# Urban75

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British website and internet forum

Urban75 Type of site Community, local news, left-wing politics Headquarters Brixton, London, England Editor Mike Slocombe URL urban75.org Commercial No Launched May 1995; 31 years ago (1995-05) Current status Online

**Urban75**, also known as **U75** or simply **Urban**, is a website and [internet forum](/source/Internet_forum) based in [Brixton](/source/Brixton), London, and online since 1995.[1]

## History

Urban75 originated from a [football](/source/Football_(soccer)) [comic](/source/Comic) *Bluebird Jones* - an e-zine formed around football fans opposition to the [Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994](/source/Criminal_Justice_and_Public_Order_Act_1994). The campaign received large amounts of exposure in the media, and in May 1995 an unknown helper on the campaign from [Brighton](/source/Brighton) put together the first version of the Urban75 site, using a modem donated by [The Levellers](/source/The_Levellers_(band)).[2][3] The site is characterised by an opposition to [mainstream culture](/source/Mainstream_culture) and does not carry [adverts](/source/Advert). Its editor is founder Mike Slocombe.[4]

The site and forums expanded beyond football and [direct action](/source/Direct_action) with a mix of [left-wing politics](/source/Left-wing_politics), [drugs](/source/Drugs), [music](/source/Music), and [photography](/source/Photography) amongst other interests. As it grew in popularity, it was forced to leave its web host [Demon Internet](/source/Demon_Internet), and was briefly hosted on the [Head-Space Project](/source/Head_New_Media)[5] until it moved to its own domain in August 1997.[6] Early publicity was generated by [Shockwave](/source/Adobe_Shockwave) games in which politicians and celebrities could be virtually "slapped" or "punched".[7]

## In the media

'Squirrels On Crack' in *[South London Press](/source/South_London_Press)*

In March 2002, Urban75 [Lambeth](/source/Lambeth) police chief [Brian Paddick](/source/Brian_Paddick) posted on the forums while he was conducting a [cannabis](/source/Cannabis_(drug)) tolerance experiment. When the [tabloid](/source/Tabloid_journalism) press discovered Paddick's posts on the site, a scandal ensued.[8] In particular, the press highlighted one such post where Paddick had said: "The concept of anarchy has always appealed to me". Paddick subsequently met with the [Metropolitan Police Commissioner](/source/Metropolitan_Police_Commissioner), Sir [John Stevens](/source/John_Stevens%2C_Baron_Stevens_of_Kirkwhelpington), and accepted criticism of his remarks.[9] No disciplinary action was taken and Paddick remained in his post until his retirement in 2007.[10]

In July 2005, Rachel North posted on the forums her account of having been caught up in the [2005 London bombings](/source/7_July_2005_London_bombings). This was reposted on a [BBC](/source/BBC) [blog](/source/Blog) in the days following the attack.[11]

In October 2005, a forum post entitled "Can squirrels get addicted to crack?" was picked up by the local *[South London Press](/source/South_London_Press)*, leading to a number of national newspapers also running the story.[12]

In September 2006 the technology news website *[The Register](/source/The_Register)* said Urban75 was "the naughty corner of British politics" after posters on the forum disrupted an online petition in support of then [UK Prime Minister](/source/Prime_Minister_of_the_United_Kingdom) [Tony Blair](/source/Tony_Blair).[13]

## Offline club

Urban75 held its first *Offline* club night in February 2004, and continues today hosting nights in [Brixton](/source/Brixton) venues such as the [Ritzy Cinema](/source/Ritzy_Cinema), Dogstar, Brixton Jamm Club, 414 Club, and the Prince Albert. Offline hosts a line-up of DJs and has also put on well known acts such as [Alabama 3](/source/Alabama_3), [Sharks](/source/Sharks_(band_formed_1972)), [Morton Valence](/source/Morton_Valence), [Stewart Lee](/source/Stewart_Lee), [Josie Long](/source/Josie_Long), [Rob Newman](/source/Robert_Newman_(comedian)), [Shazia Mirza](/source/Shazia_Mirza), and [Howard Marks](/source/Howard_Marks).[14]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** [Urban75 - about us](http://www.urban75.org/info/about.html). *[Urban75](/source/Urban_75)*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** [The London Blogger Interviews #25: Urban 75](https://londonist.com/2009/07/the_london_blogger_interviews_25_ur). [The Londonist](/source/The_Londonist). 27 July 2009.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Matthew Collin (17 June 1997). [Wired world: Eighties survivor cracks the zine scene](http://www.mcspotlight.org/media/press/wired_17jun97.html). *[Wired](/source/Wired_magazine).*

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Jason Whittaker. The Cyberspace Handbook: Internet forums and e-zines. Routledge, 2003.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Rebecca Burn-Callander (7 November 2011). ["10 websites that changed the world"](http://www.managementtoday.co.uk/10-websites-changed-world/article/1102817). *Management Today*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["Get yer anoraks on - it's the Tech Stuff"](http://www.urban75.com/Mag/tech.html). *Urban75*. 28 January 1998.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** JL Perone (9 June 1998). [The Urban Web Warrior: Urban75's Mike Slocombe](http://www.ojr.org/ojr/workplace/1017968134.php). [Online Journalism Review](/source/Online_Journalism_Review).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Vikram Dodd (28 November 2003). [The Guardian profile: Brian Paddick](https://www.theguardian.com/gayrights/story/0,12592,1095048,00.html). [The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** [Police chief rebuked over 'anarchy' remark](https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/1866274.stm). [BBC News](/source/BBC_News). 11 March 2002.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** [Met's Paddick set to retire early](https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6599007.stm). [BBC News](/source/BBC_News). 27 April 2007.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** [BBC News - UK - Coming together as a city](https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4670099.stm). [BBC News](/source/BBC_News). 15 July 2005.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** Ben Austwick (April 2006). Squirrels On Crack. [Fortean Times](/source/Fortean_Times).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** [Galaxy of saboteurs trashes 'Save the Blair' petition](https://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/09/08/blair_boosters_trolled/). *[The Register](/source/The_Register)*. 8 September 2006.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** [Offline Club in Brixton](http://www.urban75.org/offline/). *[Urban75](/source/Urban_75)*.

## External links

- [Urban75 website](http://www.urban75.org/)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Urban75](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban75) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban75?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.