If the kids are united

Contents

When "If the Kids Are United" was published in 1995, it was the first German-language book to cover punk from its beginnings through to the 1990s. The book has since reached its eighth edition and has long been regarded as a standard work on the subject. It traces a path from British punk in the 1970s, through the hardcore movement of the 1980s, to grunge in the 1990s and the so-called sellout of punk in the age of music videos.

The book has undergone several substantial revisions over the years. Illustrations were added for the first time in the sixth edition, while its historical character as a document of its time has been preserved. Martin Büsser wrote the book at a time when punk and hardcore had finally entered the mainstream. As a longtime contributor to the "Zap" fanzine, he uses it to bid farewell to "his" scene and describes how punk came to be commercialized.

"If the Kids Are United" is written with deep personal involvement, reaffirms the scene's fundamental political values and has provoked considerable controversy ever since its publication. Whether in agreement or disagreement, the book leaves no one who has ever been involved in the scene indifferent.