Caledonia Screaming: Scottish Punk 1976-1977

By Grant McPhee

Scotland appeared to embrace punk early. The Ramones’ debut album reached Glasgow within days of its mid 1976 release, provoking alarmist headlines that only deepened local enthusiasm. Soon after, the Stranglers and the Sex Pistols played: punk seemed to have arrived.

That momentum was abruptly halted however. Following the Sex Pistols’ Anarchy Tour in December 1976, Scotland effectively imposed a near-total ban on anything “punk”, driven by moral panic. While punk flourished elsewhere, Scotland’s scene appeared strangled – or so the story goes.
In reality, 1977 was far from a lost year. Hundreds of bands formed across towns and suburbs, working entirely DIY: organising secret gigs, producing fanzines, recording cassettes and developing sounds that anticipated post-punk and indie. Drawing on 200 interviews, Caledonia Screaming reveals this last untold chapter of punk’s year zero.

Reviews of Caledonia Screaming: Scottish Punk 1976-1977

'Grant McPhee's oral history gives equal weight to the also-rans and the coulda-beens. Groups such as Mike Vinyl & The Decorators were well-known in Edinburgh during the early punk skirmishes, while others had influence further down the line. Perhaps the most significant contribution comes from Bruce Findlay, who ran Bruce's Records, signing The Valves and Simple Minds to his label, Zoom. In terms of showing that anything was possible, the most explosive moment in the book is the release of The Rezillos' debut 45, I Can't Stand My Baby on Lenny Love's Sensible Records' – Alastair McKay, UNCUT Magazine