John Robb is a many-faceted creature.

Not just a well known face from TV but also a best selling author, musician, journalist, Louder Than War music website boss, Louder Than Words and Louder Than War Live festivals boss, Eco champion, vegan behemoth and punk rock warlord as well as TV and radio talking head plus singer from post-punk critically acclaimed mainstays The Membranes.

John Robb is all these things and more and his upcoming 2026 memoirs will cover all of this and his adventures in punk and post punk and much more in book form and is also getting made into a film.

His recently released books ‘Live Forever – the Rise, Fall and Resurrection of Oasis’ and  ‘The Art Of Darkness – the History Of Goth’ are both acclaimed worldwide pop culture best sellers joining his ‘The Stone Roses and the Resurrection of British Pop’  and his 2022 book with the leading maverick green energy boss Dale Vince from Ecotricity called ‘Manifesto’  at the top of the book charts.

He is currently working on the ground-breaking Green Britain Academy education scheme and a zero carbon clothing line called ‘Dark Forest’ in his downtime between spoken word tours of the UK and Europe.

John Robb grew up in Blackpool (who have now made him an ambassador for the town) before punk rock came along and saved his life. In the post-punk era he formed the Membranes – the highly influential post-punk band whose current critically eulogised albums keep pushing forward with added choirs and textures.

He was one of the leading post-punk fanzine writers in the UK with ‘Rox’ before he went on to write for the rock press with Sounds in the 80s. He was the first person to interview Nirvana and coined the expression Britpop and was instrumental in documenting the Madchester scene with his writing. His website louderthanwar.com is currently one of the top 3 most read music and culture sites in the UK and at the front of diverse modern culture and saw him nearly release the Fontaines DC first single and give Charli XCX her first review amongst other many firsts. 

Special Guest:

Pauline Murray made an indelible mark on the early punk scene with her band Penetration. “Don’t Dictate”, released in 1977 is recognised as a punk classic from the era. Penetration were an exciting live band and released two acclaimed albums, “Moving Targets” and “Coming Up For Air” before disbanding in 1979.

Pauline went on to record the proto dream pop album “Pauline Murray and the Invisible Girls” with the now legendary producer Martin Hannett.

Disillusioned with the music business, she disappeared and surfaced briefly with the solo album “Storm Clouds” before setting up Polestar Studios in Newcastle Upon Tyne.

In 2001, Penetration re-formed with original bass player Robert Blamire and new members. They released the album “Resolution” in 2015 and proved that they still held the essence of the band and could produce great live shows with Pauline’s distinctive voice, powerful and present.

Always keen to stretch her abilities, Pauline began performing intimate solo acoustic shows, the songs from which, formed the basis of her “Elemental” album, released in 2020. In 2023 she released her autobiography “Life’s A Gamble” which gives detailed insights into her life and work.