Squatting in the UK has seemingly become as significant a pastime as a game of croquet or Pimms in the park. From the group of squatters in the 1600’s known as the ‘True Levelers,’ to the ex-servicemen of WWII, this lifestyle bred mostly out of necessity has ticked along through British history for thousands of years. While this phenomenon is not just confined to the UK, Elephant and Castle, Southeast London is where the latest chapter of squatting history was made.

Last month, London’s charmingly ramshackle, love-ballad-centric band Ratty Rat Rat and several members of the equally ramshackle Shit Disco clubbed together with other residents of the infamous squat– The Toilet Factory (named appropriately, as the building is an old toilet factory) to put on a massive eviction party.

This isn’t unusual in South London, as it seems the city’s unbelievably high cost of living has forced many of its young, creative inhabitants into the art of squatting. Some of the city’s finest artists and musicians can often be found boiling endless pots of water for a bath. psychoPEDIA spoke with Ratty Rat Rat’s singer Ratrick Swayze to reflect on his experience squatting:

How long did you live in The Toilet Factory?
About 6 months.

Did you discover it shopping for a new model?
We were being made homeless from our last squat, so we always had our eyes open. One of the Czech guys we lived with found it on the way to work. Then a few days later we were in.

Did you meet the rest of the band while squatting?
No, I moved into a squat over three years ago, then slowly moved all the rest in. I had to get the stereotypes they had of the whole squatting lifestyle out of the way first.

Does the lifestyle contribute in any way to the workings and songs of the band then?
No, our songs are not squat music. I tend to think of music associated with squatting as more “crusty punk.” None of our songs are political. Not that we're not into politics, it’s just that we prefer love songs.

So would be it fair to say “crusty punk” didn’t get you into squatting then?
It was more [having] nowhere to live and no cash. Plus, I wasn't feeling like sofa-surfing anymore. When you want to play gigs every other night, it’s hard to keep a job.

There must be some other perks.
It’s good not having to keep quiet and [worry about] getting stains on the carpet. Plus, you get to live in places you never imagined. Paying over-the-top [prices] for a small bedroom or living free? You decide. So far we've lived in a lift factory, antiques market, motorcycle showroom, and toilet factory-- to name a few.

What made the toilet factory special compared to some of the other spaces?
The space was amazing! We decided that anybody that wanted to use it was welcome. We had everyone from big name magazines and TV channels to students and jokers using it for one thing or another. People usually charge others to use spaces, but we kind of wanted to make it open for all; in some ways, securing it in history forever.

Did you look into the history of the place and its unusual layout?
Apart from it being a toilet factory, we don’t know much else. I guess the fake house inside had toilets in it to show buyers how they looked installed. The funny thing was that all the toilets left behind were crap. At our parties, they got blocked up and people went elsewhere. Someone [even] took a shit in one of the rooms.

How many people did actually reside there?
Loads. At one point we had two Japanese girls in a cupboard. They didn't speak English, and we didn't know when they were leaving. After two months, they disappeared and left their My Chemical Romance posters behind.

Well at least that’s better than poo. So, what was your most memorable moment at The Toilet Factory?
An artist friend called Kate Moross brought a motorbike around. We hung a piñata in the middle of the warehouse and sped around with someone on the back trying to hit it down. The footage is on the internet somewhere.

~Kevin Soar

First and seventh photos by Ruffles
Second and fourth photos, courtesy of Ratty Rat Rat
Third photo by Bekki Frost via Flickr
Fifth and sixth photos by Kevin Soar