Take It To The Limit - 10th anniversary edition

The book is already receiving five star reviews in the national press: 

Eugene Butcher, editor of Vive Le Rock magazine, said: "We hear plenty about the rise of punk in London and the venues that nurtured the scene. 'Take It To The Limit' is a unique view from the regions - from Sheffield, the northern city that was set in its ways and didn't take kindly to the new movement. The Limit provided a safe haven for punks with Siouxsie and the Banshees being the first major band to play. From fights to out of control egos, the story of the venue that went on to nurture the city's  electro-explosion of the early '80s is fascinating and essential read."

Michael Glover, arts critic for The Independent, said: “This book is an absolute roller coaster ride through the late seventies punk scene and Sheffield’s synth domination that followed.”

Shane Baldwin, Record Collector magazine, said: “‘Take It to The Limit has to be congratulated for carefully avoiding a rose-tinted brand of revisionism. This tightly-packed book conveys the affection that so many still hold for this Sheffield club of national standing through the author’s own memories and interviews with staff, band members, journalists and punters.”

About the book:  

It’s now over a decade since ‘Take It To The Limit’ - which was originally launched by Glen Matlock of the Sex Pistols - was released and the legacy of the venue continues to grow.

Opened in 1978, the Limit originally provided a  safe haven for the burgeoning  punk movement that was already into its second year..

The West Street venue’s early months cemented its status as a cutting-edge live music venue with Siouxsie and the Banshees playing the opening week; the B-52’s making their UK debut at the club and everyone from the Specials to the Undertones performing seminal shows.

But the Limit’s influence was probably strongest felt by the local acts it helped nurture and the electro-scene that exploded out of the city in the early 1980s.

Human League, Cabaret Voltaire, Clock DVA, Vice Versa (later to become ABC), Def Leppard, Artery and others all played seminal shows at the venue.

Within a couple of years of opening the Limit was turning its focus to clubnights; it went on to become a regional goth-epic-centre and was pioneering the rave scene when it shut for the last time.

The Limit was a subterranean mecca for the region’s misfits, miscreants and more and this is its story.