King Mob (5 results)

Soft cover. Condition: Near Very Good. First Edition Thus. 4to. Stapled wrappers. Unpaginated (28pp.). Pamphlet primarily by David Wise of King Mob, originally circulated in typescript form as 'Punk, Reggae; A Critique', and published here (renamed) without consent. Wise has written that the text 'was never meant to be published seeing it was merely a somewhat hastily cobbled together draft handed around to a few people in 1978 for comment and additions. Three or so years later we found out the text had been published by a group in Glasgow, which had been tied up with the formerly excellent Castoriadis influenced group, Solidarity. We literally had no knowledge that the text was being printed and moreover the name of David Wise had been supplied as author, which wasn't fully accurate. On seeing the pamphlet for the first time, one of us asked for it to be pulped simply because it was merely some provisional notes strung together which initially had seen the light of day based mainly on conversations. basically, a name couldn't be put to it. Moreover, the people in Glasgow had altered sentences and captions - some were even created - and one or two things deleted. Unfortunately, the pamphlet became a kind of icon - reproduced everywhere'. It appeared, for example, in 'What Is Situationism? A Reader' edited by Stewart Home. The text concerns the relationship between punk music and Situationism: 'Part of the genesis of punk goes back 16 years to the English section of the Situationists and the subsequent, King Mob - a loose affiliation (hardly a group) of disparate though confused revolutionary individuals in England in 1968.' Somewhat rubbed and creased, soiled in places (including the wrappers), the staple rusty, but secure and with clean text. All things considered, near Very Good, and a rare survivor.

Soft cover. Condition: Fine. Periodical.

The third issue of the radical group King Mob's underground magazine, featuring content about the actions of Ben Morea's Black Mask in the USA; rare in commerce. King Mob sought to ignite a proletarian revolution and incite anti-capitalist riots. Much of this issue celebrates the history and achievements of the Black Mask, a radical group in the US who were a significant inspiration for King Mob, particularly in their infamous campaign to close down the MOMA. Tall quarto (347 x 250 mm), 16 pp. Original wire-stitched wrappers illustrated and lettered in black. Lightly creased, rear wrapper soiled with a few splash marks: a very good copy.

Condition: Very Good +. 247 x 350mm, 12pp., saddle stapled, black print on white stock. Illustrated with photographs, détourned cartoons and old engravings, along with pages from like-minded revolutionary publications Black Mask and Up Against The Wall Motherfucker. Features King Mob's lengthy and extensive critique of the hippie/drop out countercultural movement in England and America, and praises their New York counterparts Black Mask/Motherfuckers for their guerrilla tactics. Condition: some wear to edges and corners, age tone to the edges of paper; VG Large Format Item (flat pack) item - extra postage required.

A handbill by the radical group King Mob, distributed during their anti-capitalist interruption of Christmas shopping at London's Selfridges department store in 1968. King Mob sought to ignite a proletarian revolution. They distributed their ideas through posters, flyers, and their magazine, King Mob Echo, notorious for exalting "celebrity" murderers like Jack the Ripper, Mary Bell, and John Christie. Drawing inspiration from the Situationists in Europe and the Black Mask in the US, King Mob endeavoured to stage public events in the hopes of sparking anti-capitalist riots. While few events made it past the planning stages, in December 1968 a group of 25 members infiltrated Selfridges and caused havoc among the Christmas crowds. The King Mob members, including Peter "Ben" Trueman dressed as Santa Claus and "out of his head on speed" (Libcom, online), distributed Selfridges stock as Christmas presents to unwitting children while handing out copies of this broadsheet. Store detectives were alerted, police arrived, and the authorities were forced to spend much of their day taking toys from children. Malcolm McLaren, the music manager of the Sex Pistols, was among the King Mob members present. The handbill is a polemic against consumerism and capitalism that begins: "It's lights out on Oxford Street this year. No more midnight neon. No more conspicuous glitter for compulsive sightseers to gawp at the wonders of capitalism. Even the affluent society can no longer keep up with its electricity bill. You don't deserve Christmas this year. You haven't worked hard enough. You haven't trotted fast enough through the in-put, out-put, clock-on, clock-off, the vicious circle of production and consumption, save and spend, screw yourselves into the ground in preparation for the one time in the year when you're allowed to let go, feast yourselves, overreach yourselves in a frenzied effort to enjoy-and spew it up afterwards". Broadside (250 x 330 mm) printed in black on Victor Bond watermarked paper. Illustrated with Christmas decorations. Fine.