Punk bands with their punk vans
- Text by Emma Garland
- Photography by Chris Bethell
The image of a battered converted Post Office van littered with empty Lucozade bottles and crusty hummus pots hangs around punk like tinnitus, but it's increasingly less frequent these days. As running costs soar, it often makes more sense for bands – especially smaller DIY ones – to travel to shows by train, bus or car, sharing kit with those who live more locally to wherever it is they're playing. Others make do with a rental, or hire a driver with a van from another band. As was the case at Manchester Punk Festival over Easter weekend.
With 140 artists playing across seven venues, Manchester Punk Festival is an independent, inner-city event that brings together bands across the broad spectrum of punk from all over the UK and beyond. From London street punk veterans The Restarts, to Canadian Fat Wreck Chords staples The Flatliners, to newcomers like Manchester's own disco-punk foursome The Red Stains, the line-up has something for everyone.
Photographer Chris Bethell was there to capture some of the bands with their temporary homes on wheels – some shared, some new, some borrowed, and some that are actually cars with a very precarious game of 'gear Jenga' going on in the boot.
Latest on Huck
Bobby Gillespie: “This country is poisoned by class”
Primal Scream’s legendary lead singer writes about the band’s latest album ‘Come Ahead’ and the themes of class, conflict and compassion that run throughout it.
Written by: Bobby Gillespie
Vibrant photos of New York’s Downtown performance scene
‘Balloons and Feathers’ is an eclectic collection of images documenting the scene for over two decades.
Written by: Miss Rosen
Picking through the rubble: Glimpses of hope in the US election results
Clambering through the wreckage of the Harris campaign, delving deeper into the election results and building on the networks that already exist, all hope is not gone writes Ben Smoke.
Written by: Ben Smoke
US Election night 2024 in Texas
Photographer Tom “TBow” Bowden travelled to Republican and Democratic watch parties around Houston, capturing their contrasting energies as results began to flow in.
Written by: Isaac Muk
In photos: “Real life is not black and white” – Polaroid x Magnum Open Call winners
See pictures from the competition organised by two titans of contemporary photography, which called upon artists to reject the digitalisation and over-perfectionism of our modern world, technology and image-making.
Written by: Huck
In photos: Rednecks with Paychecks
‘American Diesel’ is a new photo series that looks at the people, places and culture behind the stereotypes of rural America.
Written by: Ben Smoke