New book documents Northampton's punk and new wave scene during late 1970s

A new book charting the late 1970s punk and new wave scene in Northampton has been published.​

A To Z NN Punk New Wave 1976-1980 features acts including Aliens, Bauhaus, Isaws, Russians and The Zippps, the venues they played, as well as a reprint of the Burnt Offering fanzine.

The 240-page book has been put together by musician and the owner of Spiral Archive Alex Novak, fellow musician and Venus Fly Trap member Andy Denton and writer Pulse Peter.

Mr Novak, pictured, said: “We’re all happy to finally have this finished, it’s something we’ve been working on for a couple of years now.

“Peter wrote the first part, the A-Z of the bands, speaking to people about their experiences and memories.

“For the second half of the book, we re-printed the Burnt Offering fanzine which came out at the time which gives you a flavour of the music scene at that moment.”

Burnt Offering was originally edited by Tim Murray and nine issues have been reprinted.

The book features information about dozens of acts which were part of the county’s music scene at the time and also features the likes of Coil, The Grip, Great British Hope, Panic In The Elevator and Pie Fight.

Venues including the Black Lion, Northamptonshire Cricket Club, The Racehorse, The White Elephant and the Racecourse Pavilion are also featured.

Mr Novak, who studied design at Northampton College of Art and later photography at Coventry University, said: “It’s quite a short period we’re looking at and it felt like there wasn’t a great deal of bands or venues at the time – but lots of those musicians went onto a lot of other things.

“I was in Isaws. We went from having never played an instrument to forming the band.

“The roots of Bauhaus were also around at the time. Most of the bands didn’t produce a record, The Russians, Coil and Zoom Club all did and they’re very collectable now.”

Mr Novak adds that during the era, most of the touring bands visiting the county would play at the County Ground, however, there were other pubs across the Northamptonshire which were instrumental in supporting the music scene.

The Paddocks in Harpole also hosted touring acts such as The Psychedelic Furs, Crass and DJ John Peel.

Mr Novak said: “To have a physical object like this is important, whether it’s vinyl, tape, CD or in this case a book.

“I find the internet very fragmented, you’ll find little bits of information all over the place, that’s why we wanted to put this together.”

The book is available from Spiral Archive Records in Hazelwood Road, Northampton, and by emailing [email protected]. It costs £25 before shipping.

To mark the launch of the book, Aliens and Garage Band Heroes will be playing at The Charles Bradlaugh in Northampton on Saturday, June 24. Mr Novak will also be DJing.

Music is from 8pm until 1am. Admission is free.