Trouble in the Camera Club – A Photographic Narrative of Toronto’s Punk History 1976 – 1980 – Don Pyle
Ecw Press, 2130 Queen Street East, Suite 200, Toronto, Ontario, M4EIE2, Canada, www.ecwpress.com
The „Camera Club“ is not a venue in Toronto but a club the author Don Pyle joined as a student in highschool in order to learn to take photographs and develop film. He also sneaked into clubs like the El Mocombo and the Horseshoe Tavern to see the very first live punk bands. Good thing most of the time he had his camera with him to document the birth of the Toronto punk scene. Only because I read „Treat Me Like Dirt“ a oral history book about the Toronto Punk scene by Liz Worth I was familiar with most of the bands featured in the book – at least their names.
The 300 pages paperback book in the format 20 x 25,5 x 1,5 features over 300 photographs and 200 images of related ephemera (flyer, buttons, concerttickets….) of the earliest days of Torontos punk music scene, bands like The Viletones, Teenage Head, The Curse, The Diodes and The Ugly as well es visiting bands like The Ramones, Iggy Pop, Patti Smith, The Clash, Vibrators and a few other artists like Blondie and David Bowie. One could get the imagination this is a photo book only, it is not, Pyle also writes the story of him and his view of the starting of the Toronto scene and spices it up with plenty of anekdotes.
Since I read the other book, I know it was worse, but at least does this one not get boring and if it does here and there, it is only short. A great photodocument of a special era with plenty of great shots and always authentic. I would say not a „must have“ but if you get it, you will not regret it… there is just so much to see. The copy I read comes with a 7″, unfortunally no music on there, only a radio guy interviewing some people and commenting on it…. he obviously does not like punk. „Stiv puked into his pants then scooped some chunks out and stuffed them back in his mouth.“ Which is no surprise. 29,95 US $ (dolf)
Isbn 978-1-55022-9660
[Trust # 160 June 2013]
