London from Punk to Blair

by Joe Kerr (Editor), Andrew Gibson

London is known around the world as a metropolitan, ordered city full of tourist attractions and exclusive shops, but the real face of the city – disordered, chaotic, sprawling, vigorous, untamed – remains unseen and unexplored.

London from Punk to Blair is a richly illustrated portrait of Europe’s foremost capital. An array of contributors, including poets, journalists, teachers, historians, wanderers, drinkers, photographers and foodies, offer a selection of personal and subjective readings of the city since the late ’70s. Using maps, journeys, pictures, narratives and signs, the contributors chart a variety of literal and metaphorical explorations through modern and postmodern London, showing how it works, and how it fails to work; what makes it vibrant, and what makes it seedy. From West End galleries to strip pubs in Shoreditch; from millionaires’ loft apartments to buses and suburban Tube stops; from film, fashion and gay clubs to punk bands, ruinous factories, pigeon filth and the vagaries of weather, London from Punk to Blair embraces the city like no other book has before.

London is too complex and fragmented for any one person to comprehend fully, but this book goes a long way to help you discover what lies outside, and inside, Zone 1. The book will open your eyes to parts of London that you have never seen, or even knew existed.

Contributors Phil Baker, Michael Bracewell, Christopher Breward, John Davis, Tom Dyckhoff, Allen Fisher, Charlie Gere, David Gilbert, Fiona Henderson, Patrick Keiller, Sarah Kent, Roger Luckhurst, Nicholas Royle, Hanif Kureishi, Salman Rushdie, Patrick Wright.

Genres: Nonfiction, London, History

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 4, 2004

About the author

Joe Kerr is Head of the Department of Critical and Historical Studies, Royal College of Art, London.

Reviews

[Rachel Stevenson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not a history of London during the two decades between Johnny Rotten and Tony Blair (or alternatively, from the Callaghan govt to New Labour), but a series of essays on various topics from the 80s, 90s and 2000s: Leftwing London, Hairstyle London, Architectural London, Tube-line London, Black London, Royal London, Porn London, Gay London, Esoteric London, Punk London, South London London and Pigeon London from the famous (Rushdie, Kureishi) to the psychogeographers (Keiller, Patrick Wright. Michael Bracewell) to lecturers in cultural or media studies at the various London universities (strangely, no Iain Sinclair or Michael Moorcock, although both are referenced throughout).

It was published in 2003 and in the following twenty years things have - of course - changed. The skyline has altered forever with the Shard and other skyscrapers, no politician from any mainstream party would state as Robin Cook did in 2001 that immigration is good (https://www.theguardian.com/world/200...), not because they don’t believe it but because of the threat from Reform. Ken Livingstone is politicus non grata, the 2012 Olympics have come and gone, as has Brexit, everyone is obsessed with food and will queue for an hour for a pastry, transport has improved and diversified – hire bikes, e-bikes, riverboats, trams, and Crossrail has finally become the Elizabeth line. Oh, and Hackney isn’t inner city blight any more.

[Samuel Weiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some interesting articles, but written from a uniformly left-wing, LRB-adjacent perspective, so is full of broadsides against Canary Wharf and 'gentrification', which can get quite tiring. A useful counterpoint is the architectural writings of J. Sorel, who defends Canary Wharf.

"Much has been said of the trespasses of Canary Wharf on local communities. We invite local communities to explain their trespasses on Canary Wharf." https://dailysceptic.org/2023/07/16/c...

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit academic and, from a 2019 perspective, a little dated. But this book gives great insight and history into post-war to turn-of-the-millenium London.

[Jeff Howells · Rating 4 out of 5]

A series of essays on every facet of London from Gay London, Style London, political London to architectural London and all points in between. There is a bit of cross over (The plot of The Long Good Friday is discussed at least 3 times) but in fairness it was a decent read and I sped through it.