26.11.15
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A new book edited and curated by Sam Knee looks at British underground music and fashion between 1960 and 1990

“The seeds of the scenes originate in the generic state school system; secondary moderns, comprehensives and grammar schools.” says Sam Knee in the introduction to his new book The Bag I’m In. The book follows on from Knee’s A Scene In Between, a curated collection of photographs featuring 90s bands and their friends, this time concentrating on the underground music scenes like ska, mod and punk that evolved throughout the 20th century.

The photographs, sourced by Sam Knee, are selected from over 2000 pictures from personal collections and professional photography archives. They see care free youth at their uninhibited best.

The Bag I’m In offers a rare glimpse into the lives of skinheads, goths, punks, rude boys, indie kids and almost 30 other youth movements.

It is a joyful celebration of the social scenes that emerge when youth has room to flourish and seamlessly brings together photos of iconic scene figureheads like Bobby Gillespie and Edwyn Collins with the young people who supported them in the thralls of their adopted tribes.

In the gallery above we’ve collected a few spreads from the book but you can grab a copy yourself from Cicada Books from 29 December.