Goth: The True Story of Post-punk

Last week I got an email informing me of the existence of an upcoming non-fiction book with an in depth history of our beloved goth scene. If you're a bit of a geek, like me, I'm sure you're interested in the origin of our subculture and in that case, Goth: The True Story of Post-punk might just be exactly what you're looking for.

"One of the most fascinating musical periods in recent history was the time just after punk. Sadly, many of the best bands from this period have never had the recognition they deserve – the goth scene has been removed from music's historical narrative. This book will be a major work that redresses this oversight and underlines the cultural power of, arguably, the key movement of that period."

Source: Unbound
Plenty has been written about several aspects of our scene but until now, there hasn't exactly been a book that wraps the musical history up nicely and tells the entire story. Goth: The True Story of Post-punk sounds extremely promising in that aspect, as it focusses very specifically on the musical influences and origins of (post-)punk and goth. It also investigates the art, literature and even architecture that all of our favourite bands sprouted from and its influences in more modern music.

The author, John Robb, has played in the punk band The Membranes for a few decades and can be considered an authority on the matter; he has already written several books on music, one of those being Punk: An Oral History. He promises to elaborate on the bands that were crucial for the emergence of the post-punk and goth scene, as well as some forgotten gems that sadly got lost somewhere along the way.

Check out their Unbound page and do consider to pledge this promising project.

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