The bits of paper we're talking about here are the flyers and posters created to announce upcoming concerts of the more 'earthy' punk rock type prevalent throughout much of the 1980s. Black-and- white, made with scissors, glue, pens, Letraset and found images. Utilising the 'cut'n'paste' method rather than desk-top publishing, then photocopied, fly-posted, stuck up in record shops, given out by hand and sent out by post enclosed with fanzines and cassette tapes purchased from various mail- order lists. This was the way we communicated before the advent of the Internet and social media. Slow, time-consuming, sometimes wearisome but effective.
Very few people thought of saving them and those who did so, saved them essentially for the sake of it. Not for having an eye on one day them being collectible or of any possible future monetary value to anyone. They saved them without thinking and for no reason but saved them - thankfully - they did.
Co-edited by Greg Bull and Mickey 'Penguin', Not Just Bits Of Paper collates a wide selection of flyers, posters and handouts from the anarcho-punk era of the 1980s and for posterity lays them out and presents them in all their ragged, torn and tattered glory. As to be expected, Crass are heavily represented alongside The Mob, Flux Of Pink Indians, Antisect, Conflict, Poison Girls, Chumbawamba plus many more others.
A series of recollections, memories, imagined dreams perhaps from the collective memories of those who lived through the punk and anarchopunk years. Tales recalled of times past and a glorious tribute to the bands and the crowds who made the early eighties so special for so many of us.
Mickey helped out at the All The Madmen record label (The Mob, Flowers In The Dustbin, the Astronauts, Blyth Power, Zos Kia and others) from 1985, and in 1989 Mickey was offered a job by John Loder (the engineer on all of the Crass recording sessions) at Southern Studios / Southern Record Distribution, where he remained employed for almost thirty years. In 2007 Mickey helped to start the Kill Your Pet Puppy (punk and anarcho-punk) blog along with Gerard (ex) of Flowers In The Dustbin, Alistair (ex) of All The Madmen records, and Tony D (ex) editor of KYPP fanzine.
Greg tried his hardest to avoid proper ‘work’ until the mid-nineties. Greg has also been co-editor on three other books on the anarcho-punk scene, ‘Tales From The Punkside’, ‘Some Of Us Scream’ and ‘And All Around Was Darkness’, all co-edited with Mike Dines.