'Anarcho-Punk: Music and Resistance in London 1977-1988' by David Insurrection is the distillation of three years work. It’s the story of an oft overlooked scene. Anarcho-punk in the 1980s truly rocked the boat. Much more than music it set out to change the world and in a not insignificant way did just that. It inspired a generation of activists, artists and musicians to take up the fight for a better fairer world. They tore down the walls. The Sex Pistols may have opened the door but the Crass punks charged through it. This is their story. As we return to the embattled 1970s and 1980s David takes us on a journey where we visit some of the scene’s most significant locations and hot spots, to places where change mattered and the spirit of revolt burned brightest.
About the author:
David Insurrection was born in 1962 and raised in NE Scotland. He’s married with one daughter. At the age of 17 in the autumn of 1979 he discovered punk rock. It would leave a lasting impression on him. In 1980 he first heard Crass. That experience changed everything and would determine the direction his life took from that point onwards. In 1984 he began to identify as an anarchist and took his first activist steps. By this time he had immersed himself in everything anarcho-punk. In 1988 he produced his first zine. His next zine in 1990 was called Insurrection. In 1993 he moved to London. He stayed there for four and a half years returning to his native Scotland in 1997. It was during his stay in London that he first got a hankering for writing a book on anarcho-punk. He’s still involved in the scene to this day.
Press / reviews:
The title of the book for me says everything - everything that we gave our soul to during those years. This book does a fantastic job at retelling that story.
Col Latter (Flux of Pink Indians)
This is a well-researched psychogeographical report on the anarcho-punk squatting scene in London in the late 70s and early 80s.
Tom Vague (Vague)
I can’t express my gratitude to David for visiting all the hot addresses from the era and writing an amazing book about music and resistance.
Sanctus Wojtek