About the Book
A visual history of the artists, fans, and fanzines of widely influential British punk.
Zerox Machine is an immersive journey through the vibrant history of British punk and its associated fanzines from 1976 to 1988. Drawing on an extensive range of previously unpublished materials sourced from private collections across the United Kingdom, Matthew Worley describes and analyses this transformative era, providing an intimate glimpse into the hopes and anxieties that shaped a generation.
Far more than a showcase of covers, Zerox Machine examines the fanzines themselves, offering a rich tapestry of firsthand accounts, personal stories, and subcultural reflections. With meticulous research and insightful analysis, this book captures the spirit and essence of British youth culture, shedding new light on a pivotal movement in music history and offering a unique alternative history of Britain in the 1970s and '80s.
'Clear headed and beautifully written, this book is an overview of fanzines that goes beyond the usual DIY/punk/music cliches. It is a smart and exhaustive analysis that deserves to be the go-to reference for those who want to learn about the bygone joys of obsolete technology, praxis and self expression long before social media influencers and gifted content.' Liz Naylor, coeditor of City Fun fanzine
'Worley is a brilliant guide to the world of the fanzine, and to the extraordinary passion and creativity of their many authors and readers. Zerox Machine pays a proper tribute to all those diverse voices, and to the contribution they made to the history of popular culture and the lives of those who adore it.' John Street, professor emeritus, University of East Anglia
About the Author :
Matthew Worley is Professor of Modern History at the University of Reading. He has written widely on British culture and politics in the twentieth century, including numerous books and articles on punk and punk-related cultures. He is the co-founder of the Subcultures Network and occasionally works with the artist Scott King as Crash!.
Review :
"Matthew Worley's Zerox Machine: Punk, Post-Punk and Fanzines in Britain, 1976-88 is a treasure trove of the (punk)zine form. Across 360 pages and 113 illustrations, these scrappy, fragile, often amateur missives are granted a heritage and a legacy, celebrated for the very qualities which may otherwise have seen them deemed disposable. . . Spanning 12 years and the myriad genres, scenes and publications occasioned by punk's initial inciting moment, Zerox Machine does for British punk and punk-informed zines what Stephen Duncombe's Notes from Underground did for their American counterparts."-- "Journal of Popular Culture"
"While there exists a formidable body of research devoted to the history and influence of fanzines, Zerox Machine contributes new and illuminating insights to the subject. . . . Worley's considerable knowledge of and fluency with the history of British punk fanzines imbue his account with authority and completeness. In addition, he deftly applies social criticism to reinforce the connections he makes between primary resources, both fanzines and their creators, and his claims and arguments about their evolving significance to social history, media studies, and communications. Worley is particularly convincing when he discusses how fanzines were and continue to be platforms for expressing contradictions and ironies rather than codifying rigid social, artistic, or political pieties, and demonstrates the ongoing influence that early fanzine design and distribution continues to have on layout and publication transmission. Highly recommended."-- "Choice"
"Very readable. Zerox Machine traces a line from the punk zines to what happened next. . . . Worley really breaks it down. And it seems the book can't escape its culture. It's laid out across a four-column grid with loads of black and white illustrations giving it a zine-y feel in itself. Really nice work."-- "Moonbuilding"
"Worley's Zerox Machine is about those who were inspired not by Moon's message of three chords but by the medium: busted typewriters, felt-tip pens, stencils, and Letraset; off-set lithographic printing; cut-and-paste blackmail text and photographs ripped from the music mags. On the evidence of this book, their number was legion."-- "Review 31"
"Worley's masterful book, Zerox Machine . . . charts the chaotic path of the fanzines' development. . . . There is a huge and important legacy to capture and a captivating story to be told here, which Worley does better than anyone I know, infusing the text with passion and a genuine love and excitement for the subject. . . . To say this book is an essential read for anyone wanting to understand how creativity can spring untrained and unsupported from any street corner goes without saying, but I'm going to say it anyway! Your bookshelf has a space just waiting for this, and you won't regret it filling it."-- "Outsideleft.com"
"Worley has done a terrific job with Zerox Machine, getting the right balance between academic endeavour and the sheer excitement that the subject matter should induce--because they were exciting times. Nowadays, when any idiot can blog or use social media to expand their stupid or dodgy views, it's sometimes hard to remember that in the 70s and 80s you actually had to get up off your arse to get involved. People had to get their hands dirty: starting bands, writing fanzines, putting on gigs. They were heroic times and Worley has captured it perfectly with this book, his passion obvious on every page. Sure, there have been other books on the subject but this one definitely goes to the top of the pile."--Mark Perry, editor/creator of "Sniffin' Glue" fanzine and singer/leader of Alternative TV
"Fanzines reflected and informed the development of punk and post-punk, providing a platform for a diverse range of voices. Worley has written an engaging examination of this explosion of passionate creativity, combining meticulous research and insightful analysis to inform and illuminate. Zerox Machine is a definitive study of a culture of self-expression that continues to resonate today."--Nicholas Bullen, cofounder of Napalm Death and preteen fanzine writer
"Fanzines were the perfect reflection of the cut-and-paste DIY culture of music, clothes, hair styles and the alternative media of the fanzine culture, which I was sat at the heart of. Zerox Machine is a perfect guide to the frantic, frenetic activity that mapped out a new underground, with many of its key players moving on from their broken typewriters to becoming key players in the UK's media battleground. More importantly, this book is a reminder of the distinctive art form and style that was at the core of the crucial culture."--John Robb, The Membranes, editor-in-chief of "Louder Than War" and author of "The Art of Darkness: The History of Goth"
"Worley is a brilliant guide to the world of the fanzine, and to the extraordinary passion and creativity of their many authors and readers. Zerox Machine pays a proper tribute to all those diverse voices, and to the contribution they made to the history of popular culture and the lives of those who adore it."--John Street, professor emeritus, University of East Anglia
