Blitzed

Much of the Blitzed ethos is built around a celebration of the classic era of the Blitz Club, but also acknowledging that its spirit is still alive and well in the worlds of music, fashion and culture in the modern age. This issue perhaps captures the perfect balance of that approach as we feature not just classic acts such as OMD, Howard Jones, Soft Cell, Altered Images and Blancmange, but also new and emerging acts such as Promenade Cinema and BlakLight. For most of us, music is an important aspect of our lives.

The frustrations of the COVID pandemic made this is abundantly clear, particularly when live music was shuttered for such a long period. The re-emergence of concerts and live performances seemed to encourage a cathartic effect among audiences - and also performers, as our Gary Numan coverage in this issue demonstrates.

The documentary Tramps!, which we review in this issue, also strives to look beyond the music and to focus on the fact that the cultures that create music are important in their own right. This is also reflected in the work showcased by the Punk Art Show UK, featuring artistic work from various punk musicians from the original ‘77 scene and beyond.

This all demonstrates something vital and necessary in our lives – and illustrates that we should celebrate it as often as we can. Paul Browne / paulbrowne@blitzedmag.com