Tag Archives: punk
The Summer of 79
The Summer of 79 lasted for ages, I left Polytechnic in June and wouldn’t go back until nearly October. I managed to get in the Glastonbury Fayre/Festival in June and a trip to Ireland in August (I have documented these … Continue reading
Sexism and the Stranglers
By mid 1977 punk really was setting the woods on fire. It wasn’t just people liking punk it was also people hating punk, it was something that no one was ambivalent about, there was a lot of anger around coming … Continue reading
This is Pop, Statue of Liberty
One of the first things I did on my arrival in Nottingham was to pay a visit to Virgin Records. Strange to relate, there was a time when Virgin was a decidedly edgy company releasing all sorts of records by … Continue reading
It was 40 years ago today–Jilted John
The accepted norm of rock music is that English is the best language to sing in. It depends on the song of course, if the aim is emotive tear-jerking then Spanish, of even Portuguese might be a good choice. It’s … Continue reading
An Evening With Warren Harry
Recently, YouTube has wisely targeted me with some old editions of The Old Grey Whistle Test. Anyone not alive or resident in Britain in early 70’s just wont grasp the significance of the OGWT. This was quite literally the only … Continue reading
‘So Alone’ The Junkie Class of 78
Whatever our attitude to drugs was in the 70’s there was a general consensus that heroin was a bridge too far. We knew it killed people, Janis Joplin, Tim Buckley, the lead singer/guitarist of our favourite local band Meals had … Continue reading
The Three Record Rule and Dr Feelgood
It’s a sad but true fact that almost every artist has a sell by date. The rule I usually live by is that no one needs more than 3 CDs from any one artist, once you’ve got three that’s enough, … Continue reading
Don’t Dictate
One of the things that comes up time and time again when researching the early days of punk is the resourceful nature of virtually all of the protagonists. Whether it was Steve Jones nicking enough equipment to equip the Sex … Continue reading
The Mighty Slits
“People didn’t know whether to fuck us or kill us, because we looked like we’d come out of a porn magazine.” Becoming a parent raises a whole load of issues. There is no right or wrong for most of us, … Continue reading
Mark E Smith;Spector vs Rector vs Reaper
When Mark E Smith died at the age of 60 my first thought was to marvel that he had lived that long. Smith died on 24th Jan, my father in law Ralph passed away 24 hours later, it all felt … Continue reading
