Punk Politic No rating Special Event: Discussion
Saturday 18th November, 6.30pm (T)
Writer John Robb, author of Punk Rock: An Oral History, chairs a panel of punk alumni to dissect the politics of UK Punk including Don Letts, Penny Rimbaud (from anarcho-punk band Crass) and Pauline Murray (from Penetration).
Penny Rimbaud
Penny Rimbaud is an author, poet, performance artist and cultural terrorist. He is perhaps best known for being the drummer, lyricist and co-founder of the seminal anarchist punk band CRASS, while also having been the co-founder of the legendary Stonehenge Free Festivals of the seventies. CRASS were the product of Dial House, a free-thinking open house outside London which Rimbaud founded in the late sixties and still makes his home. Throughout his creative life Rimbaud has been fearlessly outspoken in his criticism of social injustice, his political position being best summed up in his now classic statement “there is no authority but yourself”.
Pauline Murray
Pauline Murray was lead singer in the 1977 punk band Penetration. They were signed to Virgin Records, released two highly acclaimed albums, many singles and toured extensively throughout Britain, Europe and the U.S.A. The band split in 1979 and Pauline went on to have a successful solo career and recorded the ground breaking Pauline Murray and the Invisible Girls album with legendary Factory producer Martin Hannett.
In 1984 she set up her own record label, Polestar and released singles and an album as Pauline Murray and the Storm. In 1990 she opened Polestar Studios, a rehearsal and recording facility in Newcastle, providing a service for musicians throughout the North East. Today, as well as running Polestar she is still writing, recording and performing with the reformed Penetration.
www.polestarstudios.co.uk
www.loversofoutrage.co.uk
Don Letts
Don Letts’ reputation has been firmly established in both the film and music world by a substantial body of work from the late 70s through the 80s, 90s and well into the millennium. His work has been exhibited in The Kitchen N.Y.C, The Institute of Contemporary Art and The N.F.T in London. In March 2003 he won a Grammy for his documentary Westway To The World and was honored at Brooklyn’s BAM festival in 2006.
He came to notoriety in the late 70s as the DJ that single handedly turned a whole generation of punks onto reggae. It was whilst as a DJ at the first punk club ‘The Roxy’ in 1977, that Don adopted the punk D.I.Y ethic and begun to make his first film The Punk Rock Movie. Shot on Super-8 it is the only documentary on the UK punk scene with Sex Pistols, The Clash and many others. This led to a period directing over 300 music videos for a diverse range of artists.
Tickets: £4.00 / £3.00 concessions.
Punk76! Punk in the North East 1979 - 1979
Punk76! at the Discovery Museum, explores the rise of Punk on a regional level through the voices, artefacts and memorabilia of the band members, producers, writers and fans from arguably one of the most significant and remarkable times in Britain’s cultural history. Check out the Punk76! information leaflet.
