Get pogoing to mark 40 years of punk in Pompey

Since March, Portsmouth Cultural Trust has been working with 30 young people on the Provincial Punk In Pompey project.

The intergenerational project aims to explore, document and celebrate 40 years of Portsmouth’s musical heritage and the influence punk had on the city and its people.

Thursday’s live event features a newly-formed punk band Codex78, a young punk band, Lucid Rising, and local group Kojak’s Revenge playing punk covers, supported by punk and reggae DJs spinning some old school vinyl in between sets.

Attendees will also get to watch a documentary and attend an exhibition that have been created by the young people, as well as purchasing bespoke merchandise made during the project.

Havant College student Ellie Mason helped put together a fanzine based on what they found.

The students interviewed some of the city’s original punk rockers as part of their research, including Ken Brown, co-creator of the Safety In Numbers punk fanzine.

Ellie, 19, from Hilsea, said: ‘They were telling us about their experiences and what it meant to them, and how it changed their lives.

‘It put things into perspective – what we take for granted today, to be whoever we want and to have the confidence to wear whatever we want, back then you had to be really outspoken to do these things.

‘It was really fun to work on the fanzine. It was interesting to see how they created it with the limited resources they had. We tried to capture that original handmade design in what we did – we wanted to make sure it got across the roughness of that style.’

Havant College media and film studies lecturer Kevin Smith – who also plays in Kojak’s Revenge – said: ‘I wanted to do something to mark 40 years of punk and it’s been quite exciting to see how the young people have responded. It’s about getting them to see what it’s possible to achieve and that’s it’s not all about The X Factor.’

Hayley Reay, PCT’s learning and participation manager, added: ‘The fantastic outcomes achieved from this project wouldn’t have been possible without the incredible support from local people who have dedicated their time, guidance and knowledge to make the project what it is.’

Doors open 7.30pm. Tickets are £7 and include a copy of the project fanzine. All proceeds go to the PCT charity. For more information and tickets, go to portsmouthguildhall.org.uk.