DIY punk spirit running through his veins
- david1170
- 10 hours ago
- 2 min read
Take Effect review the Scene Police Records book
Dennis-P. Merklinghaus did what legions of punk kids in the early ‘90s dreamed of - he ran a fully DIY record label that put great music into the hands of like-minded people worldwide.
Of course, it wasn’t all glamorous and certainly not always fun.
In this very forthright book, Merklinghaus tells the tale of his fanzine, Interpol Times, which escalated into a record label, Scene Police Records. It turned into a collective setting, as the workload was far too much for one person to handle, and Scene Police eventually evolved into a mail-order and tour booking machine, which kept Merklinghaus traveling with his bands and sleeping on floors, in squats and with little or no money being made.
A entrepreneur with rigid ethics, the records he put out aligned with his social and political ethos, and he often put out music not so much because it was in demand, but because he believed in it with his heart and soul.
And in the grand tradition of all things punk, there was plenty of turbulence along the way. Conflict within the Scene Police collective, disagreements with bands and their behaviour and misguided tours that left bands often playing to a few people and with no compensation. At every corner, despite his passion for the projects, problems arose.
After 6 years and 40 records, the debt that Merklinghaus accumulated on his label was to a point that he had to shut everything down. The burnout was immense, the turmoil insurmountable. In 2003, Scene Police ceased to exist.
An excellent account of a dream gone awry, Merklinghaus made lifelong friends across the globe, and put out some important records along the way (I actually own 2 Scene Police 7”s that I bought in the late ‘90s). Some guest writers appear to give their accounts of the stories, and Merklinghaus’ own writing style is direct, reflective and one of much appreciation for the life he lived. There’s also many pictures included that give us a great visual of the characters he discusses and the records he made.
I read this book in just 2 sittings even though I was unfamiliar with most of the bands mentioned. It’s just so well laid out and written, the pages just kept turning themselves. Years ago, Larry Livermore wrote a book called How To Ru(i)n A Record Label about the legendary Lookout Records, and this saga of Scene Police runs a similar course.
Interestingly, after a 20+ year hiatus, the Scene Police label has been resurrected, and they’ve already got a dozen or so releases under their belt. Now older, wiser and more stable, Merklinghaus clearly still has the DIY punk spirit running through his veins.
10/10 Take Effect