''Sniffin' Glue and Other Rock 'N' Roll Habits...'', widely known as simply ''Sniffin' Glue'', was a monthly
punk zine started by
Mark Perry in July 1976 and released for about a year. The name is derived from a
Ramones
The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United ...
song "
Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue."
Some of the zine's writers, such as
Danny Baker, later became well-known journalists.
Although initial issues only sold 50 copies, circulation soon increased to 15,000. The innovative appeal of ''Sniffin' Glue'' was its immediacy:
The early days of the punk movement largely failed to attract the attention of television or the mainstream press, and ''Sniffin' Glue'' was a key source of photographs of, and information about, contributors to the scene.
''
NME'' acclaimed ''Sniffin' Glue'' as "the nastiest, healthiest and funniest piece of press in the history of rock'n'roll habits" and it became a chronicle of the early days of British punk rock as well as pioneering the
DIY punk ethic.
For the final issue Mark's sidekick ''Sniffin' Glue'' photographer, business affairs and later band manager Harry Murlowski recorded "Love Lies Limp" released as a
flexi disc
The flexi disc (also known as a phonosheet, Sonosheet or Soundsheet, a trademark) is a phonograph record made of a thin, flexible vinyl sheet with a molded-in spiral stylus groove, and is designed to be playable on a normal phonograph turntabl ...
record - the first release from Mark Perry's band
Alternative TV.
Fearing absorption into the mainstream music press, Perry ceased publication in 1977. In the last issues he encouraged his readers to follow him with their own punk fanzines.
''Sniffin' Glue'' is often incorrectly credited as the source of the illustration featuring drawings of three
guitar chord
In music, a guitar chord is a set of notes played on a guitar. A chord's notes are often played simultaneously, but they can be played sequentially in an arpeggio. The implementation of guitar chords depends on the guitar tuning. Most guitars ...
shapes, captioned, "this is a chord, this is another, this is a third. Now form a band",
[ ] this drawing actually originally appeared in January 1977 in another fanzine ''Sideburns'' and was later reproduced in
The Stranglers
The Stranglers are an English rock band who emerged via the punk rock scene. Scoring 23 UK top 40 singles and 19 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are one of the longest-surviving bands to have origin ...
' fanzine ''Strangled''.
In 2000, Mark Perry published ''Sniffin' Glue: The Essential Punk Accessory'', which is a compilation of all the issues of the fanzine with some new material written by him.
''Sniffin' Glue'' is referenced in the song "Three Sevens Clash" by
The Alarm, a tribute to 1977, and a follow on from their previous punk tribute "45 RPM".
References
{{Reflist
External links
Sniffin' Glue history
Punk zines
Ramones
Publications established in 1976
1976 establishments in the United Kingdom
Music_magazines_published_in_the_United_Kingdom