It's 50 years since the 'street couture' shop Acme Attractions opened - and November 1975 sees the 50th anniversary of the first SEX PISTOLS gig. Which makes it perfect timing for Phil Strongman's Acme BOY - the stunning inside story of Acme, BOY, PUNK and 'anti-fashion'; the London youth culture explosions of the 1970s and '80s - eruptions that ending up having global influence.
By turns amusing, intriguing and shocking,
Acme BOY features not only the author's own story - and his involvement with the
Pistols,
The Clash,
Malcolm McLaren and
Vivienne Westwood - but also contains exclusive words from
Acme Attractions founder
John Krivine and
BOY co-founder
Steph Raynor. These two men had shops crammed with classic jukeboxes and staffed by film-maker and Radio 6 DJ
Don Letts, Rough Trade boss
Jeannette Lee, DJ
Jay Strongman (relation) and stylist
Eric Rose. Their customers included
John Lydon, Sid Vicious, Bob Marley, Andy Warhol, Rudolf Nureyev, Peter O'Toole, Rod Stewart, Daryl Hall, Boy George, Joe Strummer, Chrissie Hynde, Billy idol, Patti Smith, Deborah Harry, Philip Sallon, Steve Strange and
Adam Ant... And
BOY clothing, now labelled
BOY LONDON, continues to be worn by 21st century stars like
Rihanna, Madonna, Cara Delevingne and
Jessie J - yet the untold story of the brand's tangled roots are both revealing and fascinating.Back in 1975 and 1976 King's Road
proto-punk was initially dubbed
The Big Sleaze by fashion mags before it rapidly became notorious as Punk, the shattering scene that shocked the UK, caused riots in Chelsea, raised questions in Parliament and basically invented the
Indie genre; inspiring film-makers such as
Quentin Tarantino and musicians
REM, Nirvana, Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, Green Day and many others in the US, Europe, Japan, Korea and worldwide.
Post-Punk, Mod, New Romanticism, Two-Tone, Goth, Rockabilly, the Warehouse scene all followed in swift succession - writer and film-maker Strongman saw these movements develop and was deeply involved in many of them. He is unique in being the only person to have designed for
Acme Attractions and
BOY and
Fans - whilst later managing bands, taking photos and supplying clothes to
Sign of The Times, Ad Hoc, BOY and
Vivienne Westwood. His designs have been worn by
Anita Pallenberg, Roger Daltrey, Billy Connelly and
Pamela Stephenson as well as hundreds of
Punk, New Wave and
Indie musicians.With its gripping text and an array of rare and unseen photos, images and illustrations,
Acme BOY is one of the most important, and personal, contemporary books to explore
London fashion in general and the '70s
Punk era in particular.
PHIL STRONGMAN is an English author and film-maker. He started out as a teenage fashion designer and, decades later, was a clothing consultant on Disney's 2022 punk TV series PISTOL. Phil's own feature-length punk documentary film ANARCHY! McLaren Westwood Gang was critically acclaimed before being broadcast nationwide on Sky Arts TV in 2016 and 2017. His recent documentary films on Ukraine - Kyiv Unbroken and Interview With A Deadman - have also won awards.
His previous books include the best-selling novel
Cocaine (Abacus) the nonfiction works
Pretty Vacant; A History of UK Punk (Orion / Chicago Review Press) and
Metal Box: Stories of John Lydon & PiL (Helper Skelter) plus his two Lennon books;
John Lennon & The FBI Files (Sanctuary) and the updated
John Lennon: Life, Times & Assassination (Bluecoat). The latter titles now sell as ebooks via Lume.
