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"These people who were writing these stories and taking these pictures, it really was first draft of history stuff. They didn't have the foggiest idea that people would still be talking about graffiti, and break dancing, and hip-hop almost 50 years later... It's just people speaking about what they're seeing in front of them." Andy Crysell is editor of @nowayback.co, the magazine that looks back at music and subcultures from decades ago, via the music press of their contemporary moment. In the new episode of the Stack podcast we speak about the importance of avoiding nostalgia, and the massive potential for learning from the past in music and beyond. You can watch the whole video on the Stack site now, or just search for "Stack Magazines" wherever you get your podcasts.

In London, at the excellent @magculture store on May 28.

I’ll be talking about the making of No Way Back (@nowayback.co) and the thinking behind the strapline: Learning From, Not Longing For, The Past.

Specifically: not cosy nostalgia, but backstories that reveal through-lines to what could emerge next; pushing back against ‘platform amnesia’ - digital feeds that strip culture of lineage and context; recognising breakthrough moments in independent creativity that formal institutions often ignore; and how, unless championed, ideas originating in marginalised or minoritised communities are frequently absorbed and credited elsewhere.

Picking up on these themes - and bringing a cross-generational perspective - Campaign award-winner, trends forecaster and senior strategist at @seenstudios_, the very brilliant Gursharan Panesar, will be joining us.

If you’d like to come along (6.30pm start), please do sign up! Link in bio

Making actual things means you can point at them. In this case, at the @magculture pop-up at @theofficialselfridges. If you can’t get there to buy No Way Back, you can always buy direct from us (link in bio) @nowayback.co

Another chance for me to wave freshly printed publications in the air, as No Way Back is, in fact, back

Full of defining moments in house, disco, jungle, hip-hop, no-wave, style, media and design, NWB002 again has us resurfacing brilliant music and subculture journalism and photography - this time with a lens on 1977 to 1997, including material from Village Voice, Collusion, The Face, i-D and Mixmag.

We believe this stuff deserves visibility not just for reasons of nostalgia. The narratives herein offer through-lines to where independent creativity can go next. And as beguiling as the aesthetics of the past can be, it’s about more than that - the systems, infrastructure, environments and collaborative ways of working.

These first drafts of history, before any revisionism takes hold, also tend to ensure the creativity of those from marginalised communities is recognised. As music and scenes get commoditised, their role is often pushed aside. Formal institutions don’t typically see value in preserving these stories, so the job is left to others.

And another thing: we hear lots about how platforms and algorithms flatten, hollow out and throw everything at us at once. Good print media can re-establish sequence and context. Subculture happens in an order and for reasons (political, social, environmental, etc). Projects like this make that easier to see.

Oh, and beyond the serious talk, if you want some other solid reasons to buy No Way Back: it’s just very nice to pick up and flick through. And you really cannot beat the smell of ink on paper.

More to follow soon about the stories in NWB002 and where in the world you can buy a copy. Meantime, you can definitely buy a copy direct from us (via link in bio)

Shout outs to No Way Back co-founder @mark_maddox, and our superb design duo @dmcgh and @b.a.m.stagram. Also to the incredible writers and photographers whose work appears in the issue (we’re merely the curators).

Thanks also to those who pre-ordered a copy. That early support is hugely appreciated. It’s lovely to get to make real things that nice people really care about.

NWB002 | learning from, not longing for, the past

(link to purchase in bio)

Another chance for me to wave freshly printed publications in the air, as No Way Back is, in fact, back

Full of defining moments in house, disco, jungle, hip-hop, no-wave, style, media and design, NWB002 again has us resurfacing brilliant music and subculture journalism and photography - this time with a lens on 1977 to 1997, including material from Village Voice, Collusion, The Face, i-D and Mixmag.

We believe this stuff deserves visibility not just for reasons of nostalgia. The narratives herein offer through-lines to where independent creativity can go next. And as beguiling as the aesthetics of the past can be, it’s about more than that - the systems, infrastructure, environments and collaborative ways of working.

These first drafts of history, before any revisionism takes hold, also tend to ensure the creativity of those from marginalised communities is recognised. As music and scenes get commoditised, their role is often pushed aside. Formal institutions don’t typically see value in preserving these stories, so the job is left to others.

And another thing: we hear lots about how platforms and algorithms flatten, hollow out and throw everything at us at once. Good print media can re-establish sequence and context. Subculture happens in an order and for reasons (political, social, environmental, etc). Projects like this make that easier to see.

Oh, and beyond the serious talk, if you want some other solid reasons to buy No Way Back: it’s just very nice to pick up and flick through. And you really cannot beat the smell of ink on paper.

More to follow soon about the stories in NWB002 and where in the world you can buy a copy. Meantime, you can definitely buy a copy direct from us (via link in bio)

Shout outs to No Way Back co-founder @mark_maddox, and our superb design duo @dmcgh and @b.a.m.stagram. Also to the incredible writers and photographers whose work appears in the issue (we’re merely the curators).

Thanks also to those who pre-ordered a copy. That early support is hugely appreciated. It’s lovely to get to make real things that nice people really care about.

NWB002 | learning from, not longing for, the past

(link to purchase in bio)

Another chance for me to wave freshly printed publications in the air, as No Way Back is, in fact, back

Full of defining moments in house, disco, jungle, hip-hop, no-wave, style, media and design, NWB002 again has us resurfacing brilliant music and subculture journalism and photography - this time with a lens on 1977 to 1997, including material from Village Voice, Collusion, The Face, i-D and Mixmag.

We believe this stuff deserves visibility not just for reasons of nostalgia. The narratives herein offer through-lines to where independent creativity can go next. And as beguiling as the aesthetics of the past can be, it’s about more than that - the systems, infrastructure, environments and collaborative ways of working.

These first drafts of history, before any revisionism takes hold, also tend to ensure the creativity of those from marginalised communities is recognised. As music and scenes get commoditised, their role is often pushed aside. Formal institutions don’t typically see value in preserving these stories, so the job is left to others.

And another thing: we hear lots about how platforms and algorithms flatten, hollow out and throw everything at us at once. Good print media can re-establish sequence and context. Subculture happens in an order and for reasons (political, social, environmental, etc). Projects like this make that easier to see.

Oh, and beyond the serious talk, if you want some other solid reasons to buy No Way Back: it’s just very nice to pick up and flick through. And you really cannot beat the smell of ink on paper.

More to follow soon about the stories in NWB002 and where in the world you can buy a copy. Meantime, you can definitely buy a copy direct from us (via link in bio)

Shout outs to No Way Back co-founder @mark_maddox, and our superb design duo @dmcgh and @b.a.m.stagram. Also to the incredible writers and photographers whose work appears in the issue (we’re merely the curators).

Thanks also to those who pre-ordered a copy. That early support is hugely appreciated. It’s lovely to get to make real things that nice people really care about.

NWB002 | learning from, not longing for, the past

(link to purchase in bio)

Happy birthday to my book.

Selling The Night - my exploration of what happens when club culture meets brands, advertising and the creative industries - came out a year ago.

As much as this is quite obviously a bare-faced plug, it’s also a reflection on what a joy it was to write. And maybe even more so, to then get to talk about in different settings in different cities; the countless conversations had and connections made.

So much has already changed in the music ecosystem since I wrote Selling The Night, not least in how subculture does/doesn’t get funded. But for all of the general doom and gloom around how independent creativity can operate in these times of platforms and extraction, the pockets of resistance seem ever-stronger, more clued up - and where there’s knowledge there’s hopefully a way.

More book projects to show off soon. Meantime, back to the pluggy bit, you can get a copy of STN via @velocitypress (link in bio) and thanks loads to those who’ve bought a copy already!

Happy birthday to my book.

Selling The Night - my exploration of what happens when club culture meets brands, advertising and the creative industries - came out a year ago.

As much as this is quite obviously a bare-faced plug, it’s also a reflection on what a joy it was to write. And maybe even more so, to then get to talk about in different settings in different cities; the countless conversations had and connections made.

So much has already changed in the music ecosystem since I wrote Selling The Night, not least in how subculture does/doesn’t get funded. But for all of the general doom and gloom around how independent creativity can operate in these times of platforms and extraction, the pockets of resistance seem ever-stronger, more clued up - and where there’s knowledge there’s hopefully a way.

More book projects to show off soon. Meantime, back to the pluggy bit, you can get a copy of STN via @velocitypress (link in bio) and thanks loads to those who’ve bought a copy already!

Happy birthday to my book.

Selling The Night - my exploration of what happens when club culture meets brands, advertising and the creative industries - came out a year ago.

As much as this is quite obviously a bare-faced plug, it’s also a reflection on what a joy it was to write. And maybe even more so, to then get to talk about in different settings in different cities; the countless conversations had and connections made.

So much has already changed in the music ecosystem since I wrote Selling The Night, not least in how subculture does/doesn’t get funded. But for all of the general doom and gloom around how independent creativity can operate in these times of platforms and extraction, the pockets of resistance seem ever-stronger, more clued up - and where there’s knowledge there’s hopefully a way.

More book projects to show off soon. Meantime, back to the pluggy bit, you can get a copy of STN via @velocitypress (link in bio) and thanks loads to those who’ve bought a copy already!

Happy birthday to my book.

Selling The Night - my exploration of what happens when club culture meets brands, advertising and the creative industries - came out a year ago.

As much as this is quite obviously a bare-faced plug, it’s also a reflection on what a joy it was to write. And maybe even more so, to then get to talk about in different settings in different cities; the countless conversations had and connections made.

So much has already changed in the music ecosystem since I wrote Selling The Night, not least in how subculture does/doesn’t get funded. But for all of the general doom and gloom around how independent creativity can operate in these times of platforms and extraction, the pockets of resistance seem ever-stronger, more clued up - and where there’s knowledge there’s hopefully a way.

More book projects to show off soon. Meantime, back to the pluggy bit, you can get a copy of STN via @velocitypress (link in bio) and thanks loads to those who’ve bought a copy already!

Early Doors no2 - Andy Crysell. Early Doors, is a new content section on the BOP website where we try to capture the stories of people whose nights & days in The Acid House helped shape things their way. Andy Crysell has spent three decades connecting underground, nighttime culture with the wider, daytime world. First as a journalist for the likes of DJ, Muzik, NME and The Face, then with his own hugely successful creative and insight agencies, and more recently with his book Selling The Night, an eye-opening history of how every industry from tourism to gaming has co-opted club culture.

More recently, he’s also produced two volumes of No Way Back, compendiums of lost subculture writing from style magazines and the music press.

LINK HERE:

https://www.boysownproductions.com/early-doors/2026/2/9/andy-crysell-AjUR2

Gearing up for the launch of No Way Back 002, with a few ready-for-print spreads to share.

We’ll have more info on outlets soon. As well as the very fine book and magazine stores we showed up in last time, thanks to working with Amsterdam’s Rush Hour and its global distribution network, we’ll also be featuring in many excellent record shops around the world.

Of course, you can also buy a copy direct through us: nowayback.co (link in bio).

@nowayback.co

Much thanks to all who've pre-ordered a copy of No Way Back 002.

Here's a last and final shout-out for the pre-sale. If you purchase before the end of Feb 28, we’ll add your name - with much gratitude - to the publication’s early supporters page.

NWB002 goes on general sale late March.

Inside you'll find:

- Behind The Groove - the epic 1983 feature by Steven Harvey in David Toop's Collusion magazine, charting the NYC disco underground

- Photographer Steve Eichner documenting the club kids scene at The Limelight, Palladium, Tunnel and Club USA

- Year zero reporting as The Face's Sheryl Garratt visits Chicago in 1986, witnessing the emergent house sound

- The Mudd Club - 'disco for punks' as Rolling Stone put it; the Lower East Side party which arguably spawned a thousand indie discos

- In the 'socialist city' of Sheffield, meanwhile, Jon Savage heads for a night of sharp clothes and even sharper moves at Jive Turkey

- Paul Morley writing in Time Out in 1988 on the tension materialising between glossy style mags and the monochrome music press

- The House That Rap Built - Village Voice celebrates the short but sweet glory years of hip-house

- Mixmag in 1992, with Frank Broughton on the 'return of sex' to clubs like Roxy and the Sound Factory

- Images and commentary from Eddie Otchere, rewinding to jungle's halcyon days

- Kodwo Eshun reporting on jungle's full-throttle ascent for i-D in 1994

+ Editor’s notes, supporting commentary, playlists, and covers, spreads and imagery from original titles

NWB002 | Learning from, not longing for, the past

nowayback.co (purchase link in bio)

For the September '86 issue of The Face, Sheryl Garratt took a flight to Chicago. Which could only mean one thing: house music all night long.

The feature that followed makes for a compelling read. An intimate, on-the-ground portrait of house music early in its emergence: a scene, a sound and a group of artists still forming their identity, even as international attention and industry deal-making move in on them.

Among the roll-call of DJs, producers, singers and local impresarios Sheryl spends time with, there’s Ron Hardy, Marshall Jefferson, Farley ‘Jackmaster’ Funk, Chip E, the Hot Mix 5 DJs and Frankie Knuckles.

Particularly vivid is the account of checking Ron Hardy’s Muzic Box club - a stripped-back, under-the-tracks venue on Lower Michigan Avenue - heading there with Knuckles just before daybreak.

Sheryl, later editor of The Face during one of its most successful periods in the 1990s, writes: ’People stumble out of the main room dripping with sweat to drink the water provided in a tea urn, the only liquid available in the venue. Open the door and it’s like stepping into a furnace: 5am on a Thursday morning, and the place is still full of bodies jacking up and down, hands in the air, and all at a pace that makes the pogo seem like a slow waltz. “House fever!” declares a flyer on the wall. “It’s for real - let’s see the animal in U! ” Others remind people of special Sunday night holiday events: “No school on Monday!”’

‘Ron mixes “Go Bang” by Dinosaur L into a treated tape of Aretha singing “Respect”, then Willie Colon and Denise Lasalle acapella leads - unbelievably - into Sade singing “Maureen” without the advanced aerobics on the dancefloor ever slackening. Just over an hour after it was finished, Frankie’s mix of “You Can’t Hide (From Yourself)” is on the reel-to-reel making its club debut, and the crowd like it well enough. The excitement in the air is as palpable as the heat.

‘Frankie smiles. “So now you know about House.”’

This article is among many fantastic pieces in No Way Back 002. If you pre-order (link in bio) a copy before the end of Feb, we’ll add your name, with gratitude, to the publication’s early supporters page.

@nowayback.co