Product Description

"30 years ago on January 1st 1977, the Roxy Club in London s Covent Garden opened with a gig by the Clash and Chelsea. In April 1978 the doors were shut for the last time."

The nostalgia industry has sold us a view of Punk dominated by the Sex Pistols, Clash, Sid Vicious and the usual suspects. The Roxy London WC2 redresses this imbalance by drawing together a history of that infamous Punk club. It argues that without the Roxy Club giving Punk a space where bands and fans alike could gather and develop a scene it may never have turned out the way it did.

A club that in its short life span was frequented by all the major faces on the scene. A club that featured nearly every major and minor Punk act of the time including the Clash, Stranglers, Damned, Slits, Adam & the Ants and even the Police. All with stories and incidents to tell including...

The band that blagged their first gig and got featured on a top 20 album
The time Led Zeppelin met the Damned
Sid s first night of passion with Nancy and wetting the bed
The day Jimmy Pursey of Sham 69 headlined and cleaned the club so he could buy food
The band that rented out their van as a passion wagon outside the club
The band Blitz enjoying card playing in the early morning with gun toting gangsters and Welsh opera singers
Charlie Harper of the UK Subs forced with 5 other bands to do morning chores as the Farewell to the Roxy tour rolls into the local YMCA

This is the story of a club in the eye of the Punk storm in the words of the bands that played there, the club owners and just as importantly, the club goers who made the place their own. With dozens of never before seen photographs and fliers, the Roxy London WC2 captures vividly the music, fashion, attitude, sex and violence of Punk Rock - all against a backdrop of London clubs, gangsters and criminals!

About the Author
The author Paul Marko runs the Punk Rock website Punk77.co.uk and interviewed some 150 band members and club goers to research the book.

What the critics said...

... the perfect insight ...a blow by blow account of the birth of punk in London from its very first date, very first shag, the building of the stage and even its first robbery by bogus Sweeney vice cops. The definitive punk tale. Eugene Butcher The Big Cheese *

Insightful and entertaining tome shines like a diamond in the sh*t heap of cash in punk publications... a killer legacy to that transient time. Billy Chainsaw Bizarre

Over the years the Roxy Club in London's Covent Garden has obtained almost mythical status among punk fans....It's an intriguing read, with some great photos, and surely the last word on the subject. Shane Baldwin Record Collector

Paul Marko's highly entertaining [book] tells the story of the Covent Garden club that moves from being punk central to a total culture relic within a few months. Here is the fag end of the rock dream. Jon Savage 2007 The Best Books - Observer

This book highlights well why The Roxy was vital to the Punk scene in London, but it tells you so much more, including some fabulous images, that it’s done the impossible and rewritten part of Punk’s history, and in such a way that you can only be grateful. Mick Mercer

Vast survey of the life and crimes of punk's infamous West End venue and its successor the Vortex...Gritty stuff. Pat Gilbert Mojo ***

...as rough and ready as the Roxy itself, this [book] kicks against the counterfeit kitsch construct of McLaren in the very manner that punk itself cocked a seismic snook at the prevailing musical order of the day, and still does if you dig deep enough. Stu Gibson Reverb

A cellarful of oi's. Ian Fortnum 8/10 Classic Rock

...a fascinating insight into the famed Roxy Club...A must read for any true punk-o-phile. Ramona Distorted Magazine

About the Author

The author Paul Marko runs the Punk Rock website Punk77.co.uk and interviewed some 150 band members and club goers to research the book.

The Roxy London WC2: A Punk History

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