Caledonia Screaming

Longlisted for The Saltires Book Awards Non-Fiction Book of the Year 2026. Scotland appeared to embrace punk early. The Ramones' debut album reached Glasgow within days of its mid 1976 release, provoking alarmist headlines that only deepened local enthusiasm. Soon after, the Stranglers and the Sex Pistols played: punk seemed to have arrived. That momentum was abruptly halted however. Following the Sex Pistols' Anarchy Tour in December 1976, Scotland effectively imposed a near-total ban on anything "punk", driven by moral panic. While punk flourished elsewhere, Scotland's scene appeared strangled - or so the story goes. In reality, 1977 was far from a lost year. Hundreds of bands formed across towns and suburbs, working entirely DIY: organising secret gigs, producing fanzines, recording cassettes and developing sounds that anticipated post-punk and indie. Drawing on 200 interviews, Caledonia Screaming reveals this last untold chapter of punk's year zero.