Welcome back to our Document of the Month feature, showcasing some of the awesome documents in our collections. Apologies for not having a November document, but to make up for it, we finish with a particularly nice one...
(1979-84: 6 issues)
KYPP was amongst the first really influential anarcho-punk fanzines in our collection. It was the confrontational brain-child of Tony Drayton (‘Tony D’, who wrote Ripped and Torn fanzine, 1976-1979), and was produced by an eclectic, Situationist-influenced collective which still exists. Nothing to do with advocating the mistreatment of animals, it was a suggestion that the commercialisation and mainstreaming of punk meant that it was still necessary for punks to shake off passivity and challenge basic assumptions, starting with how we are not just born children but continually infantilised throughout our lives; hence, kill it!
The first issue was done for an Adam and the Ants New Year’s Eve gig (December 1979) and all 500 copies were snapped up and more had to be printed. As well as its political approach to music, KYPP was remarkable for its colourful cover. So what has the Nest got here? At face value it’s the first issue, but it doesn’t look as though it’s ever been anywhere near an Ants gig, and is pristine. Was there a commemorative anniversary reissue at some point? Now we have it posted here we will contact the amazing KYPP website (established in 2007, and with links to many happy memories), and ask them.