John Robb, Mark Reeder & Gäste - A Life Without Punk
9/25/2026
at 8:00 PM
/ Hamburg
We write the year 1976. Nuclear armament and the Cold War are the geopolitical coordinates, and it grinds at every corner. In Great Britain, there is severe economic dissatisfaction. The economic plight is immense, political struggles become violent, and spill out into the streets. Unemployment is devastating, inflation is high, strikes paralyze daily life. New perspectives are lacking for students, for workers, for the youth. A chasm into which movements like the National Front pour, while at the same time a cultural and social spirit of departure is brewing. It’s bubbling in the youth clubs, the first subculture scenes are forming, a stirring mix of protest and provocation is the basis. In combination with a pronounced aversion to the existing order, against the establishment, high culture, but also against the expired rock dinosaurs. It is only a matter of time before this explosive mixture leads to the next big bang.
Punk becomes the beacon of resistance. Not just in England. And the rest is history.
"A LIFE WITHOUT PUNK" is dedicated to these formative years and brings together protagonists from England and Germany to reflect on, celebrate, and continue the phenomenon of punk and new music.
The event series tours Germany with changing ensembles and takes place in Hamburg in the market hall opened in 1977. All the important English and American punk bands played there, and Alfred Hilsberg organized groundbreaking festivals there starting in 1978, such as "Punk bis zum Untergang", "Into The Future", "Geräusche für die 80er", and "Lieber zuviel als zuwenig".
The hosts of the evenings are two of the essential protagonists of punk, John Robb and Mark Reeder. They speak - with each other and with their guests - about 50 years of punk, when and where and how they were captured by the new wave and energy, about experiences and anecdotes, and how groundbreaking these times of not only musical upheaval have been for them and their lives.
The first confirmed guest of tonight is Alexander Hacke, who became a member of Einstürzende Neubauten at the tender age of 14 in 1980, but also beyond that, whether as a musician or producer, has been active in numerous influential underground bands. And much more. He reveals this in his more than worthwhile autobiography "Krach" (Ventil Verlag). His latest musical work is called "Lichtung" (Mute Records), which is the newest album of his duo project with his partner Danielle De Picciotto under the moniker hackedepicciotto.
Joining him is the glorious Annette Benjamin, who was part of one of the best and most style-defining German post-punk bands of all time, Hans-A-Plast. Most recently, she appeared primarily with a sort of supergroup that she founded with Drangsal, Beatsteaks drummer Thomas Götz, Charlotte Brandi, and Julian Knoth from Die Nerven, and operates under the name die Benjamins.
Just joined as a guest is Pauline Murray. At sixteen, she dropped out of school, studied art at Darlington College, and then took on odd jobs. In May 1976, the 18-year-old Murray saw a performance by the Sex Pistols, after which she and her friends from Ferryhill became enthusiastic fans of the Pistols and earned the name "Durham Contingent" (NME). That same year, she founded the band Penetration with Robert Blamire and Gary Smallman, named after a Stooges song. Even with later incarnations like Pauline Murray and the Invisible Girls, Pauline Murray and the Storm, or Pauline Murray and the Saint, as well as as a solo artist, she has released several legendary albums. Her autobiography "Life's A Gamble" was published in 2024 by Omnibus Press.
The evenings are accompanied by projections from Archiv B Berlin, as well as an on-tour photo exhibition with motifs from the Hamburg punk documentary photographer Sabine Schwabroh. The author and journalist (and punk drummer) Ingo Scheel moderates.
Hosts: John Robb & Mark Reeder
Moderation German/English: Ingo Scheel
- Talk, Projections, Photo Exhibition
Guests:
Colin Newman (WIRE, IMMERSION)
Pauline Murray (PENETRATION)
Malka Spigel (MINIMAL COMPACT, IMMERSION)
Alexander Hacke (ex-EINSTÜRZENDE NEUBAUTEN)
Annette Benjamin (HANS-A-PLAST, DIE BENJAMINS)
Gudrun Gut (MANIA D, MALARIA)
Admission: 19:00 Uhr
Hallo, ich bin Maya.
