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Notes: As the seventies drew to a close and the media declared punk dead and buried, a whole new breed of band was emerging from the gutter. Harder and faster than their '76-'77 predecessors, not to mention more aggressive and political, the likes of Discharge, The Exploited and G.B.H. were to prove not only more relevant but arguably just as influential. Several years in the making and featuring hundreds of new interviews and photographs, "Burning Britain" is the true story of the U.K. punk scene from 1980 to 1984 told for the first time by the bands and record labels that created it. Covering the country region by region, author Ian Glasper profiles legendary bands like Vice Squad, Angelic Upstarts, Blitz, Anti-Nowhere League, Cockney Rejects and the U.K. Subs as well as the more obscure groups like Xtract, The Skroteez and Soldier Dolls. The grim reality of being a teenage punk rocker in Thatcher's Britain resulted in some of the most primal and potent music ever committed to plastic. "Burning Britain" is the definitive overview of that previously overlooked era.

Notes: The first instalment of David Gedge's 'memoir-in-comic-book-form' will be released in paperback for the first time by Scopitones books. The stories featured in this stunning 176-page, matt-laminated, graphic novel have previously only been available to readers of the tales from the Wedding Present comic book series. This collected edition comes with forty pages of never-before-seen additional material and an introduction by Ian Rankin. David has written this autobiography together with long-time musical associate Terry de Castro, and the stories are illustrated by virtuoso artist Lee Thacker. It's in chronological order, beginning with David's childhood in England and South Africa and continues up to the inception of the Wedding Present. On the way we learn about some of the romantic experiences that may have informed his writing, how he first met the legendary BBC presenter John Peel, and the true story behind the classic Wedding Present song 'My Favourite Dress'.

Reviews "An autobiography of the wedding present would be great on its own. An autobiography in beautiful graphic novel form? Even better!" Dan Vebber (writer, The Simpsons)

"This is brilliant! It's like the storyboard for a Wedding Present biopic." Marc Riley (broadcaster, BBC)

"As informative, funny and essential as David Gedge himself. Can I be in the movie when all this is franchised?" Tony Gardner (actor)

"This is the graphic novel indie music mash up that we have all been waiting for and only David Gedge could deliver. It's amazing!" Stella Creasy (member, British Parliament)

"This is a Wedding Present fan's dream come true. Pure unfiltered Gedge; the inside track on what makes him tick and anecdotes aplenty. Essential!" Mike Gayle (author)

"It's very typical of the wedding present to do an autobiography differently to everyone else... But the stunning illustrations in this book really bring David's stories to life." Louise Wener (writer, musician)

Notes: Formed in Wiltshire, England, in 1980, the Subhumans are rightly held in high regard as one of the best punk rock bands to ever hail from the UK.

Over the course of five timeless studio albums and just as many classic EPs, not to mention well over 1,000 gigs around the world, they have blended serious anarcho punk with a demented sense of humour and genuinely memorable tunes to create something quite unique and utterly compelling. For the first time ever, their whole story is told, straight from the recollections of every band member past and present, as well as a dizzying array of their closest friends and peers, with not a single stone left unturned. Bolstered with hundreds of flyers and exclusive photos, it's the definitive account of the much-loved band.

Praise

"It's all here: the genesis of the band, the practising, the song-writing, the recordings, the gigs, the original split and the reformation ... in fact everything you could possibly want to know about this very special band."
Tony Whatley of Suspect Device

"Ian Glasper captures the emotion and excitement surrounding one of the most enduring punk bands on the planet. With an extensiveisome might say forensicinarrative, this book really gets under the skin of a perennial favourite who have rarely put a foot wrong."
Nathan Haywire, Louder Than War

"Subhumans have integrity in spades, and you can't buy that. They were important then and are important now."
Sean Forbes of Wat Tyler and Hard Skin

"Subhumans are special both on and off stage. It's the passion that's evident onstage, with those beautifully constructed lyrics spat out with every breathiand that charged energy they generate, that sweeps through the crowd and leaves us feeling changed."
Ruth Elias of Hagar The Womb

"They're one of my favourite bands in the world, but a band is only as good as the people in it ... and the Subhumans are the real deal."
Stu Pid of Police Bastard

"Their songs seem to exist out of time, somehow always relevant. And they've stuck to their gunsithere's this stubborn defiance in the face of fashion, and a glorious, unaffected honesty."
iWinston Smith

"They are the ultimate punk band, with the most genuine, inclusive, informative, approachable attitude, and such amazing music ... tight and edgy as fuck, and so professionalia joy to watch."
Peter Jones of Paranoid Visions

About the Author

Ian Glasper has been writing about punk since 1986, when he first started his own fanzine, Little Things Please Little Minds. Then in the early Nineties he started writing reviews for Record Collector, and a hardcore punk column for Terrorizer, the extreme music magazine that he contributed to for the next twenty years. He is the author of six other books including Burning Britain and The Day the Country Died. A father of two, and a lifelong vegetarian/vegan, he writes for Down for Life and Fistful of Metal, as well as regularly penning liner notes for retrospective punk and metal releases. He is tentatively working on the next book in his ongoing overview of the UK punk scene.