The Blogging Goth

On Saturday 8 July, please join me at the Tyneside Cinema in Newcastle-upon-Tyne where I’ll be discussing “Season of the Witch: The Book of Goth” with author Cathi Unsworth!

Spawned by punk, bands like Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division and The Cure were the architects of a new music that distilled the darkness of the times. Shaped by the politics of an era – from the Cold War, the Miners’ Strike, privatisation, The Troubles and AIDS – its gender fluid, outlaw imagery and innovative, atmospheric music spoke to a generation of alienated youth. By the time Thatcher left office in 1990, Goth had imprinted its will on the cultural landscape as deeply as the Iron Lady herself.

Written by a lifelong Goth, teenage music journalist, acclaimed crime writer and biographer of punk icon Jordan, Season of the Witch is a personal and social history of an enduring counterculture, one that steadfastly refuses to give up the ghost.

Cathi will talk about her book, answer questions from the audience, and then we’ll enjoy “The Company of Wolves” (1984), a fantastical gothic horror story directed by Neil Jordan and starring Sarah Patterson, based on a short story by acclaimed author Angela Carter.

It was described by Ebert as a “disturbing and stylish attempt to collect some of the nightmares that lie beneath the surface of “‘Little Red Riding Hood'”, and even has a cameo from the experimental musician Danielle Dax, familiar to many of us no doubt!

I’m exceptionally excited by this chance to discuss the history and heritage of this strange subculture that resonates so strongly with all of us, and I’ll be delighted to see many of you in the audience. See you then!