Post-punk Style

Post-punk is a rock music genre that paralleled and emerged from the initial punk rock movement of the late 1970s. Though the domain of the term has been disputed, critic Simon Reynolds suggests it represents "less a genre of music than a space of possibility" and Alex Ogg of The Quietus disputes the accuracy of the term's prefix, while AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine more narrowly describes it as pertaining to "a more experimental and arty form of punk" post-punk is nevertheless generally agreed to describe music that derives inspiration from the ideological stances and musical energy of punk while moving beyond its particular stylistic characteristics and thematic preoccupations.  Common among post-punk artists was the utilization of studio experimentation and the incorporation of disparate musical styles, including experimental music, art rock, dub, krautrock, disco, and electronic music, into rock-influenced musical contexts.

To learn more about post-punk music and the style of the times, we may be able to get a glimpse from a new book that will be hitting the shelves this year.

Joy Division & New Order member Bernard Sumner speaks out for the first time in new memoir, CHAPTER AND VERSE.  

CHAPTER AND VERSE: New Order, Joy Division and Me by Bernard Sumner (Thomas Dunne Books; November 3)

Written by the lead guitarist of the seminal post-punk group Joy Division and lead singer of New Order, which formed in the wake of Ian Curtis’s death, Chapter and Verse is Sumner’s memoir in which he tells a vivid and illuminating account of his life for the very first time.

Bernard Sumner was heavily involved in the post-punk scene and recounts stories of some of the most colorful and popular characters in music history, including Ian Curtis, Jonny Marr, Tony Wilson, and Martin Hannett. He tells of his childhood in Manchester, the early days of Joy Division and the band’s subsequent critical and popular successes, and the formation of the breakout band New Order, which continues to tour in both Europe and the United States with a new album due for release this year.

Witty, fascinating and surprisingly moving, Chapter and Verse is an account of insights – including the tension between Sumner and former band member Peter Hook – and spectacular personal revelation. Sumner’s work with both Joy Division and New Order has heavily influenced bands like U2 and The Cure, while paving the way for post-punk revivalists like Interpol. He has left an indelible mark on punk and rock music that endures to this day.

If you know anything about post-punk fashion and style, please share your thoughts in the comment section.  

Learn more about punk fashion here on Apparel Search in our terminology section.

We are more interested in learning about the clothing and accessories of the genre than the music.

If you have questions about fashion, for example, what is punk fashion?  You may want to check our new fashion questions & answers section.