Suspect Device review the new expanded ANARCHO-PUNK book

“This is the origins of our scene… created by punks for punks”

ANARCHO-PUNK: Music And Resistance In London 1977-1988 - EXPANDED EDITION by David Insurrection - Earth Island Books

I reviewed the original version of this book a little while ago and really enjoyed reading about the venues and locations I’d heard about on record sleeves and in fanzines, and see pictures of the actual locations.

David is from Aberdeen, so it was quite a trek for him to come down to London and search out these locations. I guess that’s why he didn’t get to see them all first time round, so now he’s been back and was able to add 15 more chapters and 50 extra pages, with more colour photos and also some extra conversations with people who were there at the time.

There’s now a good chapter on the Triad venue in Bishop’s Stortford as well as a documentation of Conflict’s early years and David also goes into the case of the Stoke Newington Eight.

As I said in my original review this is an interesting book as it takes you through the people and bands involved in London’s early Anarcho Punk years, explaining how they interacted and moved around different squats as well as some of their links with older, non-punk anarchists.

There are lists many of the gigs that took place in these locations 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were directly, or indirectly inspired by anarcho punk and I’d put this alongside Ian Glasper’s books as an important historical document of our punk history.

This is the origins of our scene, it’s not one championed or created by the music press, it’s created by punks for punks and although musical styles change and grow, the attitude stays the same and it was all forged in the years covered in this book. 

Earth Island 

(Tony) http://suspectdevicehq.blogspot.com/p/reviews_29.html

You can pick up a copy of ‘ANARCHO-PUNK: Music And Resistance In London 1977-1988 - EXPANDED EDITION’ by David Insurrection from most good book or record stores, or online resellers, or direct from the publishers, Earth Island Books.