Punk (magazine)

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Punk
PunkMagazine.jpg
April 1976 cover featuring Joey Ramone
Categories Punk rock
First issueJanuary 1976 (1976-01)
Final issue1979
CountryUnited States
Based in New York City
LanguageEnglish
Website punkmagazine.com

Punk was a music magazine and fanzine created by cartoonist John Holmstrom, publisher Ged Dunn, and "resident punk" Legs McNeil in 1975. It was one of the first punk zines, and helped popularize the early New York CBGB scene, leading to the use of the term "punk rock" as a descriptor for contemporary music groups, which at the time was used strictly to refer to mid-1960s garage rock. [1]

Contents

History

Punk magazine began in late 1975, Holmstrom, Dunn and McNeil drew visual inspiration for the fanzine from underground comic books, mixing Mad Magazine -style cartooning by Holmstrom, Bobby London and a young Peter Bagge with the more straightforward pop journalism of the kind found in Creem . The publication primarily focused on the New York underground music scene, which included the early New York punk scene centered around venues like CBGB, Zeppz, and Max's Kansas City. Punk released its first issue in January 1976, featuring Lou Reed on the cover. [2]

Punk magazine hosted writers such as Mary Harron, Steve Taylor, Lester Bangs, Pam Brown, some of which were writing for a publication for the very first time. Alongside, artists like Buz Vaultz, Anya Phillips, Screaming Mad George, and photographers Bob Gruen, Barak Berkowitz, Roberta Bayley and David Godlis. [3]

After Dunn left in early 1977 and McNeil quit shortly afterwards, Bruce Carleton (art director, 1977–1979), Ken Weiner (contributor, 1977–79), and Elin Wilder, one of few African Americans involved in the early CBGB/punk rock scene, were added to the staff. It also provided an outlet for female writers, artists and photographers who had been shut out of a male-dominated underground publishing scene. Between April 1976 and June 1979, Chris Stein of Blondie was a contributing photographer. Consequently, the band were regularly featured and Debbie Harry would frequently appear as one of the characters in the photo-stories. [4] Holmstrom later called the magazine "the print version of the Ramones". [5]

Punk published 15 issues between 1976 and 1979, as well as a special issue in 1981 (The D.O.A. Filmbook), a 25th anniversary special in 2001 and 3 final issues in 2007. [6] [7]

Issues

A complete list of issues [8]

VolumeNumberTitleCoverDate
11 Lou Reed Lou ReedJanuary 1976
12 Patti Smith The Two Faces of Patti SmithMarch 1976
13 The Ramones Joey Ramone April 1976
14 Iggy Pop The Incredible IggyJuly 1976
15 The Monkees Micky Dolenz chases JaneAugust 1976
16The Legend of Nick Detroit Debbie Harry, Judy LaPilusa and Richard Hell October 1976
17Patti SmithRock'n'roll PattiFebruary 1977
18The Sex Pistols The Sex PistolsMarch 1977
110 Blondie Debbie Harry onstage!Summer 1977
111 The Dictators Handsome Dick Manitoba of the DictatorsOctober/November 1977
112 Robert Gordon Robert Gordon is Red Hot!January 1978
114The Sex Pistols Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious puppets: Live and in concert!May/June 1978
115Mutant Monster Beach PartyThe movie poster for Mutant Monster Beach PartyJuly/August 1978
116 Disco ManiacDisco sucks!March/April 1979
117 The Clash The Clash in a clashMay/June 1979
Special1 D.O.A.: A Rite of Passage The Official FilmbookJohnny, Sid, Steve and Paul.April 1981
20Special 25th Anniversary IssueWinter 2001
119Johnny Heff and The BullysJohnny Heff and The BullysWinter 2007
120Sid + Nancy Sid + NancySummer 2007
121A Tribute to CBGB Fall 2007
122Iggy Pop - Every LoserIggy PopJan 2023
123Battle Of The BandsThe MisfitsFall 2024

There were no issues 9, 13 or 18

References

  1. Taylor, Steven (2003). False Prophet: Field Notes from the Punk Underground. Wesleyan University Press. pp. 15–17. ISBN   9780819566683.
  2. McNeil, Legs; McCain, Gillian (2013). "Why Don't We Call It Punk". In Cateforis, Theo (ed.). The Rock History Reader. Routledge. pp. 167–172. ISBN   9780415892124.
  3. Curran, Paul (October 18, 2009). "Punk magazine's John Holmstrom". MAXIMUM ROCKNROLL. Retrieved July 30, 2025.
  4. "Flashback" . Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  5. Morgan, Jeffrey (February 4, 2004). "John Holmstrom: Floating in a bottle of formaldehyde". Metro Times . Retrieved March 11, 2015.
  6. Hannon, Sharon M. (2010). Punks: A Guide to an American Subculture. ABC-CLIO. pp. 99–100. ISBN   9780313364563.
  7. Derienzo, Paul (January 24, 2013). "Punk party brings back '70 scenesters and memories". The Villager . Retrieved April 10, 2015.
  8. "Punk Magazine" . Retrieved September 16, 2019.