Well of Death – The Indian Version of the Wall of Death

The Wall of Death, motordrome, silodrome or Well of Death (aka “Maut ka Kuaa“, India) is a carnival sideshow featuring a silo- or barrel-shaped wooden cylinder, ranging from 20 to 36 feet (6.1 to 11 m) in diameter, inside of which motorcyclists, or the drivers of miniature automobiles, travel along the vertical wall and perform stunts, held in place by centripetal force.

The show involves a temporary cylindrical structure about 25 feet high and 30 feet in diameter, or wider when cars are to be involved, built of hardwood planks. The audience stands upon the platform built around the circumference of the structure and gaze down into the well where the motorcyclists or cars drive.

Derived directly from United States motorcycle boardtrack (motordrome) racing in the early 1900s, the very first carnival motordrome appeared at Coney Island amusement park (New York) in 1911. The following year portable tracks began to appear on traveling carnivals, and in 1915 the first “silodromes” with vertical walls appeared and were soon dubbed the “Wall of Death.” The carnival attraction became a staple in the United States outdoor entertainment industry with the phenomenon reaching its zenith in the 1930s, with more than 100 motordromes on traveling shows and in amusement parks.

The audience views from the top of the drum, looking down. The riders start at the bottom of the drum, in the centre, and ascend an initial ramped section until they gain enough speed to drive horizontally to the floor, usually in a counter-clockwise direction (the physical explanation behind this act is found at Banked turn and The turning car.) This act is famous in the United Kingdom, and often is seen at fairs. In the 2000s, there remain only few touring Walls of Death. “The Demon Drome”, “Messhams Wall of Death” and the “Ken Fox Troupe”. These acts feature original American Indian motorcycles which have been in use since the 1920s. In the United States the premier Show is the American Motordrome Company, which uses several Vintage Indian Scout Motorcycles from the 20s to give the audience a view of how these Shows were done in their Heyday. The Demon Drome uses the oldest wall of death still traveling and were the first to put an Austin 7 car on the wall of death since the 1950s.

The Vimeo Description for this video: Mercury music prize nominees Django Django became obsessed by the infamous Indian Well of Death riders in Allahabad. So, naturally, they asked Noisey if we’d be up for traveling over to India and standing right in the middle of large lumps of precariously speeding metal for a day, to film a video for their track “Wor”. We happily obliged, getting our shoes stolen in the process, but it was worth it to meet a bunch of guys with the most rock solid testicles we’ve ever come across.

Buy the Album: smarturl.it/DjangoDjango

Django Django – “Wor”
(p) and (c) 2012 Because Music
Directed by Jim Demuth, based on an original concept by Vincent Neff.

Exec Producer Jane Third
Supervising Producer Alex Hoffman
Producer Posy Dixon
Director Jim Demuth
Editor Iain Pettifer
Associate Producer Ruchi Bhimani
Colourist Chris Rodgers (Splice Post Production)
Production Manager Bree Horn
Production Coordinator Zoey Roberts

Thanks!
djangodjango.co.uk
becausemusic.co.uk

Selected for Mountain Film Festival – mountainfilm.org/film/django-django-wor

Information Source: Wikipedia