Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Preview
  • England's Dreaming

  • The Sex Pistols and Punk Rock
  • By: Jon Savage
  • Narrated by: Chris MacDonnell
  • Length: 21 hrs and 51 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (98 ratings)

£0.00 for first 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

England's Dreaming

By: Jon Savage
Narrated by: Chris MacDonnell
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £17.99

Buy Now for £17.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Summary

England's Dreaming is the ultimate book on punk, its progenitors, the Sex Pistols, and the moment they defined for music fans in England and the United States. Savage brings to life the sensational story of the meteoric rise and rapid implosion of the Pistols through layers of rich detail and exclusive interviews. This fully revised and updated edition of the book covers the legacy of punk 25 years later and provides an account of the Pistols' 1996 reunion as well as a completely new introduction.

©1991 Jon Savage (P)2021 Tantor
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

Ever Fallen in Love cover art
1966 cover art
A Riot of Our Own cover art
Clean Living Under Difficult Circumstances cover art
Led Zeppelin cover art
I Wanna Be Yours cover art
Good Pop, Bad Pop cover art
Before We Was We cover art
Exit Stage Left cover art
Too Late to Stop Now cover art
Echoes cover art
That Close cover art
How to Be a Rock Star cover art
Vivienne Westwood cover art
Record Play Pause cover art
Art Sex Music cover art

What listeners say about England's Dreaming

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    74
  • 4 Stars
    18
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    60
  • 4 Stars
    15
  • 3 Stars
    8
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    3
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    64
  • 4 Stars
    16
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant

Savage has totally nailed Punk with this exceptional meisterwerk. The veritable Punk bible! No need to read/listen to anything else, Womdrous!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent book

I loved this book and am bereft now I have finished it! Very informative and in depth.
I tend to listen on 1.25 speed, and found the narration robotic at times, but this could have been the faster speed.
Highly recommend if you are interested in this story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Waited for this book for so long…

This has been on my wishlist of books that get an audio production for years. The story of the Pistols and the UK punk scene is vividly and vibrantly told in Savage’s prose. Unfortunately, the narration doesn’t match that vibrancy and overall this fascinating tale is slightly flattened. A missed opportunity.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The whole story...

Very detailed story of an iconic, if short lived punk group. Loved hearing about the roots of the Punk movement and its subsequent self destruction.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

insightful

from someone who was in their early teens when the punk revolt started and who benefited from a I want to do it my way attitude ( as a girl) . I enjoyed this audio as it helps to put and fathom a lot of the cultural and political out pouring amongst us, the young at the time. it also answers why America was seen as the birth place of punk for which I couldn't fathom - but, I guess, it was in the attitude and still remains..... this is a surprisingly good book and listen.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

If you want to know anything about punk, read this first

England’s Dreaming is a rarity in music journalism; it’s a book that focuses on the facts and the music, not on the personal life of the author. You won’t find a more compelling, informed history of the Sex Pistols, or a clearer history of the birth of punk.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

All the filth and fury

Great read for people interested in the Pistols and British punk in general, in depth and informative, highly recommended.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great history of start of UK punk

really enjoyed this in depth history of the environmental factors around the start of punk, the influence of McCartney and Westwood and the struggles between the band, the press and record companies. fascinating

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant book but poor narrator choice.

Incredibly well constructed, intelligently written, well researched and very well informed.
This is let down however by a bad choice of narrator who sounds pompous and middle aged in contrast to the book’s themes of youth and anarchy. He also unfortunately constantly mispronounces words and names.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great book

If you’re interested in pop culture, politics, British social history or any combination of the three then you’ll enjoy this book. And certainly at the time that I read it, it’s inexplicably free if you’re an Audible member. A really engaging listen.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!