ABSTRACT
Among the many myths of punk rock1 probably the most insidious is that it was an entirely London-based phenomenon. Jon Savage’s account (1991)—which has been fêted as ‘the best book about rock and pop culture ever’ (NME), ‘definitive’ (the Times), ‘superb’ and, most disturbingly of all, ‘the best cultural history of the ’70s to be written yet’ (i-D)2-threatens to be the worst perpetrator of such a myth. It is true that Savage devotes an obligatory space in his tome to the Manchester ‘scene’ (1991:404-07). However, his book is simply a celebration of the ‘great and the good’, an account in which the King’s Road supplants Bloomsbury and, instead of learning what Virginia said to Leonard, we are offered what Vivienne said to Malcolm as the authentic and original ‘meaning’ of punk rock throughout the land. In light of the way that London is made to stand for all the cultural and socio-economic formations throughout the country, it’s hardly surprising, then, that Savage’s book is called England’s Dreaming.
