Punk - The Culture In Pictures
(Book - Ammonite Press 2012)
I knew nothing about this little gem of a bargain book before last weekend when I happened to discover a one page feature, complete with some very eye-catching time and place pics nestling within the latest 'Mojo' mag. Yeah! Thats the issue with the legendary 'Steve Marriott' on the cover. There was more than enough info printed in that small heads up to get me interested, so out of curiosity I went to my computer later that evening and placed an order with my friendly neighbourhood online supplier, and believe it or not the book only cost me a few pence more than that less than good value skinny mag did. I recieved my copy of 'Punk- The Culture in Pictures' in the post yesterday morning, and not suprisingly it's a minimal text but good quality budget publication. The wealth of outstanding and historically important original punk era fan photos especially within its 300 pages would put to shame many of the way more expensive and critically hyped books that have been foisted upon us on a regular basis for the best part of the past 35 years, which have promised so much but delivered so little. There are so many previously unseen and long forgotten photos included here taken from the 'Mirror' archive, it was actually a rare and exciting experience for a change to casually browse and enjoy the vital printed images on the pages, instead of the usual frantic page turning searching for something new only to be disappointed time and time again after having had to wade through the same old pics, yawn!
This book was an unexpected and very pleasant surprise, part of a cheapo series or not! I'd recommend it to everyone. An excellent collection of images.
Joe Donnelly Belfast 7.4.12.
I knew nothing about this little gem of a bargain book before last weekend when I happened to discover a one page feature, complete with some very eye-catching time and place pics nestling within the latest 'Mojo' mag. Yeah! Thats the issue with the legendary 'Steve Marriott' on the cover. There was more than enough info printed in that small heads up to get me interested, so out of curiosity I went to my computer later that evening and placed an order with my friendly neighbourhood online supplier, and believe it or not the book only cost me a few pence more than that less than good value skinny mag did. I recieved my copy of 'Punk- The Culture in Pictures' in the post yesterday morning, and not suprisingly it's a minimal text but good quality budget publication. The wealth of outstanding and historically important original punk era fan photos especially within its 300 pages would put to shame many of the way more expensive and critically hyped books that have been foisted upon us on a regular basis for the best part of the past 35 years, which have promised so much but delivered so little. There are so many previously unseen and long forgotten photos included here taken from the 'Mirror' archive, it was actually a rare and exciting experience for a change to casually browse and enjoy the vital printed images on the pages, instead of the usual frantic page turning searching for something new only to be disappointed time and time again after having had to wade through the same old pics, yawn!
This book was an unexpected and very pleasant surprise, part of a cheapo series or not! I'd recommend it to everyone. An excellent collection of images.
Joe Donnelly Belfast 7.4.12.
The Encyclopedia Of Punk (book)
(author: Brian Coogan, publisher: Sterling Press)
An A - Z of punk bands, labels, clubs, films, books, and fanzines from the past to the present. A huge glossy tome weighing in at just under 400 pages with approximately 500 entries, with hundreds of pics - some fairly common, others previously unpublished. A book like this will always cause arguements as to who the compiler should or should not have included, which is the fun part. As far as N. Irish punk is concerned, well its pretty much the same old story - there are entries for Stiff Little Fingers, The Undertones, Good Vibrations, Terri Hooley, ho hum! and surprisingly, just for a change, The Outcasts. No room for Rudi, Moondogs, Ruefrex, Victim, or any of the anarcho bands - Stalag 17, Toxic Waste, F.U.A.L etc. or more recent bands like Runnin' Riot! There are entries for punk clubs / venues but it was too much to hope for to see the likes of the Harp Bar or Giro's in there. Have these people learned nothing? Our bands, clubs, fanzines etc are equally as important (if not more so) and more worthy of inclusion than many of those that made it into Coogans 500. But hey, we could argue about that all day! The book is well laid out, has some great photos and is a handy reference book to have lying around, especially useful for any youngsters just getting into punk. The Encyclopedia Of Punk.
GT 09/04/12
An A - Z of punk bands, labels, clubs, films, books, and fanzines from the past to the present. A huge glossy tome weighing in at just under 400 pages with approximately 500 entries, with hundreds of pics - some fairly common, others previously unpublished. A book like this will always cause arguements as to who the compiler should or should not have included, which is the fun part. As far as N. Irish punk is concerned, well its pretty much the same old story - there are entries for Stiff Little Fingers, The Undertones, Good Vibrations, Terri Hooley, ho hum! and surprisingly, just for a change, The Outcasts. No room for Rudi, Moondogs, Ruefrex, Victim, or any of the anarcho bands - Stalag 17, Toxic Waste, F.U.A.L etc. or more recent bands like Runnin' Riot! There are entries for punk clubs / venues but it was too much to hope for to see the likes of the Harp Bar or Giro's in there. Have these people learned nothing? Our bands, clubs, fanzines etc are equally as important (if not more so) and more worthy of inclusion than many of those that made it into Coogans 500. But hey, we could argue about that all day! The book is well laid out, has some great photos and is a handy reference book to have lying around, especially useful for any youngsters just getting into punk. The Encyclopedia Of Punk.
GT 09/04/12