A Scene In Between: Tripping Through the Fashions of UK Indie Music 1980-1988
by Sam Knee
Cicada Books, 192 pages, 2013
The Pastels? Strawberry Switchblade? Orange Juice? Any of these names ring a bell?
If so, you’re likely to find a kindred spirit in Sam Knee, author of A Scene In Between: Tripping Through the Fashions of UK Indie Music 1980-1988. He’s compiled snapshots of the aforementioned bands, as well as those depicting such acts as My Bloody Valentine, Jesus and the Mary Chain, Primal Scream and more.
Primarily gig shots, it’s a bit of a stretch to classify this as a fashion book. Some discussion of style does come up in the book’s short Q&As with My Bloody Valentine’s David Conway, The Pastels’ Stephen Pastel and Amelia Fletcher of Talulah Gosh, but most of the fashion talk is reserved for Knee’s two-page chat with Kensington Market and King’s Road clothier, Lloyd Johnson.
The photographs do reflect the ’80s mod revival, with plenty of anoraks and stripey tops, but it’s fans of the independent music of the day who will likely delight most in the shots of foppy-haired young men with guitars. There are even a couple of early Smiths shots featuring Morrissey, circa 1983. Overall, however, it’s lesser-known (and primarily Scottish) artists who figure most prominently in the book, resulting in perhaps a too-narrow scope for a general readership. This is Sam Knee’s ’80s, intimate and specific.
But the esoteric nature of A Scene In Between is also its strength. For rabid music fans of the era, the book features so many candid, never-before-seen photographs that when viewed back-to-back-to-back, are certainly successful in capturing the overall ambiance and feeling of a very particular place in time.
