Pretty Vacant: A History of UK Punk Paperback – 1 April 2008

Strongman first heard of Malcolm McLaren and his new band in December 1975, he explains in the preface which briefly covers some of the names that would create the most dramatic upheaval in rock. Punk encompassed fashion, design, writing, independent record companies and other aspects of culture that do not easily fit into a straightforward chronology. As he points out, this manic outburst benefited various performers only distantly related to the genre as well as  women in rock .The story begins at a Pistols gig at the 100 Club in 1976 then takes a detour to NYC and the Velvet Underground past, Iggy, the MC5, The Modern Lovers, New York Dolls, Ramones, Patti Smith et al. In Britain, Pub Rock preceded punk whilst the States had the Max's Kansas City/CBGBs scene where the likes of  Richard Hell , Television and Blondie were emerging. For his efforts as connecting factor the late Malcolm gets a thorough mini-biography. Bowie and Glamrock receive their dues too. Strongman investigates the backgrounds of key individuals such as members & managers of the Clash and Pistols and designer  Vivienne Westwood  in some detail and explains the role of the UK national press and music weeklies like Sounds, Melody Maker and NME. Surprisingly there was much initial resistance and even hostility at the latter two with the largest circulations.The author captures the energy & excitement of the early gigs and the Bill Grundy debacle and its aftermath with flair and insight. The headlines of outrage are much more amusing in hindsight. Suddenly, bands like The Buzzcocks,  Stranglers , Banshees, Jam & Damned hit the spotlight and some of them the charts. The Pistols enjoyed a giddy turnover of record companies while others were waiting and the stage was set for the proliferation of independent labels. Everything the Pistols touched throughout 1977 achieved instant notoriety, from the Jubilee Boat incident to the God Save The Queen single. That same year The Boomtown Rats descended on London whilst new talent was stirring in Manchester & Birmingham. By now artists like Elvis Costello and various New York groups were making the British charts. The Pistols'  debut album  entered at number one in November but the US tour meant the end of the band in San Francisco in January 1978.The careers of  Siouxsie & The Banshees , PIL, Joy Division, The Fall and Wire are examined as well as the roots & the rise of West Coast Punk like The Dead Kennedys. The penultimate part is devoted to the fall and demise of  Sid Vicious  and the Clash's triumphant 1981 shows in Manhattan, whilst the last looks at the legacy, the reunions from the 1990s onward, and the legions of dead. The book concludes with a bibliography, filmography and index. Sixteen pages of plates bring the legends to life in black & white photographs. Strongman's most important observation concerns the Bill Grundy spectacle. All the fuss and notoriety attracted what became the Oi!otics: a slew of dumb bands playing stagnant 3-chord rock which became the face of punk in the UK. Innovative artists moved on, the New Wave label took over and the 1980s became the Synthpop Era. Oi!I also recommend  Boy Looked At Johnny  by the formidable Julie Burchill for a closer look at British punk,  From the Velvets to the Voidoids  by Clinton Heylin for American pre-punk & New York punk, and  In the Fascist Bathroom  by Greil Marcus for a wide embrace of the spirit of punk from 1977 to 1992. Being petty & vacuous, my criticism of Pretty Vacant cannot be justified but must be aired. I love the obscure and the One Hit Wonder so would have preferred to learn more of bands like Poly Styrene & X-Ray Spex plus assorted oddities like Jilted John, Plastic Bertrand and Wreckless Eric. Otherwise, a great read.

Surprise...........This was book was refreshingly well researched and as a result, rather enlightening.The bulk of the discussion in the book was new and fresh material, rather than the old hand me down stuff of the past. On top of that it was well written and quite readable.I can recommend this book to anyone interested in some of the things that really happened in the New York and UK punk scenes.

A mostly very well written look at the early days of UK punk, focused on the Sex Pistols but branching out to talk about others now and then. It's probably not a good first book about punk to read, but it connected well with me. I was in my early 20s when punk hit and although I didn't live anywhere near the action, I bought the records and followed it closely through Trouser Press and the UK trade papers. Most of what Strongman says rings pretty true to the recollections I have from the day. And he does have some new takes - like his certainty of who killed Nancy Spungen, which is something I hadn't read of elsewhere.The book is at its best when it's covering the Pistols, who Strongman apparently had a close connection with. When he branches out and talks about other punk and new wave it becomes apparent that he wasn't really paying too much attention of the wider field - most of these stories are sketchy and pretty weak compared to other material available. I get the impression he really wanted to write a Pistols book but got told he should try to broaden the topic by his editor.Anyway, this music changed my life, and since I hardly know anyone else in that position on a first hand basis, I always enjoy reading the perspectives of others who feel the same way.