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Leek Arts Festival 2026 and Edge Street Live present John Robb in 'Punk Rock Ruined My Life'.
John Robb returns to The Foxlowe to present his memoirs 'Punk Rock Ruined My Life". John will talk about his life and the rise and fall of the punk generation along with some tangents. In the latter half of the show, John will be joined by a very special guest, Martin Bramah, founder member of The Fall, the main creative force behind post-punk band Blue Orchids and leader of House of All.
John Robb is a many-faceted creature - Not just a well known face from TV but also a best selling author, musician, journalist, Louder Than War music website boss, Louder Than Words and Louder Than War Live festivals boss, Eco champion, vegan behemoth and punk rock warlord as well as TV and radio talking head plus singer from post-punk critically acclaimed mainstays The Membranes.
He is all these things and more and his upcoming 2026 memoirs will cover all of this and his adventures in punk and post punk and much more in book form and is also getting made into a film.
His recently released books ‘Live Forever - the Rise, Fall and Resurrection of Oasis’ and ‘The Art Of Darkness - the History Of Goth’ are both acclaimed worldwide pop culture best sellers joining his ‘The Stone Roses and the Resurrection of British Pop’ and his 2022 book with the leading maverick green energy boss Dale Vince from Ecotricity called ‘Manifesto’ at the top of the book charts.
.He is currently working on the ground-breaking Green Britain Academy education scheme and a zero carbon clothing line called ‘Dark Forest’ in his downtime between spoken word tours of the UK and Europe./
Doors are at 7:30pm and the show will start at 8pm with two 45 mins sets with a 20 mins interval in between (total running time 1 hour 50 mins).
Advance tickets are £12.50 + booking fee - £15 on the door.
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John Robb grew up in Blackpool (who have now made him an ambassador for the town) before punk rock came along and saved his life. In the post-punk era he formed the Membranes - the highly influential post-punk band whose current critically eulogised albums keep pushing forward with added choirs and textures.
He was one of the leading post-punk fanzine writers in the UK with ‘Rox’ before he went on to write for the rock press with Sounds in the 80s. He was the first person to interview Nirvana and coined the expression Britpop and was instrumental in documenting the Madchester scene with his writing. His website louderthanwar.com is currently one of the top 3 most read music and culture sites in the UK and at the front of diverse modern culture and saw him nearly release the Fontaines DC first single and give Charli XCX her first review amongst other many firsts.
Foxlowe Arts Centre is a community run arts centre for the people of Leek and The Staffordshire Moorlands.
Leek’s arts centre is housed in the historic building, Foxlowe, at the top of Leek’s market place.
Foxlowe Arts Centre opened its doors in December 2011 and has already gained a strong following from the local community and is attracting attention from further afield as well. Funded by individuals’ pledges, donations and trading proceeds and with the majority of the staff volunteering, this is truly a community arts centre for the people of Leek and the Staffordshire Moorlands.
With a popular café, bar, gallery, live performance space for music, drama, comedy, talks and a cinema, the Foxlowe Arts Centre has rapidly established a reputation as the go to place in Leek.
Foxlowe arts centre has limited parking at the back of the building for permit holders and disabled users only. Some workshops will include a parking permit spaces are available. To access the car park follow parking signs on Stockwell Street signed ‘P Short Stay, Council Offices’ and turn left after the first parking bays – this is the entrance to Foxlowe arts centre car park for permit holders, disabled users and others with permission e.g. workshop attendees.
Market Place,
Leek,
Staffordshire,
England,
ST13 6AD.
01538 386112
Sorry, This Event is in the past!
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