Ripped, torn and cut offers a collection of original essays exploring the motivations behind – and the politics within – the multitude of fanzines that emerged in the wake of British punk from 1976.

Ripped, torn and cut is a collection of original essays exploring the motivations behind – and the politics within – the multitude of fanzines that emerged in the wake of British punk from 1976. Mark Perry’s iconic Sniffin’ Glue (1976–77) was only the first of many, leading the way for hundreds of homemade magazines to be cut and pasted in bedrooms across the UK.

These documents, filled with glimpses of provincial cultures, teenage style wars and formative political ideas, provide an alternative history of the era, quite different from the one packaged and sold by London’s media and music industry. In a pre-internet world, titles like Ripped & Torn, Brass Lip, City Fun, Vague, Kill Your Pet Puppy, Toxic Grafity, Hungry Beat and Hard as Nails charted the development of networks and the dissemination of punk’s cultural impact as it fractured into myriad sub-scenes, including industrial, post-punk, anarcho, Oi!, indie and goth.

Ripped, torn and cut brings together academic analysis with practitioner accounts to forge a collaborative history ‘from below’. The first book of its kind, it reveals the contested nature of punk’s cultural politics by turning the pages of a vibrant underground press.

Ripped, torn and cut offers a collection of original essays exploring the motivations behind – and the politics within – the multitude of fanzines that emerged in the wake of British punk from 1976. Sniffin’ Glue (1976–77), Mark Perry’s iconic punk fanzine, was but the first of many, paving the way for hundreds of home-made magazines to be cut and pasted in bedrooms across the UK. From these, glimpses into provincial cultures, teenage style wars and formative political ideas may be gleaned. An alternative history, away from the often-condescending glare of London’s media and music industry, can be formulated, drawn from such titles as Ripped & Torn, Brass Lip, City Fun, Vague, Kill Your Pet Puppy, Toxic Grafity, Hungry Beat and Hard as Nails. The first book of its kind, this collection reveals the contested nature of punk’s cultural politics by turning the pages of a vibrant underground press.