'We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.'
Lady Windermere's Fan, Oscar Wilde
An incredible document of its time, In The Gutter by Val Hennessy, features stunning photographs alongside some commentary from figures of the scene. It seems that the production of the book initially stemmed from a series of programmes on punk presented by Hennessy for TV, which received polarising reviews upon their release.
There are photographs, both colour and black and white, of the Bromley contingent, The Vibrators, The Damned, Siouxie Sioux, Cherry Vanilla, Johnny Rotten, Soo Catwoman, alongside many others, with numerous street shots of young punks. These photos capture proud and riotous young Londoners. Successfully depicting a time and a group of people clearly revelling in the freedom which punk offered.
The text of the book brings little to the table in comparison to its strong selection of images, but does include interviews with Mark P, 'punk prophet and one-time editor of the fanzine Sniffin Glue', alongside Don Letts who comments: 'The reggae thing and the punk thing, it’s the same thing. We’re just regular kids. It’s the street culture, the black version and the white version. We’re angry people. We want change, we want opportunities. Something’s gotta happen.'
Also special shout out to Ari Cash for the annotations in the front of the book, 'Ari 4 Del' forever.
Softcover
Published by Quartet Diversions, 1978
First Edition
