For those looking to dive deep into the darkness that is inherent in the Goth scene, “The Art Of Darkness: The History Of Goth” was released on May 16th (Manchester University Press). Author John Robb takes an in-depth look at all that makes up the Goth music scene – the music, the culture, and the history.
A book that took eight years to be published, “The Art of Darkness: The History of Goth” has received rave reviews across Europe, the nexus for Goth. The Irish Independent said of the tome, “Gloriously knowledgeable…stuffed with stories about the bands who changed your life as a teenager.”
John Robb is a veteran of the global alternative music scene, coining the term “Britpop” in the 1990s, was the first UK writer to interview Nirvana back in 1989, and has written on popular music for The Times, The Guardian, NME, and founded the UK music website, Louder Than War. John has previously written the best-selling books “Punk Rock: An Oral History” and “The North Will Rise Again: Manchester Music City 1976-1996”.
This 546 page book takes the reader into a Goth club, before expanding to take a look at the wider culture and history of the times. Examining the subculture that rose in underground UK clubs, spread thrrough word of mouth at pubs or via posters and handbills, the early scene included hippies, scenesters, dominatrices, and gives a breakdown of what went down in the club scene.
Taking a look at the social conditions at the time that led to the rise of Goth in the post-punk period, Robb finds history influencing art, shifting gears as he looks upon the fall of Rome, folk tales from Europe, the occult, Gothic architecture and more to tie present-day Goth to these continental roots.
Examined is the Goth connection to the punk club scene and how it shifted from punk to goth over time, plus that which makes up various goth sub-groups: mall, traditional, romantic, vampire, etc… all the way to Glam Rock and how Goth arrives at present day, and even how certain genres of music (heavy metal, indie) correlate to the Goth culture.
The book is built mostly around the 80s post-punk Goth period and features interviews with Andrew Eldritch, Killing Joke, Bauhaus, The Cult, The Banshees, The Damned, Einstürzende Neubauten, Johnny Marr, Trent Reznor, Adam Ant, Laibach, The Cure, Nick Cave and many others.
An enjoyable read, one of the biggest takeaways, especially for the uninitiated, are the origins of Goth in the club scene of the 1960s, and the evolution of the beatnik/mod era through punk and post-punk, with goth borrowing as it arose during the time period.
Order a copy of the definitive deep-dive into Goth here!
Ed. note: Thanks to Lola for her insight into goth culture.
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