England's Dreaming

By Jon Savage,

Book cover of England's Dreaming: Anarchy, Sex Pistols, Punk Rock, and Beyond

Book description

The influence of The Sex Pistols has stretched way beyond their short, violent and notorious career - not only did they define punk, through the vision of their manager Malcolm McLaren and lead singer Johnny Rotten, but by the time of the Jubilee in 1977, they had initiated an explosion…

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Why read it?

2 authors picked England's Dreaming as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

The birth of punk rock was never really about the music – or at least not just about the music – and England’s Dreaming sets the context for probably the most volatile genre to assault the senses. Jon Savage’s book explores the historical and social setting that led to this – albeit brief – explosion in youth culture. He links together the birth of anarchism with the Situationist art movement alongside the eventual do-it-yourself attitude of punk fashion and music to create a narrative that’s both fascinating and incredibly relevant to the world today. As the legendary contemporaneous fanzine, Sniffing…

From Geoff's list on magic, heroes, and rock ‘n’ roll.

The original and best record of the initial (British) punk explosion in the 1970s, this is required reading for anyone with any interest in the history of punk. It's thorough, thoughtful, and entertaining in equal measure, a book I've read more than once.

From Frank's list on the history of punk rock.

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