The Kids are alright collage backdrop by Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard (1998)

On the 8th of March Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard staged their fourth major live art event The Kids are Alright. Following their impressive ICA debut with The Smiths is dead, Iain and Jane continued their obsessive excavation of revivals, imitation, nostalgia and fakery with The Kids are Alright - a live art event featuring a suitably cataclysmic live performance by a Who tribute band plus an exclusive screening of their short film Made in England. With The Kids Are Alright, attention was shifted from a singular band to an era, a stylistic and all that it went on to influence.

Still from video documentation of The Kids are Alright

The most unusual and effective element of The Kids Are Alright was the film. Made in England was born out of the desire to create a support act to 'warm up' the audience. Excited by the idea of Karaoke films without ever having seen one, Iain and Jane set out to make a short film which could function in the manner they felt a karaoke video would.

Having obtained the original master tapes for a recording of Substitute performed by the Who tribute band, a new mix was produced, minus the vocal track. Taking this as the soundtrack, the lyrics of the song were then produced as rolling graphics by young design team 'Pretty, You May Be...', forming one half of the 'split screen' film. Iain and Jane spent a day in London's Carnaby Street shooting footage which centred around Dan Howard-Birt walking the length of the street, cutting a strange presence dressed in authentic period Mod clothing previously used in the filming of Quadrophenia.

Made in England, the resulting film, was projected large-scale onto the back of the stage at the event prior to the band's performance, provoking the entire audience to chant along with the on-screen lyrics.