Let’s take a deep dive into the ‘Collected Works’ of celebrated music journo, feminist, roots radic and professor of punk

First , let me say this, in the world of music journalism Vivien Goldman is a one-off. I myself entered the world of music journalism, as a cub reporter / scribbler, not long after Vivien made her debut in print. In the mid Seventies she was working for Island records and liaising with Bob Marley and The Wailers amongst others. Her writings initially entered our musical consciousness via Sounds – a music weekly launched in 1970 to rival the Melody Maker and NME. With Alan Lewis as editor, Sounds was quick of the mark with punk rock and Vivien locked down the role of features editor. However as one scans the credits for the excellent pieces chosen to represent her work in this book – ‘Rebel Musix: Scribe on the vibe’ – she clearly emerged as an in-demand journalistic gun for hire. Vivien was getting commissions from both the NME and the Melody Maker. That in itself was unique, as partisanship was serious when it came down to rivalry between the music papers. Vivien was – and still is – the original hot steppa. Her energy fuelled writings transport us back in time and are consistently illuminating and positively refreshing.

I got to know Vivien during that culturally volatile time. Our tastes in music definitely coincide. We both wrote for the NME when the paper was edited by Neil Spencer. It’s worth saying that the weekly circulation of the NME peaked under his guidance at 230,000 – we need to reflect on that!! The dots were being joined. Punk rock, Rock Against Racism, reggae, NYC new wave, P Funk, Go Go, hip hop, “world music”…. it was a radical time.

The first section of the book – The Sound Before The Storm – has our scribe engaging in conversations with icons like Eno, Robert Wyatt and Can before heading off to an all-nighter Wigan Casino – a classic encounter. She rounds it all off with a reflective piece on the futuristic funkateer Betty Davis, whose influence on the ‘Dark Prince’ is well documented and whose ‘Nasty Gal’ LP Vivien promoted while working for Island.

You can dip into this book or follow the editorial flow. It’s up to you. I definitely remember reading many of these pieces at the time. Vivien was always on it. As you read them you feel l like you are in the room. She’s a persistent, strong presence. She’s direct, she’s always got something to say and is not afraid to push the boundaries with whoever she’s talking to. She’s proud of her Jewish roots and she’s smart. Let’s face it there were very few women music journos at that time. There were pioneers like Val Wilmer, there was Caroline Coon. Cynthia Rose, Sheryl Garrett, Julie Burchill … but Vivien Goldman was culturally, the most expansive and a quick glance over the list of those interviewed in this book gives us a genuine sweep over the times: 1975 – 2024

Vivien was Grove-ite and a regulat at Weasel’s shebeen. Her flat often felt like the epicentre of punk. She was close to John Lydon, the Clash… Don Letts and Aswad… but it’s in Chapter 3: The Original She-Punk Sisterhood that she burns brightest. This is her posse – Neneh Cherry, Chrissie Hynde, The Raincoats, The Slits – I loved that piece. Viv and Ari Up in NYC. Magic.

As a reader, you are drawn to her orbit. She is mostly at one with those she writes about – except maybe Peter Tosh. Now there’s a classic ideological / Biblical clash, and there’s no way she gonna let the stepping razor off the hook. Similarly with Bob Marley, they were friends, good friends, but she is still game for a good reasoning. Other good friends leap off the pages of this book… Grace Jones, August Darnell, Ornette Coleman. A serious trio… n’est-ce pas?

Hip Hop is represented by Chuck D and Hank Shocklee being interviewed in the shadow of Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing and Rodney King’s murder. Of course, Fela is is the mix, both at the Shrine and following a concert in Brixton, at the Country Club in Hampstead where his spiritual brother and sorcerer, Professor Hindi, cuts a man’s throat and then buries him in the cold January ground only for him to be “resurrected” the following night. True story.

Vivien has since spent decades living between New York City and Jamaica, with the occasional visit to London town. This is the cultural axis around which this collection is built. She is a documentarian and adjunct professor of punk and reggae at NYU and an adjunct professor of musical cultures and industry at Rutgers University. She continues to write songs and make music. In the late Seventies she was part of the Paris based duo Chantage with Eve Blouin and her ‘Dirty Washing’ EP (1981) has quietly fuelled her enduring cult status. 2024 saw her release an album of self penned songs – ‘Next Is Now’ – which was produced by the acclaimed producer and her long time friend, Youth. Her book, Revenge Of the She-Punks (2019), introduced her to a new generation of young women pursuing their own paths in today’s rapidly changing musical world and this most recent volume , Rebel Musix: Scribe on the Vibe is a valuable addition to that. A thoroughly entertaining and genuinely inspiring offering. It offers a taste, a glimpse into a window of time when writers like Vivien were given the freedom to pen a few thousand words to illuminate the music and thought processes of those who were boldly shaping a fresh, new culture.

Basically, Rebel Musix: Scribe on the Vibe deserves a place on your bookshelf, at your bedside or on your iphone. Dive into the words. Dig out the music and play it. Enjoy!