Tull Stories and Labor of Love Films are delighted to announce feature documentary STILL PUSHING PINEAPPLES, Kim Hopkins’ moving and funny follow up to her modern classic, the award-winning A BUNCH OF AMATEURS, which will be released in UK cinemas from 28 November.
STILL PUSHING PINEAPPLES features former pop star Dene Michael as he clings to the remnants of fame he once had as a member of 1980s novelty pop group Black Lace. The band’s universally known hit Agadoo – both beloved and hated by many, and the high or low point of any party – is what Dene’s best known for. Now, performing for a dwindling, ageing audience in some of the UK’s most deprived seaside towns and cities, he’s eager to press on with his music career and get out from under the legacy of the Black Lace songbook. The film follows Dene, his 89-year-old mum Anne, and his sassy girlfriend Hayley across Britain and the Costa del Sol in this unmistakably British road movie. En route they navigate love, family duty, and the relentless pursuit of one last chart success.
This idiosyncratic documentary opened this year’s Sheffield DocFest to critical acclaim. Ahead of its release in cinemas on 28 November, STILL PUSHING PINEAPPLES will have a special preview screening at Bradford’s Pictureville cinema on 14 November as part of Bradford’s 2025 UK City of Culture programme.
Kim Hopkins is an award-winning, working-class, queer British filmmaker, and one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary UK documentary. A highly skilled self-shooting director, she brings an unparalleled visual world and deep intimacy to her films. Kim is a graduate of the National Film and Television School and a co-founder of Labor of Love Films with Margareta Szabo, producer of A BUNCH OF AMATEURS and STILL PUSHING PINEAPPLES.
Kim says of her latest film – “STILL PUSHING PINEAPPLES is the second film in a trilogy I’m making about working-class communities, self-expression, the power of solidarity and escapism. When Black Lace exploded onto Top of the Pops with the Agadoo hit in the 1980’s I, like many, dismissed it as a junk novelty song. But every summer since, on every beach holiday, Agadoo has proved inescapable…. Returning to my Yorkshire roots later in life, I’ve come to understand the power of escapist popular culture. Working-class people need to escape. I decided to ask my family what they thought about me making a film, this time about Black Lace and Agadoo? They approved of the idea. Nostalgia gleamed in their eyes. Alexa lit up with party tunes of yesteryear. They wanted to know the whole Black Lace story. Who were they, where did they end up, would it be ‘real’?”
Watch the trailer below
