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 kid from the Cologne/Bonn metropolitan area, you simply couldn’t avoid Scene Police Records. Although, strictly speaking, it would be unfair to categorize a label like Scene Police—which has roots in Turkey, the UK, and the USA—as a regional phenomenon.

Emerging from the lively and confrontational fanzine Interpol Times, Scene Police quickly developed into a DIY institution, releasing EPs and albums by bands such as RYDELL, HUNTER-GATHERER, IMPACT, CHILDREN OF FALL, and LACK, to name just a few of the better-known names.

But since a love of music, youthful enthusiasm, and DIY ethics often don’t go hand in hand with economic and financial discipline, after a few years it all came to a radically abrupt end, just as radically as it had begun. Debts, broken friendships, and crates full of unsold releases were left behind in the wreckage.

Now, more than 20 years later, Scene Police boss Dennis-P. Merklinghaus has decided—appropriately enough, coinciding with the label’s revival—to tell us the label’s entire story.

From the first innocent attempts, which quickly culminated in a RYDELL/HOT WATER MUSIC split 7-inch, through countless tours at home and abroad, all the way to the final crash, The Scene Police Story – A Story of Rebellion, Passion, and Financial Ruin tells us everything firsthand.

But countless friends and fellow travelers, members of the label collective, and musicians from bands around the world also have their say. The writing style and highly personal way of telling the story are fittingly reminiscent of hardcore fanzines from the 1990s.

Nothing is glossed over, idealized, or blown out of proportion. Instead, everything is recounted with a brutally candid honesty that makes you feel as though you are experiencing it all firsthand.

Countless photographs from the period round out the picture, offering a glimpse into an era that now seems almost forgotten—an era before Spotify, before huge festivals, and before punk bands started presenting themselves like pop stars.

Highly recommended for hardcore historians and for anyone who was there back then.

Grab a copy of 'The Scene Police Story' and find out for yourself what's involved in running one of Europe's best loved hardcore record labels.