the campaign with disposable cameras being made available for people to capture their own match day experiences throughout the season.
All elements of the campaign will come together in an exhibition at the end of the season to showcase all of the photography and celebrate the local business in the town as well as the fan culture of Ipswich Town.
Lee Walker, Ipswich Central CEO, spoke of his excitement surrounding the project, “Whilst the focus is obviously on the 90 minutes of action, the power of football extends far beyond the boundaries of the pitch with its impact being felt across local communities,” This season we have the added impact of Ipswich Town returning to the Premier League for the first time in over 20 years. This is a huge moment for the club, for the fans and also for the businesses at the heart of our town.
“We wanted to look at the impact of the Premier League returning to Ipswich in an authentic way that taps into football culture. We also wanted to create a platform to showcase and celebrate the local businesses that will welcome fans and help showcase our town to the world over the coming season.”
When you speak with Simon, you get a clear sense of his love and appreciation for football. His heart doesn’t just belong to Nottingham Forest, it belongs to the beauty of the game.
The voyage of discovery that he is about to embark upon with Added Time Club is nothing short of fantastic and it was an absolute pleasure to sit down with the man himself as we learned more about the project and his life as a Forest fan.
30 MANAGERS AND 33 YEARS HAD PASSED
When I was growing up I had a choice to make. Follow my dad and become an Arsenal fan or follow my mates and become a Forest fan.
At the time (the late 80s), Forest and Arsenal were pretty much the same team, Forest slightly the better, and so it was Forest who I committed to.
It began really well, my first live game was a trip to Wembley for the 1989 League Cup Final (Forest beat Luton 3-1) and Forest returned to Wembley in 1990 (League Cup), 1991 (FA Cup) and 1992 (Zenith Data Systems Cup – yes, that was a thing, and technically Forest are still holders of the trophy).
Remarkably, the next time I watched Forest play at Wembley the stadium I went to in 1989 had been demolished, a new one built, we’d dropped as far as League One, had about 30 managers and 33 years had passed.
FOOTBALL IS MUCH MORE THAN 90 MINUTES
I started a career in Sports PR and marketing, mostly because working in sports felt like fun rather than a job.
I was lucky enough to work with the Football Association, various football clubs and sports brands, and at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, as well as adidas, and of course Nottingham Forest.
It was during my time with adidas that my eyes were opened to modern football culture and the creativity that exists around the game.
Football is much more than 90 minutes and in recent times there has been an explosion of creativity in the form of photography, fashion, kit culture, design and much more.
I found it all incredibly interesting and inspiring and it changed my mindset of exactly what football can mean to people and places.
Having left my role at Forest and finding myself travelling around the country as a fan again, I felt like I needed a creative outlet to reignite my passion.
This was the start of my Our Glorious Banners project. By complete luck, I started the project as Forest finally got themselves out of the Championship and back into the Premier League. I went, camera in hand, to 46 games (including all three Playoff matches) in the promotion season, so I was able to document the most incredible season many of us have ever witnessed – from bottom of the league to promotion.
Survival in the Premier League the following season was equally compelling to capture. Those seasons resulted in two zines that sold around 8,000 copies, with all the proceeds (about £100,000) going to good causes.
I’m back taking photos again this season, and as of last season, everything is exclusively shot on film now, which adds an extra authentic tone to the photos.
After two survival seasons, I’m hoping our third campaign in the top flight is a little more smooth and we can push up the league. We’ve had a good start but the level of the Premier League means every game is tough.
THE POWER OF FOOTBALL CULTURE
Through Our Glorious Banners, I’ve become a little obsessed with football culture. The way that tens of thousands of people from all walks of life come together and unite behind their team, the way that football impacts entire communities and the way it inspires so much creativity. I find it all fascinating.
I’ve thought for some time that there is an opportunity to create something that champions this creativity and celebrates football culture, which has led me to create Added Time Club.
The idea is that Added Time Club will create projects for clubs, brands and other organisations involved in football that understand the power of football culture.
Importantly, I want these projects to have an event or exhibition element that fans can experience.
I also want them to provide platforms for people doing creative things to showcase their work. It’s a big idea, with lots of opportunities, but it’s something that I’m really passionate about and excited by.
Amazingly, given that football is the biggest sport in the world, there isn’t any kind of regular event or exhibition series for fans.
There has been the odd one-off exhibition and there are events aimed at a football business audience, but I think there is an opportunity to create a brand in this space that is specifically thinking about fans.
The reaction so far has been really positive and I’ve been having lots of interesting conversations with a broad range of people and organisations.
In the short term, there are two projects already underway and I’m hoping those will help to showcase what Added Time Club is all about, how football culture can be used to engage and excite fans and it’ll grow from there.
MODERN FOOTBALL FASHION AND CULTURE
Obviously, the first exhibition with Added Time Club has to be about Forest fan culture, this is a project that’s been 40-odd years in the making for me!
As amazing as it will be to have some of my photos exhibited in a proper gallery, the event will be much more than that.
It’s going to incorporate the work of Forza Garibaldi, the fans group that organises flags and tifos at the City Ground, modern football fashion as well as Forest kit culture, with a particular focus on the relationship – historical and modern – between NFFC and adidas.
There are going to be a couple of well-known football culture brands involved and one or two special exhibits too – and one pretty cool interactive element for fans that I’m going to keep under wraps for now, but I think people who come to the exhibition will enjoy.
TAPPING INTO FOOTBALL CULTURE
The first official project for Added Time Club is working with an organisation in Ipswich called, Ipswich Central.
The project will look at the impact of Premier League football on the town, its people and local businesses over the course of the season, with the idea to show how football culture goes far beyond the confines of the pitch, or even a match day, and has a significant impact on a place.
This is being done through a series of portrait photographs, working with the very talented Adam Rosenbaum, fan photography and an economic study, as well as collaborations with local creatives. It will all culminate in an exhibition at the end of the season.
It’s the perfect project to start with as following more than 20 years outside of the Premier League the impact on Ipswich will be far more significant.
It’s a great football town and a great club too. There is such a buzz around the place and that is inspiring so much creativity that’s tapping into football culture.
As mentioned, I always want Added Time Club projects to culminate in an event or exhibition rather than just existing digitally.
I believe that people, and especially football fans, like to experience things and, when it comes to creativity, I think being able to spend proper time looking at it is really important.
BRINGING FOOTBALL AND CREATIVITY TOGETHER
Football continues to get bigger and bigger around the world. I think it inspires more and more creativity and this in turn creates an increased love for football culture – the more interesting things there are for people to consume the more interesting and diverse the culture of the game becomes.
The amount of people doing photography projects like Our Glorious Banners is mindblowing, and those projects cover teams around the world.
I’m particularly obsessed with fan photography projects in Brazil at the moment, the stuff they capture in the stands is on another level.
This all inspires other people to do the same and it all keeps growing. That’s just photography projects too, there are so many other ways people are bringing football and creativity together.
If you look at the big brands as well, the smart ones are using the authenticity of fan culture to promote kits, fashion and everything else.
I’m biased of course, but adidas has been the leader in this space over recent years, working with fans to create content that is engaging and meaningful.
Arsenal is without doubt the club doing this kind of thing the best too, they constantly work with really interesting and creative fans on campaigns, which is great to see.
CREATED BY FANS, FOR FANS
The dream for Added Time Club is to turn it into a regular series of events that bring together all the creativity in the game to create a proper celebration of football culture – created by fans, for fans.
That could be events that focus on specific clubs or entire leagues or international tournaments, the opportunities are vast but there is no doubt that the audience for this kind of thing is there.
I also see a huge opportunity for more projects like the one in Ipswich where organisations like Ipswich Central understand the power and importance of a football club to their town but need support in creating authentic work that will resonate with fans.
I will also continue to be inspired by all the people doing creative projects and thinking of ways to work with them or create opportunities to showcase their work. As I always like to say to people, creativity wins.
ALL OUR THANKS TO SIMON BRISTOW.
YOU CAN FOLLOW OUR GLORIOUS BANNERS HERE.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ADDED TIME CLUB CLICK HERE.