As well as working on promotions for his ‘ Three And A Half Minutes Of Fame ’ book, and helping to make the nineties music documentary based on it too, author and musician Alex Boucher also has a substack update. The latest post on which is entitled ‘That was Lush’. Read on here…   Strap in folks, a long-form waffle about a whirlwind three days in January is about to enter your eyeballs…   14/01/2026 I headed in to London with a head full of notes and nervous trepidation, ho

Ian Glasper had a great response when he posted about bands that he is trying to contact for his next book a few weeks back, so here we go again...   The book will be ‘ A Country Fit For Heroes : Volume Two. More DIY punk in eighties Britain’ and will hopefully be out in the spring of 2027. This will be Ian Glasper ’s last volume documenting the Eighties, so he really wants to capture some of these bands for posterity. With that in mind, does anyone know the whereabouts of an

An alternative history of Scottish DIY culture, tracing how zines, tapes, and sheer necessity built a world far from the usual punk epicentres.   ' Dear Smash Hits, We’re From Scotland!: An Alternative History of Zines & DIY Music Culture (1975–2025) ' arrives at a moment when punk history risks collapsing under its own accumulated weight. We already have deep dives into specific eras and subgenres (Ian Glasper’s books remain untouchable in that respect), exhaustive discograp

Scene Point Blank are running a series of One Question Interviews right now, and asked Charlie Harper , legendary frontman of the UK Subs: "As someone who is used to performing and being on stage, how has the book release process been similar or different than playing music to fans?"  Charlie replied: "It’s a bit of both, but as I’ve made a few records, the book is so much more exciting, a new feeling. Although you can’t beat a live show, writing about shows will take you bac

Sunday Times best-selling author (well, ghostwriter) Paddy Shennan pays tribute to the forgotten heroes of the music industry - the fans, in his new book, ‘ Not JUST About The Fall – 50 adventures in a post-punk paradise ’   Paddy recalls the musical adventures of his adolescence, including classic (and not-so-classic) gigs by the likes of The Clash, Buzzcocks, The Jam, The Fall, Joy Division, The Cure, The Associates, U2, Dexys Midnight Runners, The Smiths, New Order and Th

After a very successful one-hour show –  That’s Not Poetry!  – at Colchester Fringe Festival at the end of October, James Domestic has gone into his usual hibernation period.  However, there are lots of fun things coming up from March onwards! First up is a headline show at HotBox, Chelmsford on 4th March.  The last time he performed at this brilliant venue – with comic genius, Andy Riley – they sold the place out.  If you hurry, you can grab a ticket  here . Leon the Poet (

Greg Soden has an upcoming book tour date in New York City. He’ll be at Limited to One Records, 221 E 10th St, New York, NY on 30th January 2026 from 5pm to 6:30pm. Entry is free and his trip to the East Village of Manhattan will see him speaking about his excellent ‘ Unscripted Moments: Conversations with Propagandhi ’ book and signing copies on the day. There will also be the last few posters and double CDs available for anyone who comes along too. Greg Soden’s ‘Propagandhi

Book Review: Anarcho-Punk: Music and Resistance in London 1977-1988 (Expanded Edition)   The original edition of this book about locations in London associated with anarcho-punk came out over a year ago. In this new expanded edition, David Insurrection has added 15 chapters, some more photos, and additional material in some of the existing chapters to boost this book by 50 pages, and it instantly looks more weighty. Luckily, this fascinating study is still not as big as an I

Charlie Harper loves Christmas, almost as much as he loves his new autobiography and audio CD, ‘ An Anarchy of Demons ’ and here’s a photo of him in his Christmas jumper, grinning and stroking his new book and CD to prove it. Although we can’t promise you’ll get it in time for Christmas day now, especially if you are outside the UK, if you order a copy of ‘ An Anarchy of Demons ’ between now and Xmas, direct from us, the publishers, Earth Island Books , we can promise you’ll 

The ever creative and constantly active Alex Boucher dropped in on the Stupid and Contagious podcast guys for a chat about his excellent ' Three and a half minutes of fame ' book and the documentary film currently being made about it. Check it out... Watch  -  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfPJ5FhcYAHO7UhrRtTtgGw Listen -  https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/stupid-contagious/id1705645715

Thoughts Words Action review the new Punk Quiz book ‘ You can’t cheat karma ’ by Martin Punktilious and say that it is, “A deep dive into the definitive history of Punk, presented in quiz form. This book will have you hooked from the first question to the last, and trust me, you’re going to need to bring your A-game.”   Read the full review here: https://thoughtswordsaction.com/2025/12/08/you-cant-cheat-karma-the-punk-quiz-book-by-martin-punktilious-earth-island-books/

What happens when the volume finally drops? What happens when the tour van breaks down for the last time, and you’re left with a thousand bad decisions ringing in your ears? That’s the messy, beautiful, and honest territory that Joe McNally steers in his book,  Poems About Love And Punk Rock.    A guy who actually lived that life (Voodoo Glow Skulls, Green Day and The Offspring touring member as a trumpet player, and many more bands along the way), delivered a book that goes

From next week Alex Boucher can add ‘Presenter/Producer’ to his creds, as the cameras will start rolling for ‘ Three and a Half Minutes of Fame ’ (the documentary film) on Tuesday!   We have raised enough funds (from the Crowdfunder and the back of the sofa) to shoot one day of footage, and where better to commence this, than… drum roll please… HULL. Lemme explain. Hull still has a very vibrant music scene, and with it, a legendary live venue called The Adelphi. The man behi

Andy Keiler is just back from a very successful trip to promote his excellent new book, ‘ Reston Hardcore ’. "We had great events at both Scrawl and the Reston Community Centre. Over a hundred people were there and we collected food for the homeless as well as raising money for music education in the DMV. It helped people while raising the profile of the book and bringing Jam for Man back into the public consciousness." Andy in Scrawl Books Andy’s book is also now on sale at

' Not JUST About The Fall: 50 adventures in a post-punk paradise ' by Paddy Shennan is getting rave reviews all over, so if you haven’t picked up a copy already then get along to the launch event this Sunday, 7th December, at The Ferret in Preston. The famous alternative music venue and something of a local post-punker institution. It’s going to be packed and intimate, with great bands playing and Paddy talking about and signing copies of his new book - but there are still a

There is no other choice for you but to have this book on your shelf.  With an extensive, some might say forensic, narrative, this book really gets under the skin of a perennial favourite who have rarely put a foot wrong." —Nathan Haywire, Louder Than War "Subhumans have integrity in spades, and you can't buy that.”   ' Silence is no reaction: Forty years of Subhumans ' is packed with over 600 pages of posters, photos, original lyric sheets and interviews with all the band me

As a member of Voodoo Glow Skulls, he toured widely and shared stages with Offspring, No Doubt, Blink 182, Rancid, NOFX, and Sublime, and he also toured with Green Day as a trumpet player. He appeared in Rolling Stone twice, including once right after a street brawl with bandages still on his head.  ‘ Poems About Love and Punk Rock ’ by Joe McNally , blends poetry, memoir, and punk storytelling rooted in Southern California. The book is not about name-dropping. It’s about the

Let's Go To Hell: Scattered Memories of the Butthole Surfers by James Burns   The Butthole Surfers remain one of the most enigmatic bands in the history of rock music. Most of their records have no information of any kind, and often with the suggestion that you play them at 69 rpm... They lived like nomads through much of the 1980s, and built their reputation upon tours that never ended, and shows that resembled hedonistic acid tests. This explosive 10th anniversary edition o

Well I guess it's time to find out as we have the ideal punk quiz for you to test your wits and street cred next time your mates are around or you're all down the pub. 'You Can’t Cheat Karma' is the new punk quiz book by long-time scene nerd Martin Punktilious , and whether it’s Johnny Rotten’s parents hamster, or Mark E. Smith’s granny on bongos, Kathleen Hanna's lap dancing persona, or Billy Childish’s mum’s cycling club, ' You Can’t Cheat Karma: The Punk Quiz Book ' will h

Steve Midwinter of Personal Punk has been reading ' What if we were water? ' a collection of poetry by Ricky Frost and says his "Heart ached, leapt and glowed in equal measure. A real gem." Read his full review with excerpts here , then do yourself a favour and grab a copy here . Connecting with the poet behind the poems is crucial when waxing lyrical on the subject of mental health. Essex spoken word artist and mental health poet Ricky Frost presents this collection of poem