Tim Grayson of Vive Le Rock reviews new books ‘Punk at Sea’ and ‘Voice of a Generation’ Punk At Sea: A Rebellion Festival photo book Rebellion has barely finished for another year but we have this Earth Island photo book to remind us of all the good, bad, funny, and ugly aspects of the world's greatest punk festival. Put together by Amsterdam based photographer and journalist, Michel Blijboom, his love of punk, Blackpool and Rebellion shines through on its 120 plus pages, w

Thoughts Words Action review Mike Magrann’s ‘Tin Knocker’ When discussing Southern California punk rock, the conversation usually circles back to the same hand-picked names that get plastered onto fast-fashion t-shirts. But if you actually spent time digging through the real history of the West Coast underground, Channel 3 stands tall as one of the most authentic and hardworking bands to ever come out of the SoCal suburban sprawl. Led by frontman and guitarist Mike Magrann,

The excellent blog site PERSONAL PUNK has just reviewed Charlie Harper’s autobiography, concluding that “An Anarchy Of Demons is all Harper; unvarnished, candid and, ultimately, compelling.” Here’s a couple more snippets… “His chaotic young life is told in refreshingly blunt fashion…” “Harper’s honesty is both admirable and to his detriment, depending on whether or not one’s sense of morality is time-stamped. I will say, I find his self-awareness about his own band’s status r

This Wednesday JAMES DOMESTIC will do his final gig of the year before going into his regular S.A.D. hibernation months. It's going to be a good one too - look at that line-up! Mr Domestic will be doing a revised and tweaked version of his show from the Colchester Summer Fringe (and testing out some all new visual equipment!), the force of nature that is VIRGINIA BETTS will also be doing a feature length set, and the night opens with short sets from three amazing poets - DAVI

When ten poets from vastly different aesthetic and personal backgrounds gather in one place, the result can be either a chaotic compromise or an explosive harmony. In the case of the third volume of the now-cult Ten Poets series, we get the latter: an exceptionally cohesive yet fascinatingly diverse collection that serves as an exemplar of the contemporary poetic underground scene in its purest, most vital form. Published by the prestigious independent label Earth Island Book

Go behind the scenes of a chaotic punk era through the eyes of a steady drummer amidst exploding cars, smashed televisions, and legal battles. This intimate collection of diaries captures the raw madness of a legendary musical phenomenon! My Life as The Plasmatics Drummer: The Diaries of Stu Deutsch (1978-81) by Stu Deutsch Alongside the singer Wendy O. Williams, lead guitarist Richie Stotts, and bassist Chosei Funahara (later to be replaced by bassist Jean Beauvoir), Stu Deu

Alex Boucher is a lifelong musician and writer. Years ago, he chased the dream of making it in a 90s band; the gigs, the tours, the near misses. It was raw, chaotic, and unforgettable, and he wrote his excellent book, ‘Three and a Half Minutes of Fame’ to capture that experience. Now, together with producer Jenni Harrison and her production company Pink + Red, he’s bringing his book to the screen. Alex’s documentary, ‘Three and a Half Minutes of Fame’, looks at what’s chang

When the dark underworld of punk rock and the hardcore scene intersects with the darkest registers of literary horror, the result can only be raw, loud and uncompromising. The anthology Hardcore Horror: A Collection of Horrific Short Stories, edited by Tim Cundle and published by the prestigious independent publisher Earth Island Books, takes us directly to the heart of the underground, where impossible futures, terrifying present and gruesome pasts collide in the literary et

Paddy Shennan, author of ‘Not JUST About The Fall: 50 Adventures In A Post-Punk Paradise’, will be part of a special evening at the British Music Experience in the Cunard Building on Liverpool's world-famous waterfront. This will take place at 7pm on Thursday, 12th November and be an evening of two halves. Paddy will kick off proceedings. He will be in conversation with former members of The Fall, Steve and Paul Hanley, before another big fan of the group - David "Yorkie" Pal

Christopher Duda interviews Charlie Harper of the U.K. Subs for Scene Point Blank https://www.scenepointblank.com/features/interviews/uk-subs-Charlie-Harper/ The long-established Scene Point Blank webzine’s Christopher Duda recently conducted an excellent, wide-ranging interview with Charlie Harper, based on “the stories behind his brutally honest memoir” ‘An Anarchy of Demons’, in which the discussion took in which musicians had the biggest impact on Charlie’s style, attitud

Trust magazine review ‘The Scene Police Story – A Story of Rebellion, Passion, and Financial Ruin’ by Dennis-P. Merklinghaus with memory boosts from his friends. Dennis Scene Police with Colt, Tupamaros and Planes Mistaken For Stars "Scene Police was a label/organisation that was alive for six years in the late 1990s, some of the bands it had connections with: Hot Water Music, Planes Mistaken for Stars, Tiger Lou, Strike Anywhere and many more. They disappeared and left many

The third and final volume in the UK Subs bassist, Alvin Gibbs, excellent and insightful trilogy of autobiographies, ‘Diminished Responsibility: My life as a U.K. Sub, and other strange stories. Vol 3’ is in stock now and shipping immediately. With a Foreword by Gaye Black of The Adverts, Alvin has written thirty seven chapters packed with anecdotes and stories from his life in the scene and on the road with UK Subs and other alt-rock bands. There’s a full discography and bi

Trust review - 'Punk at Sea: A Rebellion Festival photo book' by Michiel Blijboom This year (2026) the Rebellion Festival in Blackpool/UK celebrates its 30th anniversary. The author of the book is a journalist and photographer from Amsterdam. After a short foreword, you get to see very many photos of punks off and on stage, mostly accompanied by short sentences that describe what is going on, or makes some sort of joke. If you dig the classical punk look (colourful hair, moha

Thoughts Words Action review ‘The Scene Police Story: A Story Of Rebellion, Passion, and Financial Ruin’ by Dennis P. Merklinghaus Let’s be honest for a second, most books about punk rock tend to fall into two unbearable traps. They’re either sterile, academic treatises written by folks who watched the movement through a telescope, or hyper-romanticised memoirs where every broken tour van and empty squat gets retrofitted with a cinematic halo. We love the mythologies, sure,

Three more authors of Hardcore Horror short stories have now had interviews published by our friends at Thoughts Words Action blog, and they all make for excellent and interesting reading. The inspirations, insight and ideas behind these stories and their work as creative writers is revealed. Please click the links below and read all about the inner workings of their Hardcore Horror! Bridie Carter: https://thoughtswordsaction.com/2026/09/17/interview-bridie-carter/ DaN McKee:

Jenn L Beckwith will be at the Wesleyan University Record Fair on 3rd October from 10am to 4pm, signing copies of her excellent new book about the Ramones, ‘All Good Cretins Go To Heaven: The Enduring Spirit of the Ramones’. There will be books and records for sale, free entry, and all sorts of goodies, so get along if you can and say Hi to Jenn. ‘All Good Cretins Go To Heaven: The Enduring Spirit of the Ramones’ by Jenn L. Beckwith is jointly published by Earth Island Books

‘Take It Back: Life, Anxiety and Gray Matter’ written by Steve Niles, Illustrated by Brian Walsby, and Lettered by Monica Richards, is in stock in the UK at Earth Island Books now. THIS IS A GRAPHIC NOVEL AND IT IS COMPLETELY BLACK & WHITE (EXCEPT FOR THE COVER). The story of one of Washington, DC's most beloved bands, Gray Matter told in a graphic novel. Written by bassist and renowned horror author Steve Niles and illustrated by Brian Walsby, with lettering done by Monica

The latest issue of Fuze magazine just came through the door and it's great to see David Schumann's amazing review of Dennis P Merklinghaus' book, 'The Scene Police Story: A Story of Rebellion, Passion and Financial Ruin'. You can read it below, or go to this link online: https://www.ox-fanzine.de/review/the-scene-police-storya-story-of-rebellion-passion-and-financial-ruin-139708 There was a time, especially in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when, as a punk, hardcore, or emo

As Halloween and the spooky season approaches we’d like to remind you all of our superb short story horror collection, Hardcore Horror. It’s a collection of twenty-three horrific short stories, in various styles, written by hardcore, punk and alt-rock band members and scene characters that will take you on a journey to the dark side. Hardcore Horror takes you to the stygian heart of punk rock, where impossible futures, terrifying presents, and hideous pasts collide in the t

All set up and ready to rock at Hastings Book Festival on Saturday. This festival is going from strength to strength with events and workshops all week long. We had a great day at the book fair and met a lot of avid readers on our stand. Then on Sunday there was a ‘How to get published’ Q&A panel we took part in, followed by an excellent poets in performance gig, featuring our very own punk-rock-poet James Domestic sharing the poetry stage with Andy Riley, Robin Ince, Roger M