Review

Glasper’s “Burning Britain” for the fans only

Burning Britain: The History of UK Punk 1980–1984

Rock Star Journalist
August 2014


Ian Glasper‘s tenth anniversary edition of Burning Britain: The History of UK Punk 1980-1984 (out now from PM Press) is an invaluable resource for anyone looking for first-person narratives of the second wave of UK punk. For those looking for an interesting read, that’s another story.

Burning Britain is like a very large ‘zine. It’s very rambling, with lots of interjections and asides, and quite a bit of editorializing on the part of the author. Glasper is prone to describe singles or songs as “crackling with an almost tangible passion and urgency,” as he does in the case of the Underdogs’ “East of Dachau” single.

Connected to Glasper’s tendency to be either hyperbolic or minimalist — describing bands in basic one or two sentence summaries of the bands’ sounds — the fatal flaw in Burning Britain is an absolute need for the reader to be familiar with the acts in question. If you don’t know much past their singles, you’ll be lost, hoplessly adrift in a sea of anecdotes.

There are so many stories without context. There are scads of “so there we was…” tales which I am absolutely sure were hilarious when being told, but seem hopelessly overlong in print. If nothing, it does humanize these musicians, and presents them as average punters, rather than rock stars with delusions of grandeur.

I’m also trying to figure out why certain acts were left out. I understand the anarcho punks being saved for another book, but where the hell is Cock Sparrer? I get that they formed early, but their reformation and heyday was easily in the timeframe of this book. Angelic Upstarts were present during the first wave, and the Adicts formed pre-’77, so I don’t see as to why they were excluded. Shame, that.

Burning Britain is available now from PM Press, and can be purchased from their store.

Back to Ian Glasper’s Author Page