The Clash sung London Calling and the call of London’s punk movement is as strong and alive today as it was in its heyday in the seventies. The era of British Punk, when iconically British groups and artists such as Elvis Costello, the Sex Pistols, the Clash Buzzcocks and Sid Vicious, to mention just a few, inflamed the capital city of London, is anything but over.
Forty years have passed since the legendary London Punk seventies and Herb Lester, a famous urban map boutique, has celebrated the occasion with a bright and brilliant idea resulting in the creation of “Punk London”. It is a "punk guide" to the city of London available to buy at a cost of £6 and like all of Herb Lester’s guides, it has been prepared and finished with great attention to detail. The colour palette is simply perfect, one could leaf through it for hours.
Punk London guides you through 111 areas spread all over the city that have been home to some of the most important events in the British Punk scene. The first store owned by Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood at 430 Kings Road, Saint Martin’s School Of Art where the Sex Pistols played for the first time, the Clash’s much-loved Camden Town, Sid Vicious’ flat and many more. As if that was not enough, with the help of the cultural columnist Paul Gorman, all of the pubs, bars, clubs and places where British Punk was born and became established as a global phenomenon have been marked out and listed in the guide.
"Punk London", designed by Mike Haddad, has already been mentioned in Fortune, Monocle and Wired and is set to become one of the most important and informative editorial events keeping true British Punk alive. There can be no more excuses for not answering the cry of London Calling!
