Music journalist Strongman (Metal Box: Stories from John Lydon's
Public Image Limited, 2007, etc.) recasts the history of British
punk as the story of two bands and a bunch of also-rans.Actually,
the Clash don't get that much ink either; Strongman spends the
majority of his time making the case that the Sex Pistols and their
marketing Svengali Malcolm McLaren were punk's be-all and end-all,
and therein lies the rub. Had the book been subtitled something
along the lines of The Sex Pistols and UK Punk, it would have been
far more legit. Granted, John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten), Sid
Vicious and the rest of the Pistols kicked it all off in 1976 at
London's legendary 100 Club or did they? Maybe it was the Clash who
started things reeling on the other side of town that very same
year. Maybe it was the Ramones or Television or the New York Dolls
at CBGB in New York City. Or maybe it was well, according to
Strongman, it was all Pistols, all the time. But music historians
tend to disagree, which means his book has a major, insurmountable
credibility problem. If Strongman had been more inclusive, and if
he'd used Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain's classic Please Kill Me:
The Uncensored Oral History of Punk as a template, he might have
had something. As it is, this feels like a 300-plus-page magazine
article.Sex Pistols fans will appreciate this one, but those
looking for a comprehensive history of the era and its sounds
should look elsewhere. (Kirkus Reviews)
The definitive history of punk, told by one of punk's most
knowledgeable experts. From the precursors of punk, through the
famous Bill Grundy show when punk first hit the nation's
consciousness to the modern-day heirs, such as Green Day and
Busted, punk has evolved and taken over so many aspects of life
that even banks now use punk lettering to appeal to their markets.
In this brilliant account of punk, the authors have interviewed all
the major figures to build up a complete portrait of a remarkable
era of change in music and youth culture. Their story features
Richard Branson, Malcolm McLaren, Vivienne Westwood, Tony Parsons
and many more who took their early steps to fame and fortune around
this time. Band members of The Clash, Stranglers, Sex Pistols and
many others recall what happened, bringing their story to life with
vivid anecdotes and telling detail. It is a book that no true fan
of music can afford to be without, for this is the ultimate inside
account of punk, told by those who really were there from the
beginning.
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