England's Dreaming, Revised Edition

"This account of the Sex Pistols is sure to become the definitive history of the English punk movement . . . You could not ask for a livelier, more impartial study."—The New York Times Book Review

"Savage transforms the Pistols' tale into an intellectual epic . . . England's Dreaming is a no-nonsense rendering of punk's undetermined glory."—Village Voice Literary Supplement

"Swarming with interesting factoids, authoritative source interviews, and colorful anecdotal reportage, massive in narrative . . . Savage's dense, scrupulously researched history of punk is a work of brilliant sociological summation and a compelling tale besides."—San Francisco Chronicle

"Brilliantly executed. It's a remarkable story, remarkably told . . . A bracing mixture of musicology, sociology, media analysis, and political commentary—should stand as the last word on its subject for years to come."—Billboard

"Packed with incisive social analysis, [Savage] chronicles the lurid yet surprisingly complex rise and fall of Britain's quintessential punk band, the Sex Pistols. Taking his title from the lyrics of the band's 'God Save the Queen' ('There is no future, in England's dreaming. No future for you, no future for me'), Savage begins with a description of the nihilistic, in-your-face fashion world in which Malcolm McLaren, the group's manager, got his start. [He] describes McLaren's apparently seething, opportunistic ambition, and the 'miasma' of violence that followed the Sex Pistols from an early, foulmouthed TV interview to a gruesome tour across America's South and the drug-induced death of bass player Sid Vicious. Throughout, Savage provides much intriguing background information, especially about the suffocating nature of recession-hit 1970s England, along with illuminating quotes from dozens of sources. His narrative is filled with pithy insights . . . A compelling and intelligent narrative that's as much about the nature of anarchy as about the Sex Pistols and punk rock."—Kirkus Reviews

"An exceptional book: dead serious and achingly funny, full of delicate complex emotions about the most brutally simple form of pop music ever created."—Entertainment Weekly