Writer Natasha Scharf has released a new book titled ‘Worldwide Gothic: A Chronicle Of A Tribe’. This is the first book to look at the impact of the goth scene worldwide from its origins right through to the present day. From the UK’s sprawling post-punk scene to Japan’s visual Kei movement, not forgetting the USA’s deathrock explosion and Germany’s extremely popular Schwarze Szene, ‘Worldwide Gothic’ explores how they all came about and the influence they’ve had on contemporary music and fashion.
Spat out of punk at the tail end of the 1970s, goth became a major subculture in the UK with bands like Siouxsie And The Banshees and The Sisters Of Mercy scoring Top Ten hits and its fashion inspiring catwalk collections. After the scene died down in the early 1990s, it spread out to Europe where it attracted hundreds of thousands of followers and became assimilated with other musical genres. In the US, it has been married with the industrial metal of bands like Marilyn Manson and Nine Inch Nails which has revived it for a whole new generation. Elsewhere Japan’s look has become an international fashion trend among teenagers. This book also looks at how goth is now returning to its roots now with the emergence of dark rock and indie bands who pay homage to gothic greats like Bauhaus and Joy Division.
The Author:
Natasha Scharf is a music journalist who specialises in alternative and gothic music. She was the editor of underground gothic publication Meltdown and has subsequently written for Metal Hammer, Prog, Classic Rock and Terrorizer magazines. She co-produced a documentary on the goth scene for BBC Radio 1 called ‘Beyond The Pale’ and has been interviewed about the scene many times in the media, including on Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour. She frequently DJs at gothic events across the globe. This is the first book to explore the goth scene across the globe and features exclusive new interviews from the scene’s key players. It’s also the very first English-language book to look at the origins of numerous international off-shoots of the original goth scene.
The full colour paperback book is 144 pages and costs £12.99.
It’s available for pre-order now via Amazon.
