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Manchester, 1976: The birth of post-punk

At Cuepoint, Frank Owen (seen here) recounts the riotous punk scene of 1970s Manchester that spawned Joy Division, the Buzzcocks, and one Steven Morissey.


My most vivid memory of seeing the Sex Pistols at the Electric Circus is what happened after the show when I got jumped from behind by a bunch of neighborhood kids and received a serious kicking that left me cut and bruised for weeks. That was my introduction to the Perry Boys, an ultra-violent subculture of soul boys who sported wedge haircuts and Fred Perry t-shirts, and who would be later immortalized by the Fall on the song "City Hobgoblins."


Still, that didn't stop me the next week from chopping off my Bryan Ferry-style hairdo, buying a dog collar and black garbage bag on which I stenciled "I Hate Pink Floyd," much to the amusement of my poor Irish mom. "Jesus, Mary and Joseph, just look at yourself," she said between gales of laughter. "You're wearing a dustbin liner."

"Booze, Blood and Noise: The Violent Roots of Manchester Punk"

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