“The Anarchy Tour” a wonderfully illustrated, frighfully tedious book

book cover - anarchy tourIf a book consists mainly of quotes from other books, documentaries, articles, and other source, and contains minimal-to-no new interviews, revelations, or the like, it’s essentially a research paper or graduate thesis stretched out with photos and illustrations. Such is the case with Mick O’Shea‘s chronicle of the Sex Pistols’ “Anarchy In the U.K.” tour in the wake of their appearance on Bill Grundy’s talk show.

While a complete chronicle of the tour has never been so thoroughly presented, the documents from which O’Shea draws are newspaper articles from the time, and books written by all of the participants long after the fact. If you’re a fan of any of the acts involved — the Pistols, the Damned, the Clash, or the Heartbreakers — and of a literary bent, you’ve most likely read or seen I Was a Teenage Sex Pistol, 90 Days at EMI, Rotten, The Last Gang In Town, The Filth and the Fury, et al.
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