DUBLIN Vs. COPENHAGEN - EUROLEAGUE

Southampton and Barcelona artists let loose with paint

Southampton beat Barcelona 3-0!!

There was a lot of pressure on Southampton to perform against one of the tournaments favourite – Barcelona. Added to Group 3 at the last minute, there were high expectations for the visitors to walk away with a victory.
The judges were carefully chosen to make sure nobody could accuse the home team of cheating. Three creative designers from ‘Sifer Design’ who are based in Portsmouth (If anyone is going to vote against Southampton, it’ll be someone from Pompey, local rivals!)

The second judge was Stephen Stafford, a reporter from the BBC, who’s completely neutral and has no ties to Southampton. Right, fair judges, selected, lets get the show on the road.
Southampton’s team on the night was made up of team captain Hicks 54, Zadok and Mr Dead. The guys had only met the night before and did really well to pull it together.
Polar Bear was the host for the night and I’m sure everyone that was there will agree, absolutely smashed it. He had the crowd hooked!

Both teams worked really hard and I think the Barcelona piece was great. But, everyone needs to remember that it’s not just about whether a team can draw. In Barcelona’s defence this was their first battle and maybe they didn’t grasp the concept. The Southampton team had two veterans and Mr Dead knew all about SW, so it was no surprise, to me at least that, Southampton seemed to edge ahead of Barca.

Sifer Design were first up to judge and they had a difficult time choosing a team. They loved Barcelona’s tattoo style, but it was Southampton’s bold lines and character designs that won them over. First point goes to SOUTHAMPTON!!
Next up, the crowd, Southampton were up first and hit a 1.17 on the decibel reader. Traditionally the last team to go always gets the highest scream…Barcelona scored, 1.16!! Southampton gain a second point.
Last judge on the night was Stephen Stafford, who was reporting on the event. He was amazed at both pieces and surprised they managed to produce the work in 90 minutes!! Again, he found it tough to choose a winner, but similar to Sifer, he preferred the bold lines and the sense of humour that came across in the Southampton piece…SOUTHAMPTON 3-0

A Big thanks to everyone who came down to support the artists. It was a great night!! Southampton are now the first team to win two battles in a row! Bring on the away matches, I say! We’re ready!

Hicks 54 doing his bit for Charity

Whilst other teams prepared sketches and got ready to travel, Hicks spent his time whipping up a banging pair of custom Reeboks to be auctioned off in aid of Charity. The event was Style Society, held at the Orange Rooms, Southampton. A night celebrating all things creative. Run by Sarah Wade and Sophie Penn, the night was a huge success. The proceeds from the auction went to Oxfam and if that wasn't enough, Hicks found time to paint a piece ready to greet the Barcelona team this Sunday!!





Check out the finished piece outside Orange Rooms, Southampton

Southampton Vs Barcelona @ Orange Rooms Southampton Sunday 21st March!! Be There

Secret Wars is proud to announce that Barcelona have joined Southampton’s group in the Secret Wars Euro League www.secretwarseuroleague.com
and we’ll be hosting the glamorous city on Sunday 21st March at The Orange Rooms, Southampton!!

Secret Wars began back in 2006, it was small, and intimate yet had the potential to be so much more. Years of hard work, dedication and a strong following has meant Secret Wars has pushed the boundaries and raised the bar for artists and promoters alike.

It’s all culminated to this, present day, present time, 17 European locations…The Secret Wars Euro League has finally arrived!

I’ll be honest; the thought of battling Barcelona worries me a little. These guys are packing some heavy artillery Check out the talent that will be showing at the Orange Rooms

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Javi aka "Inocuo" old school graffiti artist and David aka "Dave" Barca’s local "Maestro". Both are formers of ‘Inocuo’ The Sign Studio, one of the leading design studios in Barcelona with Clients such as Nike, Volkswagen etc..

"Aryz", one of the youngest members, he’s Barcelona's rising stars in Street Art. Aged 21 he paints huge murals on abandoned factories with his giant characters and monsters. He uses both acrylics and spray cans with special care for details. – For more info: http://www.aryz.es

Juan Carlos Noria, aka "Royal", a very talented painter and street artist. His works always carry an anti-establishment message - more info: http://www.royal.them.ca

"Aleix" is an illustrator, he’s published a Comic for Montana Colors on the history of Graffiti and produced work for Vans. His characters –
Check out more of his work on: http://www.aleixgoho.com/

And Last but not Least, Tvboy, graffiti artist since 1996, Italian born, exhibited his artworks and painted in the streets of Italy, Spain, Lebanon, Cuba, Germany, Denmark.
Did some collabs with Fiat, Nescafé, Smart & bla bla bla bla, you get the point - more info: http://www.thetvboy.com

So there we have Barcelona’s strike force! The talent is good, but Southampton has got a line up just as good. Hicks54, Gustav, Zadok, Mr Dead, S0bac and Smurph are more than capable of matching Barcelona. So make sure you come down for a special Sunday Secret Wars battle.

**We’ve got special guest host Steve Camden, a.k.a Polar Bear who’s made a name for himself as one of the top spoken word poets in his field. An approachable, straight forward, yet insanely thought provoking, break down of real life and real people**
(www.myspace.com/polarbearspoken)
Check out the video!!

There's a load of drink promos on the night too

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2-4-1 Bottles of Fosters
2-4-1 Thai Bombs
2-4-1 Brewacca Bombs
2-4-1 Sailor Jerry's
2-4-1 Vodka Redbull
2-4-1 Shooters
2-4-1 Original Bacardi Mojitos
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It’s free before 7pm and £3 after

Orange Rooms Southampton
1-2 Vernon Walk
Southampton
SO15 2EJ
Tel: 023 8023 2333

For more info email southampton@secretwarseuroleague.com // jay@monorex.com

DUB - CPH revisited, the HC Andersen View

It's been 996 years since the battle of Clontarf and the Irish Viking Age ended.. About time we came back and checked up on you guys!

Battle ready as always, one of our guys got held up by airport security for trying to board the plane carrying a knife that Crocodile Dundee definitely would've labelled a noyffe.. Caught the flight anyway and off we went - 2 days of drinking, art, pizza and more drinking!


At the eve of the battle we went out looking for a good spot to prepare ourselves and the battle piece in.. Imagine our surprise when we spotted the Dublin team doing exactly this in a pub window! Who could've resisted having a quick sneak-peak?! Not team Copenhagen anyway..
Strengthened by our newfound advantage we found our own more low-key pub and began working.
Simple concepts are often the most effective in Secret Wars. Basically we had a Danish sailor urinating into a pot surrounded by happy leprechauns. The pee being the rainbow that marks where to find the pot of gold...but in this case it was the "Potty O' Gold"! Couldn't resist adding the punchline "Probably the Best Piss in the World" referencing the famous Danish beer and it's constant ad campaigns all over the world!


Time for battle!
Team Copenhagen started strongly and halfway through the difference in speed between the two teams was obvious. The Danish piece was almost ready for judgment while the Irish wall was still very very white.. As the all important details were added in the end the Dubliners surprisingly got going and finished very strongly.

Both teams had done well but I have to say that we were feeling pretty confident snatching both the judges votes. Superior COMPOSITION, ENERGY and PUNCHLINE should have given Team Copenhagen the win!! (if you ask me, captain of Team CPH and perhaps not 100% objective)


All in all, despite losing, it was a great night! The venue was quirky but perfect, ram packed with enthusiastic Secret Wars fans and the atmosphere was super. We definitely look forward to getting our revenge at the home match this summer!





Big thanks to Andy the organizer for setting it all up - massive effort that created a massive event! Thanks to Lars for being his regular mastermind-self back home!

..and a massive Go Raibh Maith Agaibh to the people of Dublin for showing us a great time!!


Oh and all you guys listening to Irish radio...keep an ear out for my ranting about the unfairness of the result - soon on an airwave near you! :)

RESULT- DUBLIN (3) vs. COPENHAGEN (0)

And We're off!

Welcome to the 1st battle of the new Euro League to hit Dublin city....The venue was ready, the crowd was ready, the pens and paint were ready, the Kaboogie DJs were ready, Team Dublin was ready....all we needed was some crazy Danes? and boy did they come & party.

Before I get into this...let me just say when you have the cops making a guest appearance due to noise complaints you know your at the right party!

Team Copenhagen could probably give some of the Irish drinkers a run for their money. Dan (Monorex & Secret Wars Scandinavia) plus 3 top secret Danish artists who I shall identify only as artist 1, artist 2 & artist 3 hit Dublin hard. Drinking aside- the boys busted out a great piece titled “Potty O Gold” and made reference to a drink that will remain anonymous inking the tagline “Probably the best piss in the world”...Having someone piss into a pot of gold was always gonna stun the Irish crowd!

Team Dublin (Redmonk, Frizelle & Mick Minogue) brought they‘re game & battled with skill to hit home a piece consisting of a sick Saint Patrick character, a sexy ass Mermaid and a bashed Viking. Don‘ t get me wrong- there was definitely love in the air, but both teams wanted to win bad. Titling their piece “Probably the snakiest style in the world”..... showed the Danes that Dublin meant business.

A night that is rammed packed with people spilling out into the car park venue and queues outside trying to get in was always gonna be messy! By the end of the 90mins both teams showed worthy pieces but victory came to Dublin who won over the crowd and the 2 guest judges to take it 3-0.

Next time we meet the Danes will be on their home turf....Team Dublin get ready.

Photos by Zhan Valter/ Kev Keogh / Jonas Voss cheers guys!!