Crass was the anarcho-punk face of a revolutionary movement founded by radical thinkers Penny Rimbaud and Steve Ignorant.
When punk ruled the waves, Crass waived the rules and took it further, putting out their own records, films and magazines and setting up a series of situationist pranks that were dutifully covered by the world's press. Not just another iconoclastic band, Crass was a musical, social and political phenomenon.
Commune-dwellers who were rarely photographed and remained contemptuous of conventional pop stardom, their members exhausted the possibilities of punk-led anarchy. They have at last collaborated on telling the whole Crass story, giving access to many never-before seen photos and interviews.
The author has written for Sounds, Melody Maker and Amnesty International amongst others. His previous book was a biography of the Levellers: State Education/No University.