Punkzines : Fanzine Culture From The Punk Scene hits the shelves on April 8th.
There’s a decent argument to be made for punk being pretty much over by the time most of the British public realised it had begun.
If the Sex Pistols’ appearance on Bill Grundy brought the filth and the fury into millions of television sets for the first time that December night in 1976, then for the fanzine culture which helped to create it, punk’s influence on their lives was already firmly established.
Some of these synonymous with the era – Sniffin’ Glue, 48 Thrills, Ripped & Torn among others – will be celebrated when the new Punkzines book is published next month.
DJ and founder of Acid Jazz Records Eddie Piller and author Steve Rowland will be presenting interviews with fanzine editors, bands, DJs, promoters and journalists looking back on the period, illustrated with original and rare artwork.
“Punk was our cultural year zero,” Piller recalls. “It was so much more than just music and I wanted to find out where it came from and how it reshaped the national consciousness.
“As Glen Matlock says: ‘Fanzines were the building blocks of punk’, so where better to start? They were designed to be disposable but because they were so pure in intent they’re a much better cultural resource than standard history books. They tell the real story, as it happened.”