Resident Punk UK Launch Party

Stewart Lee at The Lexington

Resident Punk UK Launch Party.

Legs McNeil in conversation with Stewart Lee, followed by two all-star bands (plus guests) performing music from the artists featured within the book (mostly CBGB circa '76-'82)

About the book.

Time-travel to the punk scene of 1970s New York —as seen through the eyes of its chief reporter known as “the original punk” who gave the movement its name.

Part memoir and part cultural history, Resident Punk offers a no-holds-barred expose chronicling the iconic and unforgettable music scene defined by bands like the Ramones, Blondie, Television and Talking Heads.

In 1975 at just 19 years old, Legs McNeil—alongside John Holmstrom and Ged Dunn—cofounded PUNK magazine. In doing so, they chronicled the start of a movement. McNeil’s role in the whole thing? To be their resident punk, embodying the zeitgeist the magazine was looking to capture, often by getting f\*cked up with musicians, artists, writers, and hangers-on.

Now, just in time for the 50th anniversary of PUNK magazine, Legs tells the stories behind the stories in a star-studded adventure. The coauthor of Please Kill Me, Legs invites you along for the ride as he tussles with musicians, artists, writers, Hollywood film stars and legendary figures of ‘70s New York. Featuring untold stories about Joey Ramone, William S. Burroughs, Patti Smith, Alan Vega, Martin Rev, Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, and Poly Styrene, this book is an immersive look at the punk scene as only a true insider can tell it.