A new box set will bring together a wealth of classic, rare and obscure tracks from punk's glory year of 1977.
Following on from punk's year zero in '76 which saw legendary festivals at Mont de Marsan in France and London's 100 Club and the Sex Pistols tossing a cultural lighted match into a box of dynamite when they squared up to Bill Grundy on primetime TV that December, punk went seriously overground in 1977, with a boom in bands and independent releases.
The 3-disc 1977 - The Year Punk Broke features classic tracks from the stars of the first wave, including BUZZCOCKS, X-RAY SPEX, THE STRANGLERS, THE DAMNED, THE VIBRATORS, THE JAM, GENERATION X etc plus more from those who started off well but quickly faded, like EATER, THE STUKAS, THE USERS, MENACE, THE MODELS and THE CORTINAS.
Then there are counter-cultural freaks that weren't really punk, but tuned into what was in the air, bands like MOTORHEAD, BRAINIAC 5, LARRY WALLIS and THE RINGS; pub rockers TYLA GANG, GRAHAM PARKER, COUNT BISHOPS, EDDIE AND THE HOT RODS and SPIDER. And let's not forget the art school crowd with the likes of DEAF SCHOOL, DOCTORS OF MADNESS and ULTRAVOX!
Rounded out with dozens of obscure tiny label sides, this 87-track trip down memory lane comes with an expansive booklet with hoards of rare and unseen photos and a new 15,000 word essay.
Set for release on 28 June through Cherry Red, The Year Punk Broke is available to pre-order here.
