This blog uses Gavin Watson's previously unseen photos. I particularly like the featured photo above, which for me shows the passing from punk to post-punk. It is prompted by Russ Bestley's editorial in the journal Punk & Post-Punk, Volume 14, Issue 1, Mar 2025, p. 3 - 5 (I have an article in it).
Keywords: autoethnography, case studies, interdisciplinary scholarship, cold case metaphor, memory, myth, positionality
I was never a punk. But I was into punk in the late 1970s. In the early 1980s I moved to London with mates to squat and became an indie music guy. Well that is how I thought of myself, later we were called New Wave and now it seems we are Post-Punks. In the late 1980s I stepped away from intensive music and had a family and an academic career in computing and education. I occasionally played jazz and blues double bass. I was always an outsider academic. My 3 blog posts explain that, as a gamekeeper's son I have travelled a long way. On retirement I decided I would try and report my 1980s experience. The editorial team and reviewers at the journal Punk & Post-Punk helped me get my article out (thanks guys), which is summarised in a recent editorial below. Taking my 'cold case' approach seemed obvious to me, but maybe not given Russ Bestley's editorial for the issue that my recent article appears in:
"As we creep ever closer to punk’s supposed fiftieth anniversary, we can anticipate numerous exhibitions, commemorations, publications and cash-in events to mark the occasion. Some will hopefully be enlightening and revealing, though judging by previous ‘punk anniversaries’ they may well be outweighed by a mixture of has-been celebrity posturing, media gatekeeping and elitist recuperation" (Bestley, 2005, p. 5).
Punk is hard to define and the origins are contested. Who writes the history of Punk and Post-Punk is a bone of contention. The 'supposed fiftieth anniversary of punk', mentioned above, refers to the year 2026, marking the 50th anniversary of the birth of punk rock. The first issue of the fanzine "PUNK" and the Ramones' first LP were both released in April 1976, according to John Holmstrom. The Damned's first single "New Rose", made them the first UK punk band to release a single (22 October 1976). I am hoping my article adds to what Russ Bestley calls contributions that are "enlightening and revealing". Well you can judge. Here is the editorial summary of my article (Cook, 2025) with links to the full paper in the references:
#PostPunk #IndieMusicSubculture #1980sIndieMusic