Punk. London.1977. Most people blinked and missed it. Many spent a
decade trying to catch up. Derek Ridgers stumbled across it by accident,
where it was, in the beating filthy heart of the Roxy in middle of a
derelict slum called Covent Garden. Stumbling through the moshpits
trying to keep hold of a borrowed camera. 1977. Punk London brings you
152 pages of photography featuring the birth of the the most exciting
cultural phenomenon in UK history. Currents and vibes, flows and
backwash, trends and anti-trends splashing around in the cauldron of
youth culture in the city of London, and the lost rebels haunting their
suburban bedrooms - jumping the train uptown to get into the legendary
Roxy. All converged, for one priceless moment, an outpouring of a truly
original, DIY, anarchic, underground scene. Ridgers captured the first
wave. Kids in the crowd, never before seen. The punks who made their own
clothes because you couldn't buy punk clothes. The punks who got beaten
up time and again for making themselves into targets. Rebellion before
it got easy. You won't see these kids anywhere in the magazines. They
weren't trying to get famous. 1977 will happen again. 1977 is happening
somewhere, for someone, right now.
