A Life Without Punk "50 Jahre Punk: John Robb, Mark Reeder & Gäste" x Harbour Front Literaturfestival Hamburg

Guests:
Pauline Murray (PENETRATION)
Colin Newman (WIRE, IMMERSION)
Annette Benjamin (HANS-A-PLAST, DIE BENJAMINS)
Budgie (SIOUXSIE & THE BANSHEES, THE SLITS)
Alexander Hacke (formerly of EINSTÜRZENDE NEUBAUTEN, HACKEDEPICCIOTTO)
Malka Spigel (MINIMAL COMPACT, IMMERSION)
Gudrun Gut (MANIA D, MALARIA, MONIKA ENTERPRISE)

The year is 1976. Nuclear arms race and the Cold War define the global political landscape; tensions are running high everywhere. In Great Britain, there is widespread economic discontent. Economic hardship is immense, and political struggles turn violent, spilling out onto the streets. Unemployment is devastating, inflation is high, and strikes are paralyzing daily life. There are no new prospects—for students, for workers, for young people. This void is being filled by movements like the National Front, while at the same time a spirit of cultural and social renewal is brewing. Youth clubs are buzzing with energy; the first subcultural scenes are forming, built on a stirring mix of protest and provocation. Combined with a strong aversion to the existing order—against the establishment, high culture, and even the has-been rock dinosaurs. It’s only a matter of time before this explosive mixture leads to the next big bang.

Punk becomes the beacon of resistance. Not just in England. And the rest is history.

“A LIFE WITHOUT PUNK”is dedicated to these formative years and brings together key figures from England and Germany to reflect on, celebrate, and carry forward the phenomenon of punk and new music.

The event series tours Germany with rotating ensembles and takes place in Hamburg at the Markthalle, which opened in 1977. All the major English and American punk bands played there, and starting in 1978,Alfred Hilsbergorganized his groundbreaking festivals there, such as “Punk bis zum Untergang,”“Into The Future,” “Sounds for the ’80s,” and “Better Too Much Than Too Little.”

The hosts of the evenings are two of punk’s key figures,John RobbandMark Reeder. They’ll talk—with each other and with their guests—about 50 years of punk, when, where, and how they were swept up by the New Wave and its energy, sharing experiences and anecdotes, and discussing just how transformative these times of upheaval—not just musically—have been for them and their lives.

The first confirmed guest for tonight’s show isAlexander Hacke, who joinedEinstürzende Neubautenin 1980 at the tender age of 14, but who has also been—and continues to be—active in numerous influential underground bands, whether as a musician or producer. And much more. He shares details about all this in his highly recommended autobiography *Krach* (Ventil Verlag). His latest musical work is titled “Lichtung” (Mute Records); it’s the newest album from his duo project with his partnerDanielle De Picciotto, whichthey rununder the monikerhackedepicciotto.

He is joined by the brilliantAnnette Benjamin, who was part of one of the best and most influential German post-punk bands of all time,Hans-A-Plast. Most recently, she has been performing primarily with a sort of supergroup she founded with Drangsal, Beatsteaks drummer Thomas Götz, Charlotte Brandi, and Julian Knoth of Die Nerven, which goes by the namedie Benjamins.

Pauline Murray has just joined as a guest. She dropped out of school at sixteen, studied art at Darlington College, and subsequently took on odd jobs. In May 1976, the 18-year-old Murray saw a Sex Pistols concert, after which she and her friends from Ferryhill became enthusiastic fans of the Pistols and earned the nickname“Durham Contingent”(NME). That same year, she founded the bandPenetration—named after a Stooges song—with Robert Blamire and Gary Smallman. She has also released several legendary albums with later projects such asPauline Murray and the Invisible Girls, Pauline Murray and the Storm, and Pauline Murray and the Saint, as well as a solo artist. Her autobiography, *Life’s A Gamble*, was published by Omnibus Press in 2024.

The evenings will be accompanied by projections fromArchiv B Berlin, as well as a traveling photo exhibition featuring images by the Hamburg-based punk documentary photographerSabine Schwabroh. The event will be hosted by author, journalist, and punk drummerIngo Scheel.