A History of Anarcho-Punk, 1980-1984
by Ian Glasper
If the bands in Burning Britain were loud, political, and uncompromising, those examined in Ian Glasper's new book were even more so. With Crass and Poison Girls opening the floodgates, the arrival of bands like Zoundz, Flux of Pink Indians, Conflict, Subhumans, Dirt, The Mob, Omega Tribe, and Icons of Filth heralded a new age of honesty and integrity in the 1980s underground music scene. It was a time when punk stopped being merely a radical fashion statement, and became a force for real social change. Anarchy in punk rock no longer meant "cash from chaos"—it meant "freedom, peace, and unity." Comprehensively covering all the groups and names, big and small, The Day the Country Died also features exclusive interviews and hundreds of never-before-published photos.
In this revealing history, author, historian, and musician Ian Glasper explores in minute detail the influential and esoteric UK anarcho-punk scene of the early 1980s. Where some of the colorful punk bands from the first half of the decade were loud, political, and uncompromising, their anarcho-punk counterparts were even more so, totally prepared to risk their liberty to communicate the ideals they believed in so passionately. With Crass and Poison Girls opening the floodgates, the arrival of bands such as Amebix, Chumbawamba, Flux of Pink Indians, and Zounds heralded a new age of honesty and integrity in underground music. New, exclusive interviews and hundreds of previously unreleased photographs document the impact of all of the scene’s biggest names—and a fair few of the smaller ones—highlighting how anarcho-punk took the rebellion inherent in punk from the very beginning to a whole new level of personal awareness.
