If you like punk rock, and would like nothing more than see it through the eyes of someone who was there in 1977 but wasn't a fashion victim but in it for the music and the laugh, then do yourself a favor and try tracking down a copy of this novel published in 2000. This book will make you laugh and cry at the same time, but above all it will lead you to appreciate John King's street language, telling it how it is, or in this case, was. It is the story of Joe, a fifteen year old kid in Slough, a satellite town outside of London. Together with his mates he develops a love for punk rock, stale lager, girls in PVC skirts and chinese takeaway. One day though Joe and his best mate Smiles fall victim to a group of local lads who see them as easy pray, and nothing is ever the same as it was. In the next two parts of the novel Joe talks about all the years since that crucial night in 1977, and goes through life and growing up in a satellite town, the rise of Thatcher, the demise of jobs, his own traveling to Hong Kong and the eventual return to Slough and an England that has changed since the heydays of punk rock. There is always a good portion of music thrown in there, and the book should appeal to people into punk rock as well as readers interested in how British society and attitudes have changed from the '70s onwards. Highly recommended!
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