Punk Rock: An Oral History

For anyone really trying to learn more about Punk Rock and the circumstances leading to its inception, this is a great resource to have. Oral histories are one of my favorite kinds of books and the cast of characters here offers the reader plenty of perspective. That being said, many of the people can come off snooty and self-important. At the same time, however, they probably have a right to be a little bit. I'm very glad I read this book and recommend it to any fan or prospective fan of the genre.

Very good year-by-year (sometimes month-to-month) oral history, from some of the major players. The players are identified at the beginning and when they first appear, but not after that. I sometimes found myself wondering "Who is this again?" Enjoyable read.

WOW, what a great book. I grew up listening to punk rock. And so I thought, I knew most of the punk bands. But after reading, an oral history. I discovered new bands. Like Sham69, Crass. In fact I bought several cd's. So I recommend it.

This book is mostly about the early punk scene in England but it branches off into other parts including the New York scene.It's a very complete book written by the people who were there. Get this book if you want to know the real history of punk!

I'm a hardcore punk. Love to listen to it, read about, what have you. This book was so dull it hurts. I hate to rate it so low. It features lots of amazing bands and artists but reading a whole book about their anecdotes was awful. So painfully boring. I only gave it two stars because of who they actually got to contribute to the book and the few little amusing stories there were. I wouldn't waste my time reading it again.

It's a great book and well worth reading

Eventhough I'm not a very huge fan of oral histories, this is a fine piece of art. So useful for music nerds.

Want to better understand what the early leaders in punk thought as this musical genre emerged - no better place than this. Great interviews, fascinating insights, loved it

THE best book on punk rock I have read as told through the main protagonists of the day.How refreshing to finally discover a book on punk rock that acknowledges the importance and relevance of the "second wave of punk", the contribution of the Irish/Scottish bands, the importance of Manchester and other towns and cities outside London, the importance of the lesser bands and doesn't snobbishly ignore the massive contribution made by the Stranglers (yes you Mr Savage) which simply cannot be overlooked in any credible book about the period.Similarly it seems to only be Messrs Savage and Lydon who don't think that the contribution of bands like the Ruts, the Cockney Rejects and post pounk bands like Killing Joke, Joy Division etc are not important in the overall bigger picture. Noticeable that Lydon disses nearly every band which tells you everything. Superb unbiased account of the whole punk movement and all its variations - highly recommended.

Simply the best account of that seminal epoch, by a country mile. Unvarnished, virtually unmediated verbatim accounts by everyone who was anyone between around 1976 and 1984, most of whom were highly articulate then and remain so today. John Robb adds just enough well-considered insight and hindsight to tie it all together, but it's a book that belongs to its contributors and brings it all back like nothing else I've ever read...

Favourite excerpts are from Marco Pirroni and his witty comments and that feeling from all but the Bromley Contingent of being excluded from the in crowd. The extent to which all the major protagonists knew each other via London SS is well covered particularly the key role Brian James had and his sparring with Mick Jones. The damage done via Grundy comes across too as does how quickly the creativity turned to compromise.

This book is brilliant, Punk - as it happened, by the people that made it happen. I've discovered a lot of new (old!?) music because of this book. Some brilliant tales from Captain Sensible, Mick Jones, Ari Up and, of course, John Lydon. Well worth a read, especially by anyone with an interest in Punk, and those who think they know what it was/is all about.

Really got the the essence of the "movement" and the insight to the people in the build up to the Punk Era and to see what they were up to prior to Punk was the heart of a really good book on this subject.(My old band get a mention as well, which was a surprise, although not all the facts are as I recall them!)Well written and structured!