Back in the tail end of 2013, whilst up a ladder, a conversation with a writer about the possibility of shooting a celebrity in front of a wall of graffiti came about. It was sort of a dream of theirs. And it started me off to try and make that happen. As a Blues fan we talked about a ‘Zulu’ wall. As in – wouldn’t it be ace if they did a massive wall that said Zulu and then we got loads of original Zulus in front of it. Within a couple of weeks I visited a small shop in Brum having found out through the internet that this was where I could meet a proper old skool Brum lad. What I didn’t know until then was that I was about to meet a bloke who I had actually ‘nearly been mates with’ for thirty years. His name was Todd and between him and me we spent a long time after that first meeting many weeks talking to various other mates collecting what would be one of the largest gatherings of original Zulus in front of a graffiti piece painted specifically for them.

Todd and I came to realise that we had been ‘nearly mates’ because he went to school with my best mate Brett who also went to school with many of the Zulus who I did know but also many of my other school mates who had hung around with all the same people. He also happened to go to school with my daughters boyfriends Mom. Now non of this is confusing to me at all. And if you are a Brummie it wont be either. Because its how it is. Especially if you are mid to late forties – we all sort of knew each other. We knew each other from sport, music, The Powerhouse, the mod scene, hanging around up town on Saturdays back in the day – whatever – but we all sort of still knew each other. The mad thing is that I also knew – but didn’t know until the day of the photo – loads of the other Zulus who turned up – for all the exact same reasons!

For me this was a brilliant moment in my own history as a photographer. Todd had set up a page to invite people and for the weeks leading up to the shoot day I was having to field questions about where it was, who else was going and the utter disappointment from Zulus who were out of the country or just too far away to travel to come to the shoot. Watching them all connecting through the threads on the page was brilliant. There was a proper excitement and a genuine delight that someone had made an effort to get them all together. They were also delighted that there was going to be a wall painted for them, and gave it and the shoot their full support. It was though a really good thing to organise. Todd (above) and me have stayed mates since and I even visited his gym ONCE to train with his boxers. ONCE because I couldn’t move my arms for nearly a fortnight afterwards. But it was a good thing to do because it reminded me of a lot of the connections I had lost touch with over the years. I’ve put all that right now as far as I can. And I’m blessed that I have a lot of people back in touch with me who I didn’t think I would again – and that was an additional plus to this project.

The writers Kem and Mef painted up the wall. It got washed off the first time and I remember Kem calling me the day before the shoot to say that it had pretty much washed off again following heavy rain and he was doing his best to patch it back up again. It was all very touch and go if there would be a wall for them when they got there the following day – but luckily the graffiti gods were kind and it did stay in tact.

The day itself was a brilliant shoot. I did however have a lot going on my personal life and sadly it all came to a head that particular day and although I have reasonable photographs, they are not what I would have liked to really produce, but I was not in a very good place and thats reflected in the final quality of the shots I took. The photo above taken of me is horrible, Im trying so hard to smile, but theres more unhappiness in those eyes than I can explain as my world had just been turned upside down. But….!!!! Look at what we did do……

They travelled and they laughed and they poised like old family do. They shook hands, they hugged and they proudly stood in front of that wall and I shot away.

This was one of the final shots. The wall and the original idea came from The Inc and this was the last wall I shot of theirs following a full two years of shooting their work for virtually every Sunday the two years before this. It was the end of that but this was still a magnificent moment for them, me and the Zulus. This photograph went viral, with it being shared across several countries –  I followed its popularity through Google Analytics. It was even shared by the famous Hooligan Wardrobe site and several other very popular football culture sites. It has been the most successful photograph for support that I have ever taken and only one of three of my shots which has gone viral. It was a proud moment for me to be able to see that especially as I am a proud Blue nose myself.

But for me, never having been part of a Zulu rush, the following one was better personally. One of the zulus thought it would make a good photo if they all ran at me. So little me and I have to say on that particular day, very fragile me, kneeled down, took a deep breathe, shouted SHIT ON THE VILLA and then they charged…..

And what a brilliant thing that was. This might have been a turning point day, and forever sad for me in many ways – but you know it was also just bloody spectacular. KRO x

Wall – The Inc, Birmingham Graffiti  – February 21st 2014

with thanks to One Eyed Baz and Todd and all the Zulus.