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the inside story on the punk chaos of The Plasmatics
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
david1170
4 days ago2 min read


Three and a Half Minutes of Fame film trailer
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
david1170
4 days ago1 min read


Hello Cherry review Hardcore Horror
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
david1170
4 days ago2 min read


Calling all fans of The Fall in and around Liverpool!
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
david1170
6 days ago1 min read


50 Years of Chaos
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
david1170
Sep 271 min read


The beautifully chaotic mess that is Scene Police
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
david1170
Sep 271 min read


Diminished Responsibility: Life as a U.K. Sub and other strange stories
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
david1170
Sep 274 min read


Punk's not dead
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
david1170
Sep 271 min read


DIY punk is as real, raw, and vital as it gets
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,
david1170
Sep 214 min read


Three more hardcore Horror interviews
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:
david1170
Sep 211 min read


Record Fair Ramones
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
david1170
Sep 211 min read


Take It Back
‘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
david1170
Sep 213 min read


Fuze magazine review The scene Police Story
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
david1170
Sep 172 min read


Tim Cundle, James Domestic, Roy D Hacksaw and Ian Glasper bring you Hardcore Horror
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
david1170
Sep 172 min read


Hastings Book Festival
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
david1170
Sep 171 min read


Only One Night
Only One Night, Volume one, Issue one of a new series of HC photobooks by Robert Lindsay from our friends at DiWulf Publishing. The first volume in the ‘Only One Night’ series showcases Robert Lindsay's photography at a Black Flag, Meat Puppets, Nig Heist and Government Issue show from April 6th, 1984 at All Souls Church in Washington DC. ‘ONLY ONE NIGHT’ IS DIGEST-SIZED, 43 PAGES. THE DIMENSIONS ARE 8.5" X 5.5" THE PHOTOS ARE ALL BLACK AND WHITE AND THERE IS ONLY ONE PHOTO
david1170
Sep 171 min read


Spill magazine reviews An Anarchy of Demons
There’s already a mystique around Charlie Harper, ever-present member and founder of the U.K. Subs – after all, there are few punks from his era around, and even less still performing in their 80s. Whoever convinced the man to put pen to paper and to write these exhaustive memoirs deserves great credit, because this (An Anarchy of Demons) is the kind of document any sort of music historian should love. The book is a digestible but detailed read, weighing in at over 400 pages,
david1170
Sep 102 min read


Mass Movement Meets… Djordje Miladinović (Ten Poets Volume 3 & Thoughts Words Action)
We sat down with poet Djordje Miladinović to discuss his contribution to Earth Island Books’ Ten Poets #3 and his broader journey as a writer. In this extended interview, we explore what it means to be featured in the anthology, his ongoing collaboration with Earth Island Books, and the deep, intrinsic correlation between the raw punk rock aggression and the written word. Miladinović also breaks down his creative process, key inspirations, recurring themes, writing techniques
david1170
Sep 106 min read


Four day weekend
It’s a long four day weekend for James Domestic, as he has gigs from this Thursday and all through weekend! First up is @word.vomitzine at @holtroadcroissant on Thursday in Liverpool, followed by Keith Ford's Speech Therapy in Nottingham on Friday. Then it's back to East Anglia for TWO hour-long performances at Chapters Coffee and Wine for bradfieldliteraturefestival in Manningtree, Essex (at 11:30am and 2:00pm) on Saturday and down to Hastings on the Sunday afternoon for a
david1170
Sep 101 min read


DIY or DIE!
An excerpt from ‘Running at the edge of their world : The Suspect Device fanzine story’ by Tony and Gaz Suspect, a behind-the-scenes look at one of the U.K.'s longest running and best loved punk fanzines… I didn’t know that I was looking for a local DIY scene, but when small punk gigs started happening I knew they were exactly what I wanted, and needed. These gigs were put on by people my age, they were welcoming and friendly and now I was part of something cool. Gaz is muc
david1170
Sep 97 min read
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