"Actor: Jack Airport"

• Punk In London | DVD | (28/05/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Re-mastered from the original negative featuring The Clash and some of punks most important bands. Directed by German filmmaker Wolfgang Buld this is a unique visual record of London punk life in the late seventies. Filled with unseen live footage and some incredibly naive comments. Punk in London is so loaded with history and brilliance that you can almost smell the energy! Tracklist: 1. The Adverts - Gary Gilmore's Eyes 2. Jimmy Pursey Interview 3. Chelsea Interview 1 4. C

• Punk In London | DVD | (31/05/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  With Punk now the stuff of postcards, its good to have Punk in London, a 1977 feature that taps the source of what the scene was all about. German director Wolfgang Büra interviews a number of players and promoters but, apart from concert sequences by The Adverts and The Clash--in gritty form on their ill-fated first European tour--the emphasis is on "almost were" bands. Büras reticent and awkward questioning wont win awards for journalism, but interviewees are prepared to open up to him. Theres political hard-talking from members of Chelsea, a chat with the unassuming bassist of The Lurkers (and parents!), priceless interview footage with Kevin Rowland, then in Birmingham band The Kiljoys; best of all, the laconic roadie of Subway Sect, a true leveller well aware that the whole "Punk thing" will fall victim to commercial pressure like counter-cultures before it. On the DVD: The 1977 film reproduces decently, its faded realism appropriate to the subject, and the sound captures the sweaty environs of Londons club scene with raw immediacy. A pity, though, that sound and vision in the interviews werent better synchronised. There are 21 access points; The Clash sequence is repeated with German subtitles (though markedly inferior picture quality), and an extended adverts sequence with German-only offstage banter. Overall, a quirky package, and a quirky documentary--but with a sincerity and authenticity that no "Best of" could ever hope to capture.--Richard Whitehouse