Punk to Pop: 72-85

A richly illustrated catalogue charting the electrifying journey of underground musical subcultures of the 1970s as they crashed into the mainstream and reinvented the sound, style, and spirit of modern culture

Punk to Pop: 72 to 85 examines how the creative dynamism of 1970s music scenes moved from the margins to the mainstream. Taking boundary-pushing glam pioneers as its starting point, it moves on to explore how the DIY spirit of punk and 2 Tone, the propulsive beats of disco, the obsessive fandom of northern soul, the bleak atmospherics of goth, and the flamboyant self-styling of the New Romantics fed a burgeoning artistic ecosystem. Transformed through cutting-edge graphic design, innovative music videos, trailblazing boutiques, style-focused magazines, and profound shifts in technologies and politics, this period of intense exchange between the radical underground and global pop has had a profound impact on how we experience culture today.

With over 250 images, Punk to Pop: 72 to 85 illustrates previously unseen album artwork and performance photographs, as well as stage costumes mounted for the first time since world-tour outings. Contributors include celebrated pop chronicler Paul Morley, graphic design gurus Peter Saville and Malcolm Garrett, and bestselling politics and culture writer Alwyn Turner, as well as experts in the field from the V&A and beyond. It ends with a playlist of the must-listen tracks from 13 years that rocked culture.