Abstract/Summary

This article contextualises and examines the ways by which British punk engaged with the threat of nuclear confrontation. It argues that punk had from the outset projected dystopian visions of the near future. These, in time, came to include the post-apocalyptic. By examining records, artworks and fanzines, the article reveals how punk provided a cultural medium to express the concerns of at least a section of British youth in the early 1980s. It suggests too that punk provided a conduit to political expression.