Jon Savage

Born Jon Malcolm Sage (Paddington, London, 1953), Jon Savage is to the historiography of subcultures what E. P. Thompson was to that of the working class. Renowned in themes like British punk thanks to his unqualified bible on the phenomenon, England’s Dreaming (1991)—which was rescued in Spain by Reservoir Books/Penguin Random House—he has analysed the idea of adolescence audaciously and in a totally new way, seeking its roots in phenomena that preceded the Second World War and the invention of rock and roll. This he achieved with Teenage: The Creation of Youth (1875-1945), a tremendous work which was adapted for the screen by Matt Wolf. The Sex Pistols, the Hitler Youth and the French zazous therefore had their best chronicler in this British writer.

Forged by musical magazines like Sounds and, later, Melody Maker, Jon Savage, a regular columnist for The Guardian, has also written for West Coast cult fanzines like Bomp! and has worked on projects with other writers, among them Hanif Kureishi. Always alert to hurly-burly and its consequences, he explores the impact of 1966 on popular culture in his most recent work 1966: The Year the Decade Exploded.

Bio written by Miqui Otero, co-director of CCCB's Primera Persona festival