Burning Britain

Overview

The product of years of research, travel, and countless conversations, Burning Britain is the true story of the UK punk scene from 1980 to 1984 told for the first time by the bands and labels that created it. Covering the country region by region, author Ian Glasper profiles legendary bands like Vice Squad, Angelic Upstarts, Blitz, Anti-Nowhere League, Cockney Rejects, and the UK Subs as well as more obscure groups like Xtract, The Skroteez, and Soldier Dolls through hundreds of new interviews and photographs. As the 1970s closed the media was quick to declare punk dead, but a new generation of even more aggressive and political bands were announcing their presence through some of the most primal and potent music ever committed to plastic. This book is the definitive guide to that previously overlooked era.

Reviews

“[A] chatty, engaging history [that] follows the regional lines along which UK punk’s 'second wave' scene divided.”  —Guardian

"For those with a burning desire to dig deeper than The Clash and Sex Pistols to discover below-the-radar groups from the original British punk rock scene, then Burning Britain is your new Bible." —John B. Moore, New Noise Magazine

Author Biography

Ian Glasper is a writer, the founder of the now-defunct Blackfish Records, which released 20 punk, hardcore, and metalcore albums, and a member of many DIY punk bands. He is the author of Armed with Anger and Trapped in a Scene: UK Hardcore 1985–1989.