Book Review: A History of Punk

Punk was filthy and furious, yet it was also a new dawn for the British music scene. In its original form it was a movement of human liberation, a Year Zero moment in the history of a nation more used to colonial exploits and a vast empire. It spoke of fury, of hopelessness, of cathartic anger expressed through visceral, exciting, revolutionary music. Its visual images captured the gaze of the nation, and soon the world. And all of its central figures yelled, hammered and smashed the doors of the Establishment.

This book charts the origins, appearance, development and ending of punk. It is a book of passion and vivid description, befitting the individual visions of the original punk musicians. It depicts the punk rock explosion of 1976-77 in tired, bored, and socially stratified Britain. Emerging from the litter-strewn streets of London, punk’s music expressed the suppressed anger of young working-class people with nowhere to go and nothing meaningful to do. Its music was raw and shocking. Its fashion mocked staid middle-class values. Its art was expressed in cut-outs and by sprayed graffiti. Yet beneath this sudden explosion, frightening to those of the establishment who witnessed it, incomprehensible to white-collar workers commuting to and from work, lay a philosophy of individual creative expression and an ethic of anti-racism and liberation for women.

A History of Punk : Punk & Pistolry by Stephen Palmer will be published August 31, 2025. White Owl, an imprint of Pen and Sword Publishing provided an early galley for review.

As someone of similar age to the author but living an ocean apart, the only things I knew of the punk movement were from records my older brother played. Therefore, I very much enjoy the way Palmer lays out this discussion and appreciate the education on the factors that contributed to the rise of the punk movement in the UK.

Looking back now, decades later, I recognize many of the names and players in the movement. Over time, I became familiar with many from the post-punk and new-wave movements that followed. All of it I can look back on fondly as I enjoy so many types of music from that time period. I am glad to have the history documented in such a manner.