Look out! Who's that behind you? Watch your pockets..!

You are entering the Dickensian hip-hop world of the Rotten Hill Gang, with tales of old and new London - stories as putrid as decaying vegetables at the end of a day in Portobello Road market and as uplifting and elevating as the sun rising over the Westway.

It all began with Dirty White's project, the "Rotten Hill Sound System"......Dirty White on the decks and local badman street poet, Reds on the mic. The several musicians involved in this labour of love had first come together when George Vjestica of Groove Armada had presented a weekly night at Ladbroke Grove's Pelican pub.With their crazy beats, they created an atmosphere like no other and caught the attention of Keyboard player/producer, André Shapps. The Rotten Hill Gang was born!

Putting together - among other sources - snatches of such movie soundtracks and dialogue as Scarface and Once Upon A Time in America, mixed together with classic rock 'n' roll guitar-riffs, this crew of like-minded musical souls understood they were creating a sound that was utterly original, hugely compelling, and definitely addictive. With the sultry tones of Hollie Cook of the Slits and Hayley Smith, and with Mallet on the drums, the sound was complete.

The creativity of the musicians caught the attention of Mick Jones, Charlene Spitteri and Hugh Morgan to name but a few. Going with the theme of "anything is possible", Dirty White approached celebrity jeweller, Stephen Webster to manage the band. He thought it was a joke......it wasn't.

The Rotten Hill Gang debuted at the first Carbon Casino night. Even though on that occasion they only played a pair of songs - "Pick a pocket" and "Fed Up" - their unique sound was enhanced by a glamorous image of late 1890's loucheness, an element of which featured André Shapps as king of moustache waxing. That night at the first Carbon Casino, Andre played on a borrowed set of keyboards; unable to obtain them, he moved over to guitar for the subsequent six Carbon Casino shows. Very quickly, the Rotten Hill Gang had become one of the great live road-shows, comparable with soul outfits of the 1960s, or - more appositely - George Clinton's Funkadelic/Parliament. Their material dealt with the dubside of life in Notting Hill, reality with rhythm.

Fast forward to a plethora of gigs including Stephen Webster's 50th birthday, Wilton Hall, supporting N.E.R.D for Levi's, the Notting Hill Carnival, performing to 10,000 people at "Love Music Hate Racism" at Stoke City's Britannia Stadium, Standon Calling and the Chelsea Arts Club Summer Ball. A turning point for the gang was the 2009 Glastonbury Festival, where the group played in Gaz Mayall's tent: outside the tarpaulin-covered area, as many people strained to watch the set as had managed to get inside.

The gang's three-part video shoot took place over the summer of 2010 ending on Sunday August 15th at their first pop-up festival, "Rotten Hill Bar & Grill". Crowds of people from the age of eight to eighty joined the gang in Tavistock Park. With 15 local bands and DJ's performing with them on the day, the gang started a new tradition in W11. Who needs Woodstock when you've got Tavistock?!