AUTHOR RICH CROSS is the guest on the latest edition of the always unmissable Punk Rock Creatives podcast.

Host Marie Repulsive discusses with Rich the history of Poison Girls, the new PM Press book on the band, and the new seven-CD retrospective boxset Persons Unknown: The Complete Recorded History.

Their conversation ranges wide – taking in the challenges of being a writer and historian; pitching a book to a publisher like PM Press; teenage punk rock life in Exeter; the ebb and flow of countercultures; and the insistence of resistance; the dynamic between ageing, activism and inclusion; and much more besides.

But the key focus of the conversation is the extraordinary and remarkable Poison Girls – their significance, their music, their practice, their creativity and their cultural and political impact.

In this episode, we’re joined by writer and anarcho-punk historian Rich Cross to dig into radical music culture, DIY ethics, and the legacy of anarchist art.

We talk Vi Subversa and the Poison Girls, exploring her role in shaping anarcho-punk, the fusion of feminism and music in her work, and why her voice still hits today.

We also get into PM Press—its roots, its mission, and the ongoing challenge of keeping publishing truly DIY in a corporate world.

Plus, we break down the “Bullshit Detector” compilations and their role in amplifying new voices, embodying DIY culture, and inspiring generations of underground artists.

It’s a conversation about anarcho-punk’s lasting impact, DIY as both practice and politics, and the importance of keeping radical histories and spaces alive.

— Punk Rock Creatives

Punk Rock Creatives. 2026. The Hippies Now Wear Black (Rich Cross in conversation with Marie Repulsive). 28 April. https://rss.com/podcasts/kathleen-riot-street-voice/2769154.

Rich Cross with Alec Dunn and Eric Yanke. 2025. This is a Message to Persons Unknown: The Story of Poison Girls. PM Press. [ PM Press (UK) | PM Press (US) ]

Poison Girls 2026. Persons Unknown: The Complete Recorded History. PM Press, Cooking Vinyl, Active Distribution, Free Dirt. (A seven-disc CD boxset of studio, live and demo recordings, with 96-page full colour booklet) [ PM Press / Cooking Vinyl ]

With the new Poison Girls retrospective CD box set now released — a joint project by PM Press, Cooking Vinyl, Active Distribution and Free Dirt — co-executive producer Rich Cross shares with The Hippies Now Wear Black the story of how the project came together, explains how seven CDs worth of music was brought together and organised, and makes the case that ths is an essential acquisition not just for the dedicated Poison Girls’ enthusiastic, but the perfect entry point for anyone unfortunate enough not to know much or anything of the band’s musical and artistic talents.

Can you introduce and describe the CD box set?

Sure, I’d be happy to. Persons Unknown: The Complete Recorded History is a 7-CD celebration of the musical and lyrical prowess of the band Poison Girls.

It brings together all of the band’s studio and live albums, all the singles – A sides and B side, from both seven-inch and twelve inch releases – and a stack of live and unreleased demo material, spanning the full range of the band’s work from 1977 up to the 1995 reunion.

It is the most comprehensive collection ever put together of Poison Girls’ musical output.

The release also includes demo tracks by That Famous Subversa, the two-piece formed by Richard Famous and Vi Subversa which performed on the alternative cabaret circuit, and sometimes played support to Poison Girls.

What was the genesis of the CD box set?

As soon as we began work on the Poison Girls book This is a Message to Persons Unknown, discussions immediately turned to putting together a parallel musical retrospective of the band.

Our publishers PM Press were keen to go all-out to compile the most thorough and compelling compilation of the band’s work as possible – something that, by dint of its scope and ambition, would never be bettered.

The sounds of Poison Girls became the soundtrack to researching, writing and designing the book, and that meant that we were thinking about the CD release right through the process of putting the book together.

Once the book had been completed and sent off to the printers, we were then able to turn our full attention to the CD box set.

PM Press were keen to go all-out to compile the most thorough and compelling compilation of the band’s work as possible

How does it differ from the Statement box set released in 1995?

That’s a fair question — and one that we get asked a lot!

The four-CD Statement box set was released by Cooking Vinyl in 1995 to tie in with the band’s brief reunion, which involved live shows in London and Berlin. That set was selective, offering the content of several of the band’s studio albums — but leaving out live releases, several seven-inch and twelve-inch singles, and including next to nothing from the later period of the band’s work.

It was a fantastic package, and the first chance to have CD versions of much of the material. I was very pleased to receive a copy as a birthday present, the month it was released — more than thirty years ago now!

But while it’s much more than a sampler, it’s far less than a comprehensive account of the band’s work.

Is this effectively for Poison Girls ‘completists’ only?

Well, every Poison Girls’ ‘completist’ definitely needs to get a copy — but, no, this is much more than that.

This brings together everything that Poison Girls ever released on vinyl, in any format. And it adds to that with a collection of live and demo materials that have never been released before.

If you only have the Statement box set, or the Real Woman or the Poisonous or the Their Finest Moments compilations, you’re missing on a whole host of other stunning Poison Girls sounds — and that’s before even thinking about all of the unreleased and in-concert content.

If you want to immerse yourself in the full musical history of Poison Girls — tracing the story from 1977 to 1995 — this is the release that you need.

How did you decide what to include on the set and how to organise the material?

There were a couple of ‘givens’. We knew that we wanted to include everything the band released, and lots of material that they had not. We also knew that we needed to track the chronology of the band’s work.

But there were still lots of options about how best to group the material across the seven separate discs.

We went through more than nine different breakdowns of each of the discs until we got to a version that we knew worked.

Although there are some notable exceptions along the way, we group the first six CDs around album releases, and pull together live and demo releases on the seventh.

We went through more than nine different breakdowns of each of the discs until we got to a version that we knew worked.

Have members of the Poison Girls family been involved?

Very much so. Richard Famous returned to his personal tape archives to find live and demo materials, and arranged to have them mastered for the release. Pete Fender remastered the live recordings of Total Exposure and from the live tracks included on 7 Year Scratch. He also carried out a remaster of the original album mix of “Take The Toys (From The Boys)” and of track “Let It Go”.

Richard Famous also helped me to compile the lyrics for well over 100 Poison Girls songs – and correct many of my best-guess transcriptions for the unreleased songs! He also provided extremely helpful comments on my draft of the band history included in the CD booklet — which is different again from the manuscript of This is a Message to Persons Unknown.

It was a pleasure to be able to work with them both on bringing this whole project to fruition.

Who else has worked on the collection?

The release was executive produced by Ramsey Kanaan of PM Press and myself. The whole thing was designed by the talented Alec Dunn, while I authored the booklet. As well as the contributions of Famous and Fender, we had great support from Gemma Sansom, Tom Barwood and Cooking Vinyl’s Martin Goldschmidt. Sam Morley and Geoff Sadler, also of Cooking Vinyl, helped to put the whole package together. And the backing of Active Distribution and Free Dirt joined PM Press and Cooking Vinyl to make the release possible.

Can you say something about the material people will not have heard before?

In the life of Poison Girls, it’s the later period that’s less represented in the band’s releases — especially in the years after the release of Songs of Praise.

The live tracks on disc seven from 1987 prove beyond doubt that the band’s songwriting skills and musical ingenuity were both as potent as ever. Had Poison Girls recorded a final studio album and included songs like “The Money’s Not Real”, “Oh Boy” and “Hot Slots”, that would have been an extraordinary way to sign-off the band’s creative and political endeavours. But the live versions of those songs that we now have capture their power.

It’s also genuinely exciting to have the demo recordings of That Fabulous Subversa — the two-piece combo that Famous and Vi Subversa formed to perform Poison Girls songs and original material. Theirs was such a productive and inspiring creative partnership, which the songs “The Hook” and “Torture” make amply clear. The stripped back simplicity of how those songs are presented showcase the talents of both of them so well.

Did anything surprise you during the process of putting this collection together?

I’d say it’s more a case of having my existing senses confirmed and reinforced, rather than being surprised.

And that’s the appreciation of the diversity, the range and the depth of the different sounds, textures and tones that Poison Girls created over the course of the band’s lifetime — and of the poetry and potency of the lyrics that they crafted to accompany and complement their music.

Listening to the full Poison Girls anthology of Persons Unknown: The Complete Recorded History what strikes you is the breath of musical styles the band were capable of. The same band who wrote “Old Tart’s Song” is able write “Promenade Immortelle” or “Stonehenge” or “The Girls Over There”. Musically, those tracks are wildly different, but equally compelling.

And when it comes to lyrical style, Poison Girls were just as capable of powerful invective and polemic, passionate love songs, and of expressions of melancholy, regret and self-doubt.

How are the CDs and the set designed and presented?

The seven CDs are housed in a hinged box. Each disc is then housed in a fully illustrated card sleeve, complete with track listing and timings. The package is finished off with a 96-page full-colour, fully-illustrated booklet, that brings together the history of the band and the lyrics to all of the songs in the collection.

What are some of your personal highlights?

There are too many to list! I’ll single just out a couple of things. I love that fact that we settled on opening and closing the collection with different versions of “Persons Unknown” — opening with the single version from 1980, and closing with Vi Subversa’s last ever public performance of the song from 2015.

The live version of “Statement” from the band’s reunion gig in Berlin in 1995 is simply electrifying.

And I’m a huge fan of the rage and raw energy of the Total Exposure live set, all the more so in its remastered form.

Listening to the full Poison Girls anthology… what strikes you is the breath of musical styles the band were capable of 

One other track that I could mention is the live version of “Rockface” from the Communicate!!! live compilation album. There was no realistic prospect of tracking down the original taped recording (which may well have long since been consigned to landfill), so we had to rely on the vinyl. We could have cleaned up the crackles and pops from the vinyl transfer, but it felt important to me to have one track on the collection (and one is enough to make the point) that reveals its vinyl origins.

That’s a nod to the fact that — for those of us who were around and engaged at the time — we listened to Poison Girls, in the 1970s and 1980s, in all their analogue, vinyl glory, and with all of the audio imperfections our bargain-basement record players added to the mix (as the stylus left those indelible marks as the records were replayed).

But be assured that the rest of the collection offers the cleanest, clearest audio quality possible!

There are so, so many other tracks I could point to — and would, given half a chance!

What would you say to someone who has a sizable Poison Girls vinyl archive, and maybe the Statement CD box set that might encourage them to buy a copy of the new box set?

I’d encourage them to recognise that this is the definitive collection of the band’s work, put together with the support of Richard Famous and Pete Fender, which intends to leave nothing out.

It’s also been put together by a group of people who all wanted to produce the best collection of Poison Girls material possible, packaged and presented in the best way possible.

It is inevitably a ‘limited edition’ release, and there’s no guarantee that it will be re-pressed once this initial run is gone.

How about someone who’s newer to the musical majesty of Poison Girls?

What possible better way to start than with the consumate collection of the band’s output?

And while they are listening to the CD collection, they will need to pick up a copy of This is a Message to Persons Unknown as the perfect accompaniment — they can read while they listen. Poison Girls’ multi-tasking!

How is the Poison Girls CD box set being made available?

There are several elements to this answer!

The box set was first offered as a pledge reward in the (now concluded) Kickstarter campaign. The CDs were manufactured in Europe and first sent to Cooking Vinyl and PM Press warehouses in the UK a few weeks ago. It was agreed that Kickstarter pledgers in the UK and continental Europe, who’d pledged for a copy of the box set, would have copies sent out to them as soon as possible

The official release date, when the CD sets would go on general release, was confirmed as 27 March 2026. With the release date reached, the box sets are now available to buy from retailers in the UK and Europe.

Copies are now en route to the PM Press, and then to Free Dirt, in the US. Those Stateside who pledged for a copy of the CD box set during the Kickstarter campaign will then receive theirs, and the CDs will then be available from PM Press and Free Dirt in the USA.

What sort of reception are you hoping greets the release?

Me, personally? I hope that it reignites existing — and excites fresh — interest in the extraordinary canon of Poison Girls’ music. It’s a thrilling and an exhilirating collection of sounds, lit up by a persuasive lyrical manifesto, which speaks to the social, the collective and the personal with equal clarity.

There’s such passion, such anger and such joy in the music of Poison Girls. Go listen!

Poison Girls. 2026. Persons Unknown: The Complete Recorded History. PM Press / Cooking Vinyl / Active Distribution / Free Dirt. Available from: PM Press (UK), Cooking Vinyl, Active Distribution and Free Dirt.

THE STEVE IGNORANT Band will play a warm-up show ahead of their appearance at the 2026 Rebellion Festival at the Riff Factory in Stoke on Trent on 23 July.

Tickets to the intimate show are limited to just seventy — and are selling fast. The Steve Ignorant Band will be supported by Headsticks.

THE STEVE IGNORANT BAND, HEADSTICKS
Riff Factory, Watling House, Sutherland Street, Stoke-on-Trent ST4 4HS
23 July 2026
Advance tickets

BELOW: Photos from The Steve Ignorant Band’s appearance at The Hairy Dog, Derby on Sunday 22 March 2026. Credit: Rich Cross.

THE THIRD AND final volume in the series of titles produced by the Anarchism and Punk Book Project has just been published. Punk Anarchy in Action brings together a collection of essays from diverse authors which set out to document the part that “punk has played in anarchist activity, scenes and lives around the world”.

Over 500 pages of academic analysis of anarchist punx in action! Just what you need to keep a heavy door open. The third in our series of analysing the part punk has played in anarchist activity, scenes and lives around the world. “Punk Anarchy in Action! provides activist and scholarly accounts of how anarchism and punk overlap in practice. From various corners of Europe, Southeast Asia and the Americas, this collection of chapters tackles theres including: anti-fascism; violence; religion and anti-religion; Total Liberation and intersectionality; squatting; queer feminism; veganism and animal liberation; and ageing in radical scenes. Things are rarely straightforward in everyday lived experience, even less so in diverse punk countercultures informed by non-doctrinaire anarchist philosophies. These thoughtful and critical analyses draw from first-hand experience to explore the complex issues that arise when we encounter Punk Anarchy in Action!”

Some launch events are in the planning stages – including one in Belfast planned for 11 April 2026. More details on those to follow.

“With this final book, we’ve now published 1,612 pages, 58 chapters, about a gazillion words,” say the co-editors. “There are some ideas for subsequent publications, but for now we’re going to let the dust settle on six years of hard graft.”

Jim Donaghey, Will Boisseau and Caroline Kaltefleiter (eds). 2026. Punk Anarchy in Action. Active Distribution. ISBN 978-1-914567-84-1. https://www.activedistributionshop.org/product/punk-anarchy-in-action

The first two volumes in the series DIY OR DIE! Do-It-Yourself, Do-It-Together & Punk Anarchism and Smash The System: Punk anarchism as a Culture of Resistance are detailed below.

The first volume Smash the System is currently out of print, but Active Distribution can be convinced to arrange a reprint if there’s sufficient interest. Contact them to let them know if there is.

Jim Donaghey, Will Boisseau and Caroline Kaltefleiter (eds). 2024.DIY OR DIE! Do-It-Yourself, Do-It-Together & Punk Anarchism. Active Distribution. https://www.activedistributionshop.org/product/diy-or-die-do-it-yourself-do-it-together-punk-anarchism/

The phrase ‘do-it-yourself’, often bandied about in discussions on cultural and political activism, is another of those key terms that has been borrowed (or stolen) from elsewhere. Just as ‘anarchist’ and ‘punk’ were appropriated (in the 1840s and 1970s, respectively), ‘DIY’ has likewise been recontextualised (first appearing in the context of home improvement in the 1910s, and applied to musical and political contexts from the 1950s onwards). But these terms are adopted for a reason, and their original meanings have continued significance – there is an ineluctable strand of radicality that runs through do-it-yourself, stemming from: its basis in action and doing; its emphasis on freedom of expression; its ties to material and cultural production; and its blurring of the supposedly distinct roles of producer and consumer. Taking the domestic roots of DIY as a stepping-off point, it is evident that this core of amateur ‘tinkering’ resonates through its evolving application in the contexts of anarchism and punk. But this radical kernel is always under pressure from consumerism and entrepreneurialism, and these same tensions persist in DIY-informed punk culture and anarchist activism.

Jim Donaghey, Will Boisseau and Caroline Kaltefleiter (eds). Smash The System: Punk anarchism as a Culture of Resistance. Active Distribution. ISBN 9781914567131. https://www.activedistributionshop.org/product/smash-the-system/

434 pages of essays from all over the world about how anarchist punk has influenced and inspired resistance in many varied struggles. Punk and anarchism have been intertwined since punk first blasted into the public consciousness some 45 years ago, and, while the relationship is complicated (and not ubiquitous), anarchism has been identified as punk’s ‘primary political companion’ But, close investigation of the connections between anarchism and punk has been scant – it’s either taken-for-granted, lurks in the background of other topics of analysis, or is ignored completely. We’re going to change that, with the publication of four books about various aspects of the punk/anarchism relationship, this is the first!

Find out more about all three books in the series from the Anarchism and Punk Book Project blog.

THE STEVE IGNORANT band head out on the road for a series of live UK dates in the coming weeks, beginning this weekend with shows in Southampton, Birmingham and Derby, ahead of playing a set at Meff-Fest 2026 in Colchester in May.

Following several weeks of intense rehearsals, Ignorant promises that the band’s updated live set will include numbers from the Crass catalogue that he’s not previously performed with this line-up. “We’ve been working hard on some songs that we haven’t played live before,” he says. “So bring it on.”

Later in the year, the Steve Ignorant Band will play live shows in continental Europe ahead of additional gigs back in the UK, including at the 2026 Rebellion festival.

This autumn, Slice of Life will also be playing live shows in Stoke-on-Trent and Nottingham.

STEVE IGNORANT BAND, CLUB BRAT
20 March 2026 | Doors: 19:00
The 1865, Southampton SO14 3AR
Advance tickets

STEVE IGNORANT, CLUB BRAT
21 March 2026 | Doors: 19:00
The Castle and Falcon, 402 Moseley Rd, Birmingham B12 9AT
Advance tickets

STEVE IGNORANT BAND, HEADSTICKS, CLUB BRAT
22 March 2026 | Doors: 16:00 (Matinee show)
The Hairy Dog, 1 Beckett Street, Derby DE1 1HT
Advance tickets | Pay on the door

MEFF-FEST 2026
THE MEFFS, UK SUBS, STEVE IGNORANT BAND, RANDOM HAND, THE SUBWAYS
2 May 2026 | Doors: 15:45
Charter Hall, Cowdray Avenue, Colchester CO1 1YH
Advance tickets

AUTHOR OF NEW Poison Girls book This is a Message to Persons Unknown Rich Cross will be in conversation with Sue Cooper at Five Leaves Bookshop in Nottingham on 27 April 2026.

Cooper (aka Bella Donna) was a founder member of Poison Girls, playing bass at the band’s first ever live gig in The Vault club in Brighton in 1977 and many thereafter, and providing the bass tracks for the band’s earliest demo recordings.

After leaving the band, Cooper maintained close friendships with the Poison Girls family, and organised and hosted gigs for the band when they were on tour in the UK. Cooper played bass with the band one last time during Poison Girls’ 1995 reunion gig in London.

Cross will interview Cooper about the band’s formative Brighton days, and Cooper will then interview Cross about the band’s later history and the writing of the book.

There will be the chance to hear selected tracks from the soon-to-be-released CD box set Poison Girls–Persons Unknown: The Complete Recorded History, view a digital display of samples from the band’s extraordinary art work, and ask questions of both Cross and Cooper.

This is a Message to Persons Unknown: The Story of Poison Girls, with Rich Cross and Sue Cooper (Bella Donna)
27 April 2026 | Event: 19:00-20:30
Five Leaves Bookshop, 14a Long Row, Nottingham NG1 2DH
Tickets: £5.00 (or £25.00 with paperback copy of the book)
Event details | Book now

RUBELLA BALLET RETURN to Brighton in early March, when they’ll be joined by Hagar the Womb and MOWFY, for their annual matinee show at the Prince Albert pub.

The gig on Sunday 8 March 2026 is timed to coincide with International Women’s Day.

RUBELLA BALLET, HAGAR THE WOMB, MOWFY
8 March 2026 (International Women’s Day) | Doors: 14:00 – matinee show
The Prince Albert, 48 Trafalgar Street, Brighton BN1 4ED
Advance tickets | Pay on the door

A RECORDING OF Conflict’s live set from a gig at Bibelot, Dordrecht, Holland on 26 September 2025 is being released on CD and vinyl by Mortarhate in association with Cadiz.

To Live on in Hearts: Live in Holland will be released on 2 March 2026 in Digipack CD and gatefold transparent red vinyl formats.

New live album from Conflict on Mortarhate / Cadiz ready for pre-order!

“‘Live In Holland’ captures the band recorded live at Bibelot, Dordrecht on the 26th of September 2025, roaring through a set of classic Conflict songs and tracks from the new album. The band sound electrified, passionate and completely on a mission to do justice to Colin’s legacy and work, which they did with aplomb. This is a lasting testament to Conflict’s achievements and message.” –  James Sherry

“Dad was always clear that Conflict was more about the message behind it than the band itself, and I am sure he would have wanted the message to be projected as loudly as possible following on from his passing.” states Colin’s son James Jerwood.

To Live On In Hearts Is Never To Die – RIP Colin Jerwood 1962 – 2025

Tracklisting: 1: The Impossible Soul / 2: Cruise / 3: A Mother’s Milk / 4: There’s No Power Without Control / 5: Just Defy / 6: No More Excuses / 7: Masters Of The Race? / 8: Tough Shit Mickey / 9: Punk Innit / 10: From Protest To Resistance / 11: Berkshire / 12: Whichever Way You Want It / 13: This Much Remains / 14: Mighty And Superior / 15: Serenade Is Dead / 16: That Other Song / 17: The Collusion Exclusion

Recorded Live at Bibelot, Dordrecht on 26/09/25
Fiona Friel – Vocals
Gav King – Guitar & Samples
Fran Fearon – Bass
Matt Howlett – Drums
Mixed and Mastered by Gav King @ Inferno Studios

Conflict. 2026. To Live On In Hearts: Live in Holland. Mortarhate / Cadiz. https://cadizmerchstore.com/collections/conflict/products/conflict-to-live-on-in-hearts-live-in-holland

AUTHOR OF THE new book on Poison Girls This is a Message to Persons Unknown will be a guest on the Under the Pavement radio show on 19 February 2026.

Under the Pavement has been broadcasting on ALL FM 96.9, a community radio station in south Manchester, England, since July 2002. The show currently broadcasts every other Thursday.

The show has an alternative/ leftfield eclectic playlist covering punk, folk, experimental, electronica, indie and world championing DIY and social comment music.

The aim of the show is to report on direct action and grass roots resistance in the Manchester area.

By complete coincidence, this episode of the show will broadcast on the tenth anniversary of the death of Vi Subversa at the age of 80 on 19 February 2016. Her extraordinary life, the groundbreaking way she wrote and performed and her enduring legacy will be key components of the discussion.

“I’ve also been asked to pick three Poison Girls songs to punctuate the interview,” Rich Cross says. “How best to represent the fullmess of Poison Girls’ twelve years of musical and lyrical creativity in just a trio of songs?”

“In the end, I chose ‘Statement’ (original version), ‘Real Woman’ and ‘Fear of Freedom’.”

Next Show: Thursday 19th February

Rich Cross, one of the authors of This is a Message to Persons Unknown The Story of Poison Girls.

From 9pm on ALL FM 96.9 on your radio (on DAB and FM) across Manchester, and online via www.allfm.org everywhere else!

The show broadcasts live from 21:00 (UK time), and will be available to catch-up shortly after broadcast on the Under the Pavement Listen again service.

UPDATE, FEBRUARY 25 2026:

Nogsy Si has uploaded an off-air recording of the interview to YouTube, illustrating it with numerous Poison Girls visuals.

The episode is now available on the Under the Pavement listen again service on MixCloud.

A COLLECTION OF photographs of punk bands from across the UK punk scene playing live—including many from the anarcho-punk scene—taken by Paul May in the early 1980s has been published by Sealed Records.

Shot From Both Sides: Photos of UK Punk Gigs 1981—1986 brings together live shots of UK punk bands of all types from across that six year period, interspersed with flyers, posters, tickets and ephemera from the time and the newly written recollections of people who were their either on stage, organising the event, or in the audience.

May’s interest in documenting the performance of punk bands was eclectic, inclusive and non-doctrinaire. Amongst a vast array of UK and touring bands pictured are Dirt, Flux of Pink Indians, Hagar the Womb, Conflict, Crass, D&V, Icon A.D., Icons of Filth, Rubella Ballet, Oi Pollio, The Sears and many others.

In their introduction, the publishers say:

Paul’s book is a snippet of a bygone era. A visual chronicle of a young punk who, armed with a camera, documented what was happening around him. To understand Paul’s book fully, you need to ask yourself what makes a person keep a detailed list of every gig they attended over 40 years ago, or to keep a meticulous archive of all their negatives, as well as a collection of letters and ephemera from their youth, even after moving continents and starting a new life abroad 28 years ago. We are simply too lucky to have people like him around to shed some light onto an otherwise seemingly black and white photocopied era.

— Sealed Records

This first book to be published by Sealed Records—known for releasing music by Passion Killers, The Subhumans, Karma Sutra, and many others—has been produced in hardback format (232×297 mm), printed in colour and runs to almost 500 pages.

Want to know who won a scuffle between Stoke-On-Trent punks Asylum and 80s pop stars Dexy’s Midnight Runners? What to do when your band has to play after The Seats Of Piss, and the microphone has been down the front and back of Hendrix Deadboy’s nether regions most of the set? Henry Rollins and Ian MacKaye’s brushes with skinheads on the first Black Flag UK tour? Just a few of the numerous and unique reflections revealed in SHOT FROM BOTH SIDES, the first book from Paul May, and Sealed Records.

SHOT FROM BOTH SIDES is based around the live gig photography of Paul May, a punk from Grays, Essex, in the UK. In the 80s, Paul took hundreds of photos of punks, and punk bands, documented the gigs he saw, ran a tape label, and did the cult punk fanzine Final Curtain. Ordered chronologically, SHOT FROM BOTH SIDES sets the tone for each year from 1981 to 1986 with a recap of important historic and political events, notable records, tapes, and fanzines that were released. Each section of photos culminates with personal memoirs from a diverse mixture of figures and band members giving context to the photos, gigs, the era, and spilling forth some great stories that you won’t likely get elsewhere, and features a selection of relevant ephemera and additional photos, from unseen Nick Blinko sketches to flyers, ticket stubs, and set lists of bands large and small.

What emanated out of Paul’s zine in the 80s was a limitless amount of youthful enthusiasm. Someone who wanted not only to be there and participate, but to share what he loved with as many people as possible, someone who was less concerned with trends, and just as excited about the newest unknown band who just done their first gig, to the newest record by an established band. It’s completely unsurprising to me that Paul is still at gigs, still buying records, still taking photos, and still sharing and participating in the DIY punk community. The manner in which this book is compiled does a great job at showing that same enthusiasm, and gives a rare view into what it was like to live through the punk scene in the UK at the time.

Paul’s documentation ranges from early punk rock bands like Anti Nowhere League, and the Adicts, to skinhead bands like Blitz and Major Accident, hardcore punks Discharge and Broken Bones, UK82 like Chaos UK and Disorder, American hardcore bands Black Flag and Hüsker Dü, Anarcho punks Crass and Rudimentary Peni, foreign hardcore bands like Rattus, Wretched, and Anti-Cimex, to more metal tinted bands like Onslaught, Sacrilege and English Dogs. Getting a full range of punk as it evolved, and a chronologic presentation is fascinating for anyone wanting to clearly see the evolution in sound and fashion styles as punk tread deeper into the 80s.

SHOT FROM BOTH SIDES’ greatest strength is that is manages to continue in the tradition and enthusiasm of Paul’s fanzine, by appointing both importance and space to punks, friends, and lesser known bands. Pieces of history often lost with other modern documentations of punk which choose to focus on coverage of names that will sell books. Paul’s photography continually gets better as the years, and book progress, showing both the evolution of the artist as a photographer, and highlighting the importance of punk empowering anyone of any skill level to participate. Punk wasn’t just about the bands and big names, it was the movement that sought to tore down the barrier between the performer and the audience, placing an equal level of importance on everyone in the community, and all of the participants that made punk possible. At last, a book that truly understands that.

– Tom Mayhugh/ General Speech

ISBN 978-1-0369-0367-1
1st Edition December 1st 2025
Hard back 3mm board
492 pages
232×297 mm
130 gsm silk paper
2.50 kg

Bands featured: Actus Reus • Adicts • Ad-Nauseam • Amebix • Angelic Upstarts • Annihilated • Anthrax • Anti-Cimex • Anti-Nowhere League • Antisect • Anti System • A.O.A. • Assassins of Hope • Atavistic • A.W.O.L.• A.Y.S. • Bad Beach • Bad Brains • Bad Dress Sense • Black Flag • Blitz • Breaknecks • Broken Bones • Butcher • Chaos • Chaos U.K. • Charge • Chron Gen • Chronic • Commited • Concrete Sox • Conflict • Crass • Criminal Sex • Crucifix • The Cult Maniax • Dead Wretched • Depraved • Destructors • Deviated Instinct • Devoid • Dirge • D.I.R.T. • Discharge • Disorder • D.O.A. • Drongos For Europe • D & V • Eat Shit • English Dogs • Epidemic • Erazerhead • Existenz • Extreme Noise Terror • The Fits • Flux Of Pink Indians • G.B.H. • Generic • Genocide Association • The Genocides • Girlschool • Government Issue • Hagar The Womb • Head Of David • Hells Belles • Heresy • Hüsker Dü • Icon A.D. • Iconoclasts • Icons Of Filth • Impact • Insane and Aborted • Kobra • Kronstadt Uprising • The Legion Of Parasites• Leukaemia • Ligotage • Lita Ford • Major Accident • Marionette • Mau Maus • Menstrual Cycles • Metallica • Miracle Babies • Napalm Death • Nig Heist • Oi Polloi • One Way System • Onslaught • Part 1 • The Partisans • Phallic Symbols • Picture Frame Seduction • Potential Threat • Rabid • Radical Elite • Rattus • Riot/Clone • Ripcord • Rock Goddess • Rubella Ballet • Rudimentary Peni • Sacrilege • The Samples • Scream • Screaming Dead • Sears • The Seats Of Piss • The Skeptix • Skum Dribblurz • Soldiers Of Destruction • Special Duties • Stagnant Era • State Victims • Stigma • Street Walkin’ Creatures • Stupids • Subhumans • Toxic Reasons • U.K. Subs • Van Damme • The Varukers • Vice Squad • Warlock • Wrathchild • Wretched • Youth Brigade

Written contributions by: Andy | Stagnant Era • Barry | Ad-Nauseam • Baz | Ripcord • Beano | Asylum • Carol | Devoid • Charlie Claesson | Anti-Cimex • Cian | The Legion of Parasites • Con and Paul Larkin | Major Accident • Dave | Butcher • Dave | Head of David • Dave Evans | The Samples • Dave Fergusson | Stress • Dave Floyd | Riot/Clone • David | Existenz • David | One Way System • David Sardy | Radical Elite • Daz | The Commited • Dean and Nick | Rabid • Debbie | Dirge • Deek | Oi Polloi • Dig | Genocide Association • Ed Wenn | Bad Dress Sense • Eno | Lama • Fabietto | Wretched • Fausto Ortenzi aka Frog | Chaos • Gizz Butt | The Destructors • Glib | Dirge • Grant | Rudimentary Peni • Henry Rollins | Black Flag • Ian MacKaye | Minor Threat • Iconoclasts • Icons of Filth • J Robbins | Government Issue • JJ | Toxic Reasons • John Dryland | Cargo Records • Justin | Napalm Death • Kalv | Heresy • Kaos | Chaos U.K. • Keith Haynes | Picture Frame Seduction • Lee | Depraved • Levs | Mau Maus • Luca Colombo | Kobra • Mackie | Blitz • Michelle Harding | sister of Dead Wretched guitarist Paul “Bazz” Harding. • Mick Lugworm • Mid | Deviated Instinct • Mo | Onslaught • Napoleon | Eat Shit • Neal Tait | Street Walkin’ Creatures • Nick Jardine | The Sears • Nick Norris | Bad Dress Sense • Oddy | Broken Bones • Pat | Epidemic • Paul Condon | Bad Dress Sense • Paul Condon | Breaknecks • Peat Protest | Assassins of Hope • Pete | Antisect • Pig Killer | ENT • Rich | Soldiers of Destruction • Richard Copcutt | Soldiers Of Destruction • Sam Bignall | Screaming Dead • Scott | A.O.A. • Si Cobb | Anihilated • Sned | Generic • Stig C. Miller | Amebix • Taf | Disorder • Tam | Sacrilege • Tim | Skum Dribbluurrrzzzz • Tom Withers aka Tommy Stupid | Stupids • Tommy | Drongos for Europe • Tony Burman | Miracle Babies • Vincent G Learoyd (Vomit) | D.I.R.T. • Vom Ritchie | Miracle Babies • Zillah Minx | Rubella Ballet

— Sealed Records

Paul May. Shot From Both Sides. Photos of UK Punk Gigs 1981—1986. London: Sealed Records. ISBN: 978-1-0369-0367-1. https://sealedrecords2.bandcamp.com/merch/seal-031-paul-may-shot-from-both-sides-photos-of-uk-punk-gigs-1981-86-book