Punk zine
Encyclopedia
A punk zine is a zine
devoted to punk
culture, most often punk rock
music, bands, or the DIY punk ethic. Punk zines are the most likely place to find punk literature
.
One of the earliest punk zines was the New York magazine Punk
. It was started by John Holmstrom, Ged Dunn, and Legs McNeil
, who published the first issue in January 1976. The zine championed the early New York underground music scene and helped associate the word "punk" with these bands, most notably, The Ramones. Punk received a flash of attention in England until 1977 when the punks across the Atlantic started making their own punk zines.
An early UK
punk zine was Sniffin' Glue
, produced by Mark Perry
, who also founded the band Alternative TV
, in 1976. However, the magazine never applied this term to itself, and indeed it is thought that it did not come into use until the early 1980s. The term punkzine was possibly coined amongst anarcho-punk
circles, specifically by writers who objected to the connotations of the word fanzine, believing the first part of the word to imply the slavish following of pop
group
s, and unquestioning acceptance of celebrity
culture.
The DIY aesthetic of punk created a thriving underground press; someone could not only start a band but also be a music journalist and critic. Mark Perry produced the first photocopied issue of Sniffin' Glue
in London immediately after that Ramones concert in 1976. In the US, such titles as Punk, Search & Destroy (later REsearch
), Flipside
and Slash
chronicled and helped to define the emerging culture. Such amateur magazines took inspiration from the rock fanzines of the early 70s, which themselves had roots in the science fiction fan community. Probably the most influential of the fanzines to cross over from SF fandom
to rock and, later, punk rock and "new wave
" was Greg Shaw
's Who Put the Bomp
, published since 1970. Punk zines were produced in many European countries in the years after the first productions for example the first appeared in Ireland
in March 1977.
The politically-charged Maximum RocknRoll
and the anarchist Profane Existence
were among the most important fanzines in the 1980s and onward. By that time, every local "scene" had at least one, often primitively- or casually-published magazine with news, gossip, and interviews with local or touring bands. The magazine Factsheet Five
chronicled thousands of underground publications and "zines" in the 1980s and 1990s.
Zine
A zine is most commonly a small circulation publication of original or appropriated texts and images. More broadly, the term encompasses any self-published work of minority interest usually reproduced via photocopier....
devoted to punk
Punk subculture
The punk subculture includes a diverse array of ideologies, and forms of expression, including fashion, visual art, dance, literature, and film, which grew out of punk rock.-History:...
culture, most often punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
music, bands, or the DIY punk ethic. Punk zines are the most likely place to find punk literature
Punk literature
Punk literature is a form of literature that emerged from the punk subculture. The attitude and ideology of punk rock gave rise to distinctive characteristics in the writing it manifested...
.
One of the earliest punk zines was the New York magazine Punk
Punk (magazine)
Punk is a music magazine/fanzine created by cartoonist John Holmstrom, publisher Ged Dunn and "resident punk" Legs McNeil in 1975. Its use of the term "punk rock," coined by writers for Creem magazine a few years earlier, led to its worldwide acceptance as the definition for the new bands that were...
. It was started by John Holmstrom, Ged Dunn, and Legs McNeil
Legs McNeil
Roderick Edward "Legs" McNeil is a writer and rock music historian. He is the co-founder and a writer for Punk Magazine; he is also a former senior editor at Spin Magazine, and the founder and editor of Nerve magazine .- Punk Magazine:At the age of 18, McNeil gathered with two high school...
, who published the first issue in January 1976. The zine championed the early New York underground music scene and helped associate the word "punk" with these bands, most notably, The Ramones. Punk received a flash of attention in England until 1977 when the punks across the Atlantic started making their own punk zines.
An early UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
punk zine was Sniffin' Glue
Sniffin' Glue
Sniffin' Glue is the name of a monthly punk zine started by Mark Perry in July 1976 and released for about a year. The name is derived from a Ramones song "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue." Others that wrote for the magazine that later became well known journalists include Danny Baker.Although initial...
, produced by Mark Perry
Mark Perry (musician)
Mark Perry, also known as Mark P, was a British fanzine publisher and is a writer and musician.Perry was a bank clerk when, inspired by The Ramones, he founded the punk fanzine Sniffin' Glue in 1976...
, who also founded the band Alternative TV
Alternative TV
Alternative TV were an English rock band, formed in London in 1976. Their punk rock and post-punk sound was influential for several musical artists.-History:...
, in 1976. However, the magazine never applied this term to itself, and indeed it is thought that it did not come into use until the early 1980s. The term punkzine was possibly coined amongst anarcho-punk
Anarcho-punk
Anarcho-punk is punk rock that promotes anarchism. The term anarcho-punk is sometimes applied exclusively to bands that were part of the original anarcho-punk movement in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s and early 1980s...
circles, specifically by writers who objected to the connotations of the word fanzine, believing the first part of the word to imply the slavish following of pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
group
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
s, and unquestioning acceptance of celebrity
Celebrity
A celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...
culture.
The DIY aesthetic of punk created a thriving underground press; someone could not only start a band but also be a music journalist and critic. Mark Perry produced the first photocopied issue of Sniffin' Glue
Sniffin' Glue
Sniffin' Glue is the name of a monthly punk zine started by Mark Perry in July 1976 and released for about a year. The name is derived from a Ramones song "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue." Others that wrote for the magazine that later became well known journalists include Danny Baker.Although initial...
in London immediately after that Ramones concert in 1976. In the US, such titles as Punk, Search & Destroy (later REsearch
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
), Flipside
Flipside (fanzine)
Flipside was a punk rock fanzine published in Los Angeles, California from 1977 to 2000.As one of the first and longest running US punk rock fanzines, this publication extensively chronicled the world of independent and underground music during this era. Known for its highly opinionated cast of...
and Slash
Slash (fanzine)
Slash was a punk rock-related fanzine published in the United States from 1977 to 1980.The magazine was a large-format tabloid focused on the Los Angeles punk scene, though it did not restrict itself to local acts: its first cover featured Dave Vanian of The Damned. It regularly covered such L.A....
chronicled and helped to define the emerging culture. Such amateur magazines took inspiration from the rock fanzines of the early 70s, which themselves had roots in the science fiction fan community. Probably the most influential of the fanzines to cross over from SF fandom
Science fiction fandom
Science fiction fandom or SF fandom is a community or "fandom" of people actively interested in science fiction and fantasy and in contact with one another based upon that interest...
to rock and, later, punk rock and "new wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
" was Greg Shaw
Greg Shaw
Greg Shaw was a Los Angeles-based fanzine publisher, music historian and record label owner. He grew up near San Francisco, California.It was as a young teenager that he started writing about rock and roll music...
's Who Put the Bomp
Who Put the Bomp
Who Put The Bomp was a rock music fanzine edited and published by Greg Shaw from 1970-79. Later its name was shortened to "Bomp!". Shaw was one of the first and best known rock fanzine editors. Active in science fiction fandom as a young man, he became familiar with fanzines...
, published since 1970. Punk zines were produced in many European countries in the years after the first productions for example the first appeared in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
in March 1977.
The politically-charged Maximum RocknRoll
Maximum RocknRoll
Maximum rocknroll is a widely distributed, monthly not-for-profit fanzine based in San Francisco, USA. It features interviews, columns, and reviews from international contributors...
and the anarchist Profane Existence
Profane Existence
The Profane Existence Collective is a Minneapolis-based anarcho-punk collective. Established in 1989, the collective publishes a nationally-known zine , as well as releasing and distributing anarcho-punk, crust, and grindcore music, and printing and publishing pamphlets and literature...
were among the most important fanzines in the 1980s and onward. By that time, every local "scene" had at least one, often primitively- or casually-published magazine with news, gossip, and interviews with local or touring bands. The magazine Factsheet Five
Factsheet Five
Factsheet Five was a periodical mostly consisting of short reviews of privately produced printed matter along with contact details of the editors and publishers....
chronicled thousands of underground publications and "zines" in the 1980s and 1990s.
List of punk fanzines and punkzines
- Absolutely ZippoAbsolutely ZippoAbsolutely Zippo is a punk rock fanzine created by Robert Eggplant to document the happenings of the East Bay Berkeley punk scene during its heyday in the late 1980s/early 1990s...
- Artcore Cardiff, 1986-
- Beat Motel Ipswich, UK 2004-2011
- Black Market MagazineBlack Market MagazineBlack Market Magazine was a music, film, art and comic zine which started in 1985.Based in San Diego, Black Market Magazine initially featured mostly reviews / interviews of punk rock and other alternative bands such as Samhain, The Cramps, D.O.A., Tex and the Horseheads, G.B.H., New Order,...
San Diego, 1985-1995 - Burnt OfferingBurnt OfferingBurnt Offering was a punk fanzine based in and around Northampton, England, from 1979 to 1980.In keeping with the DIY style of the time, Burnt Offerings house style was a mixture of badly-typed articles, ransom note effect lettering and cartoon drawings...
Northampton, England, 1979 - 1980 - ChainsawChainsaw (punk zine)Chainsaw, a punk zine edited by "Charlie Chainsaw" was published in suburban Croydon in 1977 and ran to fourteen issues before ceasing publication in 1984. A hand-lettered 'n' became a stylised trademark in articles after the 'n' key broke on the editor's typewriter...
Croydon, England, 1977-1984 - Cometbus
- Fracture
- FlipsideFlipside (fanzine)Flipside was a punk rock fanzine published in Los Angeles, California from 1977 to 2000.As one of the first and longest running US punk rock fanzines, this publication extensively chronicled the world of independent and underground music during this era. Known for its highly opinionated cast of...
— Los Angeles, 1977-2000 - Gadgie Boston, UK
- Githyanki FanzineGithyanki FanzineGithyanki was a perzine published in Miami, Florida from 1987-1997 that reached thousands of subscribers monthly. Githyanki stood out among Miami zines because it outlasted most independent publications in South Florida and featured a mix of interviews with national celebrities and Miami natives...
Miami, Florida 1987-1997 - HeartattaCk
- HomocoreHomocore (zine)Homocore is an American anarcho-punk zine created by Tom Jennings and Deke Nihilson, and published in San Francisco from 1988 to 1991. One of the first queer zines, Homocore was directed toward the hardcore punk youth of the gay underground...
(San Francisco, California, 1988-1991) - Jamming
- J.D.sJ.D.sJ.D.s is a queer punk zine founded in Toronto by G.B. Jones and co-published with Bruce LaBruce, that ran for eight issues from 1985 to 1991....
- KCDIYKCDIYKCDIY is a website that documents Kansas City, United States, Missouri's local punk music scene as well as other underground music and art scenes, as well as local activism...
- Kill Your Pet PuppyKill Your Pet PuppyKill Your Pet Puppy was a UK punkzine that ran for six issues between 1979 and 1984. It was edited by Tony Drayton who had previously produced Ripped and Torn fanzine, which he started in October 1976 and for 18 issues until 1979....
- Lights Go OutLights Go Out"Lights Go Out" is a song by English electronic group Client from their third studio album, Heartland. It was released in Germany in December 2006 on CD and digital download by Out of Line Music and SPV GmbH, and on 12" by Masterhit Recordings....
UK 2007-present - Maximum RocknRollMaximum RocknRollMaximum rocknroll is a widely distributed, monthly not-for-profit fanzine based in San Francisco, USA. It features interviews, columns, and reviews from international contributors...
- New York RockerNew York RockerNew York Rocker was a punk rock new wave magazine founded by Alan Betrock in 1976. Betrock left the magazine in 1978, and Andy Schwartz took over as editor until 1982. In 1979, it had a circulation of 20,000....
- No CureNo CureNo Cure was a Bracknell and Newbury, UK based fanzine. Originally started by Richard Haworth, from issue 2 it was part edited and produced by Richard Griffin and Richard H with regular contributions from Jah P. The fanzine had a large interest in the Berkshire scene of the late 1970s and early...
- Profane ExistenceProfane ExistenceThe Profane Existence Collective is a Minneapolis-based anarcho-punk collective. Established in 1989, the collective publishes a nationally-known zine , as well as releasing and distributing anarcho-punk, crust, and grindcore music, and printing and publishing pamphlets and literature...
Minneapolis, 1989-present - Punk Magazine New York, 1976-1979
- Rancid NewsRancid NewsLast Hours is an anti-authoritarian publishing collective. From 2003 to 2008 it produced a fanzine, initially called Rancid News until issue 9, changing its name to Last Hours from issue 10 till the final issue, 17, in May 2008. All 17 issues were edited by Edd Baldry before he stood down as editor...
- UK, 2003 (now called Last Hours) - RazorcakeRazorcakeRazorcake is a 501 non-profit organization that publishes the Razorcake fanzine, a DIY punk rock fanzine published bi-monthly out of Los Angeles, California...
- RE/SearchRE/SearchRE/Search Publications is an American magazine and book publisher, based in San Francisco, founded and edited by Andrea Juno and V. Vale in 1980. It was the successor to Vale's earlier punk rock fanzine Search & Destroy , and was started with $100 from Allen Ginsberg and Lawrence Ferlinghetti...
- Search and DestroyRE/SearchRE/Search Publications is an American magazine and book publisher, based in San Francisco, founded and edited by Andrea Juno and V. Vale in 1980. It was the successor to Vale's earlier punk rock fanzine Search & Destroy , and was started with $100 from Allen Ginsberg and Lawrence Ferlinghetti...
- San Francisco, 1977 - Shews - London, 1977-1980
- Short, Fast & Loud
- SlashSlash (fanzine)Slash was a punk rock-related fanzine published in the United States from 1977 to 1980.The magazine was a large-format tabloid focused on the Los Angeles punk scene, though it did not restrict itself to local acts: its first cover featured Dave Vanian of The Damned. It regularly covered such L.A....
- Los Angeles, 1977-1978 - Slug and LettuceSlug and Lettuce (fanzine)Slug and Lettuce is a free newsprint punk zine started in New York City and currently based in Richmond, Virginia. Its byline reads "A zine supporting the Do-It-Yourself ethics of the punk community". It is published quarterly and in spring 2012, it will be twenty five years old...
- Sluggo!Sluggo!Sluggo! was a pioneering Austin, Texas fanzine covering the late 1970s Punk rock/New Wave music scene. Founded in 1978 by Nick West and E.A. Srere, Sluggo! began as a tabloid-sized photocopied publication, and evolved into a quintessential DIY publication...
, Austin, Texas, 1978-? - Sniffin' GlueSniffin' GlueSniffin' Glue is the name of a monthly punk zine started by Mark Perry in July 1976 and released for about a year. The name is derived from a Ramones song "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue." Others that wrote for the magazine that later became well known journalists include Danny Baker.Although initial...
— UK, 1976-1977 - Sticky Paste Is Good To Eat
- Suburban VoiceSuburban VoiceSuburban Voice is a punk zine published by Al Quint. Originally started in 1982, it was titled Suburban Punk for the first 10 issues, and then the titled changed to Suburban Voice. Although the zine has other contributors, Al is the primary writer for most of the material...
- TNSrecords Fanzine - UK, (relaunched) 2008 - present
- Under the VolcanoUnder the VolcanoUnder the Volcano is a 1947 semi-autobiographical novel by English writer Malcolm Lowry . The novel tells the story of Geoffrey Firmin, an alcoholic British consul in the small Mexican town of Quauhnahuac , on the Day of the Dead.Surrounded by the helpless presences of his ex-wife, his...
- KAOSKAOSKAOS or Kaos may refer to:People:*Kaos of Iberia, an ancient king of Causasian Iberia*Kaos, professional wrestler Joey Munoz*Kaos or Kenny Kaos, professional wrestler Kenny Stasiowski...
- Italian punk zine, 2005, present - PunkWay 2010-present
External links
- Pages of Rage - Canada, 1982-1984
- Punk Zine Archive - read out-of-print punk zines online