I bought and devoured the "Pink Flag" 33 1/3 book at the weekend, having felt slightly guilty at having already read half of it while browsing in the bookshop, and was pleasantly surprised. There is a nice balance of interview, analysis, and revelation, and it generously went beyond its boundaries to cover the establishment of the group and some of the aftermath. I could have done without some of the gushing from the alt.rock superstars.

I don't think I'll ever totally know "Pink Flag" (the album) because I don't understand the cultural conditions that prevailed in 1976-1977 (I was only 10) and can't comprehend the need to rebel against the prevailing music scene. Somehow (John Peel?) I was brainwashed into thinking punk was the year-zero lightning strike from which everything subsequent evolved, which of course is not true. For Wire, though, it just might be the case that the work done in spring-summer 1977 set them off so strongly in certain directions that it took until 2000 for them to take stock of it all.

I was lucky enough to find "Everybody Loves A History" just after I found Wire and it copiously informed my understanding of the music and the group's history, and led to a lot of purchases. It's hard to imagine a more comprehensive history being written, although I'd love to hear detailed discussion from Mike Thorne, and good luck to anyone who tries to better it.

Peter