(Virginia Boston) (Shockwave)
£80.00
London: Plexus Publishing, 1978, 1st edition
Condition: Very good, Minor Shelfwear, Rubbed edges.
Shipped from Germany. No,return.
That aside, this is one of best of the original punk books and there’s good reason – Sniffin’ Glue editor Danny Baker writes the foreword and seminal punk photographer Derek Ridgers designed the book. He’s also one of main photo contributors along with Ray Stevenson, Mick & Shelia Rock, Kevin Cummins and Bob Gruen …So the source material is good throughout making it better than say Sniffin’ Glue or many of the other exploitations titles.
Despite being published at the time, this already has the tone of a retrospective and if nothing else punk was ephemeral – replaced by new wave in 1978 . Whilst not totally a post mortem, it’s a Who’s Who of Punk : all the main offenders are covered Sex Pistols, Adverts, Clash, Damned, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Slits, X-ray Spex, Don Letts -also sections on the Roxy Club, a fashion section with Malcolm & Vivienne at Sex. Great book, great photos, great covers ! The UK edition is a lot rarer than the US edition which was heavily imported into the UK and has the advantage of a Soo Catwoman cover.