Want to know who won a scuffle between Stoke-On-Trent punks Asylum and 80s pop stars Dexy’s Midnight Runners? What to do when your band has to play after The Seats Of Piss, and the microphone has been down the front and back of Hendrix Deadboy’s nether regions most of the set? Henry Rollins and Ian MacKaye’s brushes with skinheads on the first Black Flag UK tour? Just a few of the numerous and unique reflections revealed in SHOT FROM BOTH SIDES, the first book from Paul May, and Sealed Records.
SHOT FROM BOTH SIDES is based around the live gig photography of Paul May, a punk from Grays, Essex, in the UK. In the 80s, Paul took hundreds of photos of punks, and punk bands, documented the gigs he saw, ran a tape label, and did the cult punk fanzine Final Curtain. Ordered chronologically, SHOT FROM BOTH SIDES sets the tone for each year from 1981 to 1986 with a recap of important historic and political events, notable records, tapes, and fanzines that were released. Each section of photos culminates with personal memoirs from a diverse mixture of figures and band members giving context to the photos, gigs, the era, and spilling forth some great stories that you won’t likely get elsewhere, and features a selection of relevant ephemera and additional photos, from unseen Nick Blinko sketches to flyers, ticket stubs, and set lists of bands large and small.
What emanated out of Paul’s zine in the 80s was a limitless amount of youthful enthusiasm. Someone who wanted not only to be there and participate, but to share what he loved with as many people as possible, someone who was less concerned with trends, and just as excited about the newest unknown band who just done their first gig, to the newest record by an established band. It’s completely unsurprising to me that Paul is still at gigs, still buying records, still taking photos, and still sharing and participating in the DIY punk community. The manner in which this book is compiled does a great job at showing that same enthusiasm, and gives a rare view into what it was like to live through the punk scene in the UK at the time.
Paul’s documentation ranges from early punk rock bands like Anti Nowhere League, and the Adicts, to skinhead bands like Blitz and Major Accident, hardcore punks Discharge and Broken Bones, UK82 like Chaos UK and Disorder, American hardcore bands Black Flag and Hüsker Dü, Anarcho punks Crass and Rudimentary Peni, foreign hardcore bands like Rattus, Wretched, and Anti-Cimex, to more metal tinted bands like Onslaught, Sacrilege and English Dogs. Getting a full range of punk as it evolved, and a chronologic presentation is fascinating for anyone wanting to clearly see the evolution in sound and fashion styles as punk tread deeper into the 80s.
SHOT FROM BOTH SIDES’ greatest strength is that is manages to continue in the tradition and enthusiasm of Paul’s fanzine, by appointing both importance and space to punks, friends, and lesser known bands. Pieces of history often lost with other modern documentations of punk which choose to focus on coverage of names that will sell books. Paul’s photography continually gets better as the years, and book progress, showing both the evolution of the artist as a photographer, and highlighting the importance of punk empowering anyone of any skill level to participate. Punk wasn’t just about the bands and big names, it was the movement that sought to tore down the barrier between the performer and the audience, placing an equal level of importance on everyone in the community, and all of the participants that made punk possible. At last, a book that truly understands that.
