The Punk collection

The Clash. Photo by Eric Algra.

Punk? We’ve got gobfuls of it. Twenty-odd stories.

Stories about The Slits and Babes In Toyland were amongst our very first Stereo Stories, back in 2014.

Then came yarns inspired by The Sex Pistols, Radio Birdman, The Dropkick Murphys, The Clash. And Dead Kennedys, Venom P. Stinger, Kælan Mikla…

As Paulie Stewart of Painters And Dockers writes: This was my music. It sounded like the musical equivalent of Attila The Hun sacking Rome. If punk hadn’t come along I probably would have willed it to appear anyway.

Perhaps the most curious of our Punk collection is a story of a dysfunctional father via a version of Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline.

NT McQueen writes: I despise Sweet Caroline when, as a younger man, I merely tolerated it unless it came as a cover by Me First and The Gimme Gimmes. The song took on a slight annoyance but, my dad always professed his love of all things Neil Diamond. Again, probably a half-truth…My father had a visit from the sheriff’s department and ended up serving a year in county for elder abuse (though forgery and theft charges were dropped in the plea deal).

Stage-dive into the mosh-pit of punk Stereo Stories.

Photo of The Clash by Eric Algra, first published in Roadrunner. Eric is currently compiling a book showcasing his music photography.