“The spirit of Punk was extraordinary. It marked me forever. As you look at these images, I hope you also get touched by its infectious freedom.”
From the late ‘70s through the early ‘90s, Michael Grecco documented the nightclub and concert scenes in New York and Boston as punk music roared into the U.S. Working as an Associated Press photographer and lensman for legendary rock station WBCN-FM, Grecco was a self-described “club kid” who had a unique opportunity to embed himself into the punk scene as both a chronicler and a participant. He captured for posterity a riotously outspoken time in pop culture history, with all its raw energy and outrageous antics.
These photographs had been dormant in Grecco’s flat files until his archivist suggested revisiting this previously unseen body of work. After they did a deep dive, their efforts led to Grecco’s book Punk, Post Punk, New Wave: Onstage, Backstage, In Your Face, 1978–1991 (Abrams Books, 2020), which introduced these images for the first time. Now they are the centerpiece of museum and gallery shows worldwide, and are available as limited edition prints.
