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This Is a Message to Persons Unknown is the first full history of the legendary band Poison Girls. From their first gigs in Brighton in 1977 to years of DIY tours across Britain and Europe, the band forged a radical path through music, politics, and art.
Fronted by the uncompromising Vi Subversa—a singular lyricist, songwriter, and voice—Poison Girls challenged punk’s Year Zero myth, weaving ferocity with wit, emotional depth, and inventive sound. Just as formative to anarcho-punk as Crass, yet defiantly their own, Poison Girls confronted misogyny, ageism, and authoritarianism with a passion and clarity that still resonates today.
Drawing on exclusive interviews, zines, contemporary accounts, and the personal archives of band members, this richly illustrated history documents Poison Girls’ unforgettable songs, striking graphics, and fierce campaigns of resistance.
More than just a band biography, This Is a Message to Persons Unknown tells the story of a group of dissident artists who turned punk into both a protest and a possibility—an experiment in living, creating, and fighting for something new.
Praise
"This Is a Message to Persons Unknown ensures Poison Girls will not be forgotten."
—Shawna Potter, front-person for War On Women and author of Making Spaces Safer
"Combining engaging prose, carefully curated photos and flyers, and interviews with band members alongside rare ephemera, this essential book illuminates Vi Subversa as the original punk parent and captures her band’s legacy as one that didn’t just play music; they lived a challenge to oppressive systems, inviting others to do the same."
—Jessica Mills, author of My Mother Wears Combat Boots
"I've been waiting for this book for a very long time, both as a fan and as an academic, and Richard Cross delivers magnificently. This is the serious and detailed attention that Poison Girls' expectation-defying story has always deserved."
—Hugh Hodges, author of The Fascist Groove Thing: A History of Thatcher's Britain in 21 Mixtapes
"Thoroughly researched, informative, and engrossing. This long overdue book sets Poison Girls in their place as one of the most creative, diverse, and original of the anarcho-punk bands."
—Dick Lucas, vocalist of Subhumans
"This compelling, well-designed book is a welcome undertaking, saturated with details and context, from avant-gardism to anarchism, as well as news clippings, buttons, DIY flyers, stencils, and amateur photographs. Just as the band challenged gender, age, and music codes, This Is a Message to Persons Unknown stimulates readers to think beyond bland punk "history" fare that often masks complexities and nuances. This narrative unveils their power and influence, but does so in a gripping prose that makes no one wonder why their first single on Crass Records sold 20,000 … in one week. Our reorientation is now complete.
—David Ensminger, author of Left of the Dial and Visual Vitriol
"The true poison in the machine, it's great to finally have their inspirational tale told."
—John Robb, author of Punk Rock: An Oral History
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