It's been over a decade since punk rock was introduced with a bang by Bill Grundy. Music has evolved from The Ramones and The Sex Pistols to James and The Happy Mondays, from Kraftwerk to 808 State. Bands have come and gone; The Clash, The Farmers Boys, The Smiths. While others remain; Cabaret Voltaire, The Cure, New Order.
And so 1990 sees the start of a new decade. I'm still living in Cheltenham, at the same job I had upon leaving school 7 years earlier. I'm probably partying too hard, but was in my early 20s so it would have been rude not to.
The Iron Curtain is, if not completely dragged wide open, certainly pulled aside half-way with disobedient children mischievously peaking through. At home, like the Iron Curtain, the Iron Lady sees challenges that appear to signal the beginning of the end. A build-up of violence at football matches saw an increased caging-in of fans which resulted in the tragedy at Hillsborough. Apartheid remains but, in South Africa, just as elsewhere in the world, you can feel change coming.
So, at the start of a new chapter, here's where the story begins.
