‘It sounded dreadful – but to me it was the second coming!’: punk rock memories – in pictures

From Sid and Nancy leaving court to the Ramones performing It’s Alive, a new book features previously unpublished photos of the punk and new wave scenes in London, New York and LA

Fans at a Damned gig, London, 1978

These images of the punk and new wave music scenes in London, New York and LA were taken by DB Burkeman between 1976 and 1982 when he was a teenage school dropout struggling with substance abuse issues. While he was spending his disposable income on self-medication, rolls of film inevitably remained undeveloped in a bedside drawer. Decades later, following his mother’s death, Burkeman cleared out his old bedroom and discovered a time capsule of the explosion of punk rock. All photographs by DB Burkeman. Crash Bang: Pictures from a Punk is available from Blurring Books

Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart, London, 1976

‘Before they became famous as The Eurythmics, Lennox and Stewart were in a band called The Tourists. They lived in a squat over Spanish Moon Records, a shop in Crouch End that was owned by mutual friend Paul Jacobs (RIP). I was like the band’s unofficial photographer’

Split Rivitt and Janis, UK, 1976

‘Split Rivitt were a north London band made up of ex-school mates from the King Alfred school. I’ve lost touch but I believe all but one are still alive’

Crayola, New York, 1978

‘Before the drugs took over, my then best friend Toby and I did a New York to Los Angeles road trip via Route 66. Crayola were the first band we saw at Max’s Kansas City on the night we landed in NY. As we were from London, two of the girls kidnapped Toby and me for the night. I ended up living with the singer for a few days and shooting photos for the band’

Debbie Harry, London, 1978

‘I believe this was an album release event at Virgin Records in Marble Arch. Blondie were much bigger in the UK than the US at this time’

Howie Pyro and Bryan Gregory, New York, 1978

‘I might have this one dated wrong in the book. I’m thinking this was actually a Cramps after-party at the Mudd Club in 1979. Howie Pyro was the first person I ever saw wearing rosary beads as a style choice. Proto goth. He and his school friends had a New York Dolls-meets-the Banshees band called the Blessed. Bryan Gregory was the guitarist for the Cramps

Marianne Faithfull, L’Olympia, Paris 1982

‘By 1982 I was a complete mess. I thought London was my problem, so I moved to a tiny village in south-west France and even found a fellow junkie girlfriend there. We made the trip to Paris to see a Stones gig and this rare Marianne Faithfull show. I actually got to meet Marianne a few months later, when we had both made it into grateful recovering lives’

Danny and Nick, London, 1976

‘The image we used on the book cover was shot at my first girlfriend Kate’s 16th birthday party. These two kids just showed up and gatecrashed. They were the first two kids we’d met with ‘the haircut’. I’m told that one of them is still alive. I hope he sees the book’

Ramones, the Rainbow, London, 1977

‘When I developed this roll of film over 30 years after I shot it, and saw what I had, I simply couldn’t believe it! This gig was when they recorded their iconic album It’s Alive’

Sid and Nancy, London, 1977

‘One morning on my way to my studio assistant job, I noticed a bunch of reporters loitering outside Marylebone Magistrates Court. I wandered over to be nosy, and out came the hellraiser couple’

Sex Pistols, Brunel University, London, 1977

‘It sounded truly dreadful but it felt like I was witnessing the second coming’

Jools Holland from Squeeze, the Starwood, Los Angeles, 1978

‘A very early show for Squeeze in the States. Toby and I just happened to be in LA on our Fear and Loathing-themed tour’

Siouxsie and the Banshees, Music Machine, London, 1980

‘Between 1976 and 1982 I think I saw the Banshees over 20 times. Even with my ticket stubs that I kept, we needed Google to help figure out which show this image was from based on clothing’