Sometimes it's only through the study of historical documents that we can truly appreciate how, societally we find ourselves locked into certain modes of behaviour. Recent medical reports have identified a 20 year identifiable rise in sexually transmitted diseases. The latest government statistics tell us that in the last two decades, reported instances of syphilis alone have increased eleven-fold. Particularly disheartening when you consider that prior to 1992, reported cases had steadily and significantly dwindled for almost 30 years. Also prior to '92 was a notable decline in teenage pregnancy yet, again, in the two decades following we have seen a steady increase.
The discourse surrounding this matter is heated with various parties asserting numerous theories and solutions based upon them. Some feel these statistics are completely unrelated and simply the random ebbs and flows of a closely observed population. My personal feeling is that nothing in this world is incidental and if an infinite yet expanding universe can be tracked back to a 'big bang', all causality can be assumed to fit this model.
So what was the 'big bang' that occurred in the early 1990s which set a generation on a course of confused and misinformed sexual experimentation? Some believe it was a backlash to the anti-prurience and caution which arose following the mid-eighties response to the HIV and AIDS epidemic. I have an entirely different and somewhat radical proposal.
On the 23 January 1993, Walthamstow-based rap-pop boy band East 17 (often abbreviated to 'E17' to no obvious syllable-saving effect) released their third single from their debut album 'Walthamstow' the song was called 'Deep', a composition about the act of copulation. Although it charted only at number five in the UK hit parade, I feel the song and the music video which accompanied it left an indelible mark on the sexual identity of a generation. To prove my hypothesis, I shall now conduct an in-depth dissection of said video and invite you to join me on this exploration...
I invite you to watch along: http://youtu.be/Tloj9osem6w
0:01 - An early nineties barista forces steam into a cup of coffee. Traditionally steam would be forced into milk and then added to the coffee to produce cappuccino, this man can be forgiven for his mistake, though as it would be another decade until such sophisticated coffee practices would be commonplace in areas such as Walthamstow. Indeed, the gentleman should be congratulated for his attempt to adopt such a progressive practice. On first glance, the resulting explosion of coffee might be considered comical but, when viewed in the context of what follows, it is revealed to be a complex visual metaphor for the act of ejaculation. It is followed by an almost imperceptible flash frame of the barista holding an empty cup - possibly a visual indictment of the female gender. Also possibly an unnoticed edit glitch.
0:03 - 0:10 - The scene is set, a large group of male youths dressed in matching baggy camouflage clothes in a coffee shop and around a pool table. It could be questioned why they opt for a camouflage consisting of black, grey and white - within these environs it has the opposite effect as intended - it makes them highly visible, we soon realise that this is their intention. To attract a mate, they must be seen.
0:12 - For several different shots, a large skylight in an East London housing estate is featured prominently at the top of the screen whilst the band members walk around it, past it, under it. Its prominence and position in this sequence enforces the interpretation that it mightt represent the vagina. Ever present in the mind of the protagonist, it looms large over their actions and motivation.
0:20 - The first appearance of the female. Two women appear at the pool table dancing orgasmically. The men seem disinterested, continuing their game. This will gain relevance as this deconstruction progresses.
0:23 - One of the most striking images in the whole video, a slow motion shot of band member Terry Colderton performing what can only be described as 'a floppy-hatted dance of seduction'. At first it appears comical - the slow motion flopping action of his drastically oversized knitted headgear seems preposterous but quickly we realise through his arched-eyebrowed expression of allure and intensity that this is, in fact, a flamboyant constituent of his mating ritual. Rhythmically, almost hypnotically, the motion of the hat, combined with appropriate hand signals renders the female of the species docile and open to attack. It's only through this specialised filming technique that we can see the intricacies and nuances of the display.
0:28 - The assembled group watch with rapt attention as their leader - band member Tony Mortimer rolls the cue ball up the pool table, failing to pocket it. Conceivably this could be an allegory for impotence or failure to pleasure the opposite gender. Alongside the table, a row of seated members of the group sit clasping their pool cues erect between their legs. It is unclear whether this is an act intended to taunt or support their leader.
0:32 - A flash frame of what appears to be an ancient fertility statue. Possibly an allusion to the fertility of the group who we now see huddled around a piano beneath an overpass - an assertion of masculinity if ever there was one.
0:48 - Perhaps the first explicit visual reference in the video. A couple kiss passionately. At first it is unclear whether or not they are both male as the short-haired female has her back to the camera and appears to be wearing an enormous over-stuffed gentleman's coat. On further inspection it becomes obvious that the gentleman in question has lent it to her as part of their courtship. He is sufficiently warm in a pleasingly patterned piece of knitwear but conspicuously under-dressed in a climate where the other males have chosen to wear quite elaborate outer-garments. Most striking about this image is the marked expression of confusion and reticence on the face of the male. This is entirely open to interpretation and discussion, which I heartily encourage.
0:54 - A lyrically important moment:
"So lay back and /close your eyes and /while I fiddle you can fantasize /yeah, while I fiddle you can fantasize"
Now, due to the genre of the music, we can immediately dismiss any notion that by 'fiddle' Mr Mortimer is referring to the use of a bowed string instrument, as charming of a mental image as that conjures. Indeed, throughout history women have been left to fantasize as their male counterparts indulge in performances of violin-based folk shanties but it would be foolish to assume this is what he alludes to. There are only two realistic interpretations, neither reflecting particularly well on the singer. The first suggests that he intends to forego sexual congress but invites his partner to imagine they might whilst he pleasures himself solitarily in a corner. The other is that he might be 'fiddling' with the woman herself but this begs he question why he would encourage her to fantasize rather than remain present in the experience which might well have been a fantasy for any number of impoverished schoolgirls at the time. There is, of course, the possibility that fiddle isn't a sexual reference at all and he's inviting her to fantasize whilst he attempts to bleed the radiators, correct a wonky table leg or get the television correctly tuned.
1:04 - The first instance of the lyrically confusing chorus:
"You gon' deep, baby/ (Deep, deep down)/ Like sleep, sugar/ (So rest upon my chest)/ You gon' deep, baby/ (Deep, deep down)/ Like sleep, sugar/ (So rest upon my chest)"
There is an implicit ambiguity in the word 'gon'' and whether it refers to the past or present tense of the verb 'to go'. Is it 'going' or 'gone' and, indeed, who is the lyric addressed to. We can assume that it refers to the act of coitus but usually it would be the male who could be seen as 'going' deep or 'having gone' deep. This throws the whole focus of the song into contention - is it in fact addressed to a man, congratulating him on his sexual performance? If so, who is singing? Is Mortimer putting himself in the role of the female, commending himself on his own performance? Or is their a latent homosexual overtone to the piece? Interestingly, unlike the majority of relationship-based pop songs, at no point in this piece is there an implicit reference to the female gender. Such fare is usually studded with caterwauled references such as 'girl', 'woman', or indeed 'ho' and 'bitch'. Not here. The only other referred to is with the gender-ambiguous 'baby' and 'sugar'. Have we found another level to this work at first appearance so aggressively heterosexual? Is it mere coincidence that the chorus is sang as call and response between gentlemen?
1:19 - My hypothesis seems validated, as Mortimer raps the refrain "(So rest upon my chest)" he repeatedly motions towards the chest of bandmate Brian Harvey. Could this be the chest he asserts so vociferously as his own?
1:33 - Another lyrical anomaly:
"I dream, you scream and tighten ya hold/ I tiggle in the middle as we giggle, in I go"
The Oxford English Dictionary makes no mention of the word 'tiggle', one must give Mortimer the benefit of the doubt that he is merely bastardising the word 'tickle' rather than alluding to the Urban Dictionary definition of a non-asian person who poses as an asian, or possesses "asianisms".
1:41 - A shot played in reverse of a brick being thrown into a car windscreen. Presumably when played forwards this seemed too aggressive a sexual metaphor. Backwards, however, it is completely baffling.
1:50 - Whilst Mortimer sings the line 'A lovers harmony', he mimes playing a violin - throwing into question once more the confusion raised at the 0:54 mark - perhaps he was referring to a bowed stringed instrument after all.
1:51 - A four second abstract image of some feather boas in a forgotten darkened room. Possible reinforcement of non-specific gender overtones.
2:02 - Brian Harvey poses in front of a prominent sign declaring 'We Accept Luncheon Vouchers' - the prominence of this notice seems confusing but when placed in historical context suggest there might have been far more going on in this video than first suspected. The positioning of the concepts of Brian Harvey and Luncheon are tantalising when considered alongside what would become his most controversial future action reported thusly in The Daily Mail:
He said: "I was starving so I baked three jacket potatoes and stuffed them down. They were big. I put cheese on, then tuna mayonnaise and I ate the lot."
He then attempted to drive to a friend's house but got lost in a cul-de-sac. "There wasn't room to turn round, so I came to a stop and put the car in reverse. But then I felt sick so I took off my seatbelt, opened the door and went to be sick. Instead of keeping my foot on the brake, it slipped on to the accelerator."
The Mercedes careered into another car and the jolt sent Harvey out of the door and on to the road.
"I got caught up between my driver's door and a wall. The car was still going backwards and I was forced underneath."
Could Harvey have been forewarning us of his intentions?
2:16 - A shot of what appears to be a knitted Humpty Dumpty doll being doused from above with water. A baffling visual metaphor but one which screams out to be understood. Could it be as simple as the toy being the nearest object to hand which bore a resemblance to the glans of the penis? Could it be a reference to the negation of childhood? The urban dictionary defines the term 'Humpty' as
The overwhelming hatred and ridicule for you is so strong that you become the common enemy that unites two or more groups with previously irreconcilable differences
Again, could this be prescience on the part of the band?
2:37 - Another flash frame, almost subliminal of the fertility statue. A paranoid response to this repeated imagery might think that this video is not as innocent as first believed and potentially a conduit for an ancient evil to wreak havoc on the sexual mores of a nation's young.
2:46 - The most explicit lyrical innuendo yet - "Yeah, I'll butter the toast/ if you'll lick the knife" a breakfast innuendo with damaging connotations as for generations, Britons have been warned by concerned parents specifically not to lick knives.
2:51 - Although not specifically containing a duality of meaning, the juxtaposition of a gang of Walthamstow toughs singing about the use of bubble bath seems incongruous bordering on suspicious. If, however, it is intended to be taken at face value, it is quite delightful.
3:08 - A piece of footage that appears to be plundered from a 1980's Castrol GTX advert of the pouring of a highly viscous liquid into an identical highly viscous liquid. It's probably about sex.
3:28 - In perhaps the most inflammatory piece of visual suggestion, a group of clearly underaged schoolgirls are seen dancing in front of a sign which reads 'Fill it with Fish'. Decency and propriety dictate I leave the responsibility of deconstructing this concept to you.
3:48 - Tony Mortimer clasps his hands to his head, possibly a display of last minute regret in regards to the wheels he has now set in motion.
3:56 The previously innocuous barista winks lasciviously to an unknown person off-screen before disappearing in a fug of steam.
The video ends.
For many years, this video has seemed like a harmless piece of marketing yet if you talk to any thirty-something Briton you'll find a commonality. A shared intense memory of both song and video - even in those who in no way fit the original East 17 demographic. One could conceivably muse on the how a single which didn't even technically top the charts could be so deeply embedded in a nation's psyche whilst other number 5 singles such as the theme song to Boon, Al Martino's 'Spanish Eyes' and Howard Jones's 'New Song' go almost completely unremembered.
My hypothesis is that the song and video Deep has been working away in the backs of all of our minds for almost two decades now. This melange of confusing sexual allusions and metaphors silently informing our decisions and actions in the realm of sexual interaction. A generation has 'fiddled', 'tiggled' and 'filled with fish' its way to calamity. This obviously has wide-reaching implications and potentially contains within it the key to solving many of our problems as a nation. I am open to any offers of funding to further explore this subject.
Next week, I will be looking at the effects of East 17's 1994 single 'Stay Another Day' on Great Britain's international migration statistics.