Niall Grimes on co-writing the legendary climber's new autobiography.
Fresh off the Vetebrate Graphics presses is
'Revelations', an
autobiography of the legendary climber
Jerry Moffatt
written in conjunction with
Niall
Grimes.
Moffatt was at the bleeding edge of British and world rock climbing in
the 80s and early 90s, but has always been a bit of an enigma despite
his astonishingly difficult routes and high profile image.
We'll bring you a full review of the book next week, but here, Niall
Grimes talks about what the project meant to him and the process of
putting together Moffatt's own story.
Revelations
costs £20 and is distributed by Cordee -
www.cordee.co.uk
I am Jerry Moffatt...
As someone who lived in Sheffield in the 1990s, I got to
know most of
the greats of British climbing, and through them, a few of the
world’s greats. Often, these would be the same person
– Ben Moon, Johnny Dawes, John Allen. Yet one climber,
perhaps the greatest of the lot, remained unknown to me. Jerry Moffatt
was pure legend, not only in Sheffield but around the world.
I first met Jerry while writing an article for
On The Edge magazine. I
had watched a movie called The King of Comedy. In it, Robert de Niro
plays a character called Rupert Pupkin, an aspiring yet moribund US TV
comic. Aided by Sandra Bernhard as Masha, Pupkin kidnaps big-time
comedian, Jerry Lewis. His ransom is a slot on Lewis’s
prime-time TV show. Inspired, I wrote one of the first things I had
ever written, King of the Crag.
In it, I, as a disturbed Pupkin/Fearless Francie Brady-type character,
kidnap Moffatt, my demand being a couple of day’s climbing
with big shot Ben Moon. The mag liked the story, and suggested getting
Ben and Jerry in on a photo-shoot.
They agreed, and, star-struck, I
spent a day setting up stupid shots with the two of them, including one
of me asking a naked and tied-up Moffatt, imprisoned in a Stoney
doss-house, whether he preferred Rocks or Wallnuts (opposing brands of
climbing protection). At one point walking up to Stanage, Jerry,
ever-aware of the value of any publicity, and the potential shock-value
of the article, turned, in mock glee to Ben, and said:
‘This is great, Ben. When this is published, we
won’t have to do another route all year.’
In later years, I organised Ape Index. This was a series of, as they
were at the time, slideshows, where I would compére an
evening, and get a famous climber in to headline the main slot.
They’re called Multimedia Presentations now, and you have to
pay more to get in.
Kicking off a second winter series of these shows,
I managed a coup. Jerry said he would do one. He did. He rocked the
house. Jerry, renowned as a brash brat, avoided the spotlight himself
and instead set himself up amongst the crowd with a projector. With
this, he let his achievements speak for him. Even today, years on,
people remember it as the best slideshow that they have seen.
After that, it was great honour a few years later to be asked to ghost
write his autobiography. Sure I would, I’d love to. I love
ghosts. We got together.
The legendary hip-hop producer, Rick Rubin, was a surprise choice of
producer for Johnny Cash’s fabulous farewell to the world,
American Recordings. Rubin recalled of the first meeting:
‘I said to Johnny, Johnny, we are not leaving here until you
have made the best possible record you can make.’
That is the way I have always felt about this project. Seeking, as best
I can, to work with Jerry to tell his story. And it’s been
great. Jerry’s stories needed only to be written down, rich
with his storytelling and humour, and I loved listening to them. Yet
they were also inspiring and motivating, and listening to the passion,
motivation, self-belief and fun that he seemed able to bring to so many
aspects of his life was a great experience.
Years ago, I interviewed Fontainebleau boulderer, Marc le Menestrel.
Afterwards, I went to Stanage, and inspired by his attitudes had the
best evening of bouldering I’d had up to that point. Tonight,
I write this having been again to Stanage. Because of the time
I’ve spent on this project, climbing has been out the window
for many months now, but I’m finally free to climb again.
Despite my long break, I still managed to do two of the hardest
problems I’ve ever done, consciously inspired and motivated
by what I have picked up, and giving these problems everything I had:
what Andy Cave referred to as ‘The Moffatt 100’.
Standing below the problems, stripped off, I mutter to myself the most
powerful mantra in climbing:
‘I am Jerry Moffatt.’
Cheers Jerry, it’s been a hoot.
