X-Ray Audio: Soviet Bootleg Records

Vinyl music lovers will be blown away by the exhibition of beautiful, spooky Soviet bootleg records of forbidden music cut onto used X-Ray plates during the Cold War.

Running until 31st January at London's The Horse Hospital

Forbidden Music - Bootleg Technology Human Endeavour

Between 1946 and 1964 an extraordinary underground musical culture flourished in Soviet Russia.

Forbidden Western Jazz, Rock and Roll and banned Russian Music was illicitly and secretly copied and traded.

In a culture in which the recording industry was completely controlled by the state, the bootleggers found an extraordinary alternative means of reproduction:

They used home made recording machines to copy music onto used X- Ray films sourced from local hospitals.

The X-Ray Audio project is telling their story.

The exhibition shows actual examples, images and music of discs collected by musician Stephen Coates and photographer Paul Heartfield in Russia