Suspect Device new book reviews

The guys at Suspect Device have been busy catching up on their reading and have added some new book reviews to their website. The latest ones being for Sam Marsh’s ‘A Poke in the Third Eye’ and Charlie Harper’s ‘An Anarchy of Demons'.  Have a look below to see what they had to say…

A POKE IN THE THIRD EYE - Sam Marsh - Earth Island Books

The Punk Buddha returns! This review should have been in the last issue, but due to my chaos and general disorder the book remained hidden under the mess that I operate in! Anyway! Situation rectified and here’s what I have to say. This is not Sam’s first venture and he has published work with Earth Island before, which I urge you to check out. Sam’s work is somewhere between Haiku and Poetry I think. I love Haiku as I think it’s just a collection of thoughts and observations noted down in short verses. Sam’s verses here are slightly longer and don’t have the rhyme of poetic verses, but they are his thoughts, his observations, his interpretations and his mind open for all to read may be? Get this book and judge for yourself. I found myself smiling and thinking to myself ‘I thought that’ although I’d probably keep it to myself as opposed to publishing those thoughts! 

www.earthislandbooks.com   (Gaz)  

AN ANARCHY OF DEMONS by Charlie Harper - Earth Island

Charlie Harper has led an incredible life, being born in 1944 he has seen and experienced it all; V2 bombs falling on London, an absent GI father, rationing, “special” schools, the start of rock n roll, folk music, R&B, the swinging 60s, beatniks, busking, squatting, marriages, fatherhood, heart attacks, pub rock and, of course, punk rock. Throughout he seems to have faced it all with a real sense of adventure, charm and good humour.

Getting into punk quite young I started searching out anything associate with it and it wasn’t too long before the UK Subs were on my radar, so Charlie Harper has been a figure in pretty much all my punk rock life. He’s also the only one of those late 1970s bands I’ve had some real contact with, he was cool to me and so I was really looking forward to this book. Of course I really wanted to read about the UK Subs and punk rock, but it was over 170 pages before he got to all that. It has to be said reading about his early life is interesting and he seemed to be receptive to all the changes the world went through in those post war years, eagerly embracing the changing times as they came along, especially when it came to music, getting interested in jazz, rock n roll, folk, the Rolling Stones and so on, meeting interesting characters along the way. He traveled Europe, busking to earn money to eat, finding a home from home in Spain and Southern France. He also lived in the US briefly. It’s not really a surprise that he threw himself into punk rock, it gave him a chance to play and take his music around the world while making something of a living from it. I had to keep reminding myself that this is Charlie’s autobiography, not a UK Subs one, when he glossed over, or even didn’t mention at all, some things I would like to have read more about, like the reasons for the Garrett, Gibbs and Roberts line up coming to an end and the early gigs the Subs did with Crass, but both those things are just a small part of both Charlie's and the UK Subs' history and there are plenty of things I didn’t know about the band that I now do. There are a lot of mentions of the women he’s met throughout his life and it was one of them, Yuko, that steadied both Charlie’s life and the UK Subs. Up until that point his life could be chaotic and he often found himself without a band and gigs to fulfil (He would almost always be able to put a band together to play the gigs). Yuko brought some organisation and structure at a point when it was most needed. While reading this, the UK Subs were my soundtrack, their early songs were a big part of my teenage life and still sound so good all these years later. Also, Charlie offering my first band a gig with the Subs in London in the late 1980s gave me my own little adventure that I’m still telling people about 40 years later. Charlie and the UK Subs have done it all; played at the Roxy in 1977, appeared on Top Of The Pops, toured the world, experienced the hard times where they struggled to fill small pubs, played European squats, became Rebellion regulars and played stadiums in Europe. Throughout it all Charlie has been there, enthusiasm seemingly never dented, always ready to give everything for the band and the crowd. Even with a little old fashioned language here and there, An Anarchy Of Demons is an easy and engaging read showing that Charlie Harper has really lived a life, has a lot of stories to tell and really just loves to play music. The timeline does jump around a bit from time to time, but it’s not difficult to keep up and it makes you feel like you’re sat at a bar with Charlie, listening to him tell you this story face to face. Just to end, I’d like to say that, Charlie, I have also always really liked the  ’Another Typical City’ 12”. 

Earth Island (Tony)

ANARCHO-PUNK: MUSIC AND RESISTANCE IN LONDON 1977-1988 by David Insurrection - Earth Island

I have always thought that Anarcho Punk is the thing that saved punk rock. By proving that you could put in to action the ideas that The Clash and Sex Pistols spouted, Crass, and the bands that they inspired, proved that if you take control and ignore the mainstream things are better when you do them yourself. Things naturally grow and evolve that way, continuing to inspire along the way. Gaz and me were soaking up the records released on Crass, Spiderleg, Mortarhate etc and although our lives were completely different to the lives of those living in London and forming bands, zines, newspapers we were becoming inspired and our politics were evolving, although we weren’t squatting and living with the constant threat of attacks by right wing skins or the police. So, this book is an interesting read and it was good to see pictures of the venues and locations we’d seen mentioned on record sleeves and in fanzines and read about the people and bands involved too, how they interacted and moved around as well as their links with older, non-punk anarchists. Dave Insurrection also lists many of the gigs, and who played at each venue covered. One or two of these people get a chance to tell their own stories too. It was a different time and although this book covers just 11 years, the impact this period had is still being felt today, the small, DIY scenes that emerged in the mid to late 1980s were directly, or indirectly, inspired by anarcho punk and forged friendships that have endured. I’d put this alongside Ian Glasper’s books as an important historical document of our punk scene. And it is our scene, it’s not one championed or created by the music press, it’s created by punks for punks and although things have changed, the spirit remains. Musical styles ebb and throw, but the attitude stays the same, forged in the years covered in this book.

Earth Island (Tony)

DEAR SMASH HITS WE'RE FROM SCOTLAND! An Alternative History Of Zines & DIY Music Culture (1975-2025) By Alastair MacDonald Jackson - Earth Island

This book seems to have gone under the radar a bit, I haven’t heard too many people talking about it, but I really enjoyed it. It’s not all about punk, but it is about DIY zines. It was interesting to read about the author’s journey to DIY music and zines, growing up on the Isle of Skye, 126 miles and a ferry crossing from the nearest record shop. As well as records and zines, DIY tapes are also featured and it was interesting to see how bands who went on to far bigger things like Simple Minds and Wet Wet Wet along with bigger indie bands like Orange Juice and Shop Assistants, were part of this DIY zine scene. This is about indie zines more than punk zines, but it’s the DIY aspect that’s important. I enjoyed reading about the feminist and art zines, the different ways people produced their zines and the tapes and flexis given away with issues. I was also reminded of zines I've bought throughout the years, like The Incredible Shrinking Fanzine, Ploppy Pants, Ivor The Anarchist, ENZK, Anarchoi and Runnin’ Feart. At the end there’s a list of Scottish zines with a short write up on each. This was a god read about a subject that is, obviously, close to my heart. The foreword is by Paloma (Palmolive) Romero too.

Earth Island (Tony)

DOWN THE PUNK ROCK HIGHWAY: 35 Years of writing & interviews

By Jared Forman - Earth Island Books

I love the look of this book, it’s not full text but has reproduced interviews, cuttings and photos from zines Jared Forman has done over the last 35 years. There is a ton of stuff in here, including chats with Channel 3, Subhumans, Toxic Reasons, Doom, MDC, Icons Of Filth, Mission Of Burma, Reagan Youth, A.P.P.L.E, The Avengers and loads more, including bits on ABC NO Rio, Dangerhouse Records and Gilman Street. It’s all presented in a cut and paste style, reminding me of all those great zines of the mid-1980s and it gives a real first hand snapshot of, mainly, US punk rock history. It’s a book I keep picking up and flicking through the pages to find another cool photo or interview to take me back and make me want to dig out the records of that particular band.  

Earth Island (Tony)

THE FIRE STILL BURNS: MUSIC INSPIRED BY THE POST-PUNK MESSAGE by David Gamage - Earth Island Books

On first glance this book wouldn’t appear to appeal to me too much, outside of the fact that David is a longstanding friend. But, there are bands here I’ve head of, seen live and even featured in SD. None of that really matters though as this massive book, almost 700 pages, could be seen as a companion book to Ian Glasper’s books documenting the punk scene from the 1980s onwards, being just as important for people interested in bands you could call post-emo. The fact that the music most of the bands featured here is not to my taste is unimportant, the fact is that the roots of what they play stretch back to punk rock; there is a line to be drawn from bands like Gang Of Four, Magazine or Wire, Dag Nasty, Rites Of Spring or Fugazi through 1990s Emo to these more melodic bands David writes about here. They are younger, so their entry to alternative music wasn’t Crass or Discharge, Minor Threat or Dead Kennedys, it was a generation after that, but they still found a home in a scene that was born out of those times where they could start bands, play gigs and release their music making use of labels, zines and promoters that sprung up out of the DIY network that existed because of the older punk scenes. Some of their stories are interesting and certainly worth telling, obviously I was drawn to Rites and Zero Again, but I remember Si Briggs interviewing Speedwell and them appearing on one of our compilations, so that was one of the first chapters I read. As with Ian Glasper’s books, this is an historical reference book, making sure these bands are not forgotten and just because I’m not a fan of their music doesn’t mean I instantly dismiss their stories or their worth, in fact I’m pleased these kids found somewhere to play music with people who shared their passion in what was, at least initially, outside of the mainstream music industry.

Earth Island (Tony)

MRS WILSON'S CHILDREN: Adventures at The Welly Club, Hull 1979-1981 by Caraline Brown - Earth Island

This is a great read. It’s kind of like the From The Garage To The Station And Beyond book that Amorphous Pieces put out. While that one told the story of the Gateshead Music Collective 1980-88, this one tells the story of how punk and new wave found a home at the Wellington Club a bit further down the east coast in Hull. Those young punks who found a home at The Welly get to reminisce about their time at the club and although the book has been written by Caroline Brown, it’s these kids’ contributions that give you a real feel of how much this place meant to them. While the UK press were spreading scare stories about punks and the trouble they caused, there were places up and down the country where punk gave kids some meaning, a community and a place to be creative. Caraline (or Kari) Brown was the one who did the booking of the bands, sorted the money and publicity as well as playing in a band herself. She has kept all her note books from that time and a lot of the pages have been reproduced showing their costs, what they paid bands and how much money they made, or lost. It's good to hear the stories of the bands that played (or didn’t). Discharge and Bauhaus didn’t win any friends, with their attitude, while UK Subs and Killing Joke made the opposite impression and Girlschool helped boost the club finances (just don’t mention U2). The Mrs Wilson of the title was the proprietor of the club and seems to have been stern and intimidating the way older ladies seemed to be in the late 1970s. She didn’t take any nonsense from these young punks, but also earned their respect and is fondly remembered by everyone. This is an easy and enjoyable read, it demonstrates just how important punk was to kids the in late 1970s and early 1980s, even when the music press had given up on it, kids up and down the country were getting together, forming bands, collectives and friendships and making things happen. I love books like these. 

Earth Island (Tony)

RACCOON STARTS A BAND by Alex CF - Earth Island Books

Following on from Alex CF’s Punks In The Willows book, Earth Island now allows Alex to tell the story I’m sure a lot of us can relate to, of punk rock giving us a purpose, a community, an education and a feeling of security. Along the way there’s a run through of a lot of punk rock’s offshoots and sub genres, as Raccoon finds his way, told in short verse form. The main attraction of this is Alex’s great drawings, putting animals in place of humans, all covered in band patches and t-shirts and all the looks and styles of punks through the ages. It looks like children’s book, but is it? Who’s to say, but I did enjoy it.

Earth Island (Tony)

Read all the Suspect Device reviews here: http://suspectdevicehq.blogspot.com/p/reviews_29.html