Punk – Julie Davis
Punk by Julie Davis was a bit of a strange one as it focussed on compiling text content (reviews, interviews, features) from a variety of fanzines from the time including Shews, 48 Thrills, Live Wire, Flicks, Ripped & Torn, Chainsaw, Jolt, Cliche, New Wave, Hanging Around and Strangled and arranged them around bands and issues punk was facing (like wearing swastikas and girls in bands) and supplemented them with quality photos from the likes of Erica Echenberg and Walt Davidson in the main.
Turns out our Julie just decided to write about the current punk phenomenon but had no previous form in writing and I can find no other info on Millington Press or other titles printed. She did, as a resident of Fulham, manage to get a bit of publicity in the local newspaper the Fulham Chronicle December 2nd, 1977. Nice bit of casual sexism with the superflous ‘attractive editor’ description! 🙂
The one thing it does share with books, mainly by the Big O publishing like 100 Nights At The Roxy and Sniffin’ Glue Bible is the cheapness of the printing and binding which means the book is likely to change itself from a bound book to a loose collection of pages!
What’s Punk all about? — What do the kids really think? Fulham resident Julie Davis set out on a difficult task — to edit a book explaining and capturing the essence of ‘punk rock.
The result of her work is a new publication by Millington Press full of interviews and pictures and giving a new insight into the new, disturbing force in our midst.
Here PAT REANEY of the Chronicle, talks to the young editor about her opinions and impressions of the biggest! new wave in music since the Beatles.
PUNK… One word that makes parents shudder, record companies think in pound notes and fans flock to the latest rock clubs.
So what is this phenomena, complete with multi-coloured spiked hair, safety-pinned cheeks and leather gear, which classifies most people older than 20 as over the hill?
If you’re a punk rocker bedecked in leather, chains and plastic shoes, you already know the answer. But if you are 25 years old, and have been weaned on the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, it may not be so obvious.
Julie Davis belongs to the latter category. So when she and co-workers at Millington Press decided to publish an authentic book on Punk Rock, they started from scratch and went straight to the source.
Who would know more about the latest music trend than the people who created it? With this in mind, Julie approached punk rockers about the book.
“Other people, have published books about punks but A have all been written by professional journalists. It’s exploitative. We sent to the kids who are into it,” said the attractive editor.
In the weeks she researched the book talking to punk rockers, listening to their music and attending their concerts, Julie Davis admits she learned a lot. In fact she is probably Fulham’s foremost expert on punk.
“The book is hardly literate,” she claims. “But it captures the energy and enthusiasm of the music and its performers. It’s probably the most authentic on punk because in it the fans speak about the music they like”
As such it’s an invaluable insight into the writing of what was the alternative press to the big four music weeklies – Sounds, NME, Melody Maker and Record Mirror – as fanzines concentrated purely on punk and their view on the punk bands of the time. It’s also a nice touch that the cover doesn’t feature Johnny Rotten or Soo Catwoman for once and instead it’s two random punks at the Vortex Club.
Here’s the intro
This book tries to capture some of the high energy of punk rock. The writers like Charlie Chainsaw, Lucy Toothpaste and Alan Anger have been putting together their own magazines about punk rock for the last year.
This is punk rock, the music and opinions, by the fans for the fans. And anyone else who is interested.
It was also arguably one of the earliest Punk books along with Caroline Coon’s 1988 book.
- UK Paperback: 128 pages
- Publisher: Millington, imprint of Davison 17 Nov. 1977
TalkPunk
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