80s | Huck
Huck

80s

Black and white close-up of a shirtless man lying down, city skyline visible behind him, other figures partially visible nearby.

Cruising on the West Side Piers, New York’s wild side

West Side Highway — In the late 20th century, the area was an if-you-know-you-know hotspot for the city’s gay scene. William Howell’s new photobook immortalises it.

  • Culture
  • Miss Rosen
© Melonie Bennett

A chaotic portrait of an ’80s American farming family

Holy Cow! — Melonie Bennett grew up on a farm in Maine in the ’80s, and documented her family’s idiosyncratic daily life. She presents those humorous, everyday memories in a new exhibition and photobook.

  • Culture
  • Miss Rosen
© DB Burkeman

Lost photos from the heyday of punk and new wave

Crash Bang — DB Burkeman’s latest photobook unearths photographs from his younger years as an aspiring music photographer, which sat undeveloped in his family home for decades.

  • Music
  • Miss Rosen
Boys with bonfire
Tish Murtha © Ella Murtha

Tish Murtha’s searing documentation of broken Britain

Vandalism on a Grand Scale — Capturing youth unemployment and poverty in north-east England during the ’80s, the photographer never lived to see her work published. A new photobook by British Culture Archive brings her eye-opening work to light.

  • Activism
  • Miss Rosen

On the frontlines of Britain’s ’80s protest movements

Protest and Equality — Against a backdrop of Thatcherism, hospital closures and global conflict, photographer Sarah Saunders was a documentarian of the long decade’s effects on society, as well as the communities actively resisting it.

  • Activism
  • Miss Rosen
© Wig Worland

In photos: The gritty golden age of the UK’s skateboarding scene

Elsewhere — A new book from Science Vs. Life founder Neil Macdonald explores the characters, photographs and ephemera that defined the sport in the ’80s and ’90s, just before the internet and commercialisation changed it forever.

  • Sport
  • Isaac Muk
Black and white image of motorcyclists gathered near stone archway, wearing helmets and leather gear, with spectators and bare trees in background.

“Blokes, birds & Bonnevilles”: Inside the ’80s revival of bikers & rockers

Rockers Reunion Club — Decades after their mid-century heyday, leather clad, guitar loving motorbike riders saw a renaissance in London. Photographer Phil Polglaze’s new photobook revisits its blaring, revving parties and rides.

  • Music
  • Miss Rosen
Young Black man in white shirt sits beside older white-haired man in dark jacket against warm reddish-brown background.
© Richard Schulman

Who was the real Jean-Michel Basquiat?

The Making of an Icon — A new book by art world insider Doug Woodham aims to illuminate the near-mythical artist’s life, via the friends, family and collaborators who knew him best.

  • Culture
  • Miss Rosen
Black and white image showing person sitting on concrete pier with city skyline and bridge in background across water.
© Martha Cooper

I Hear Music in the Streets: How New York emerged as a global beacon of culture

From subways to the sky — Seeing the emergence of disco, hip-hop and much more, the city’s streets, rooftops and blocks were incubators of experimentation and parties in the ’70s and ’80s. A new book brings together the work of over 50 photographers who captured its grassroots, underground heyday.

  • Music
  • Miss Rosen
Woman on racing motorcycle with number 4, pit area with mechanics working on bike numbered 190, vintage racing scene.

Races, revving and revelry: 20 years of US motorcycling in photos

American Motorcycling Culture — Photographer Jack Lueders-Booth has had a lifetime obsession with two wheelers, and the wider culture surrounding them. His new photobook explores his archive between 1980 and 2000, taken at road meets, track races and more.

  • Sport
  • Isaac Muk
Black and white image showing police officers carrying a person on a street with crowd and shops in background.

Resilience and resistance during The Thatcher Years

The iron reign — Photojournalist Paul Pickard’s new book revisits English Midlands life during ’80s, when he was on the frontlines recording news and key events, as tensions between people and authority came to a head.

  • Activism
  • Miss Rosen
Black and white image of woman standing behind counter in shop with shelves of bottles, jars, and products arranged on wall behind her.

Remembering Fietas, Johannesburg’s vibrant neighbourhood ripped by Apartheid

Fragments of Fietas — In the ’70s, South African authorities forcibly removed non-white people from the western suburb, now known as Pageview. Enraged, photographer David Goldblatt documented its erasure.

  • Activism
  • Miss Rosen

Huck is supported by our readers, subscribers and Club Huck+ members. It is also made possible by sponsorship from:
Black and white O'Neill logo in a bold, stylised font against a black background.
You've read articles this month Thanks for reading

Join Club Huck — it's free!

Valued Huck reader, thank you for engaging with our journalism and taking an interest in our dispatches from the sharp edge of culture, sport, music and rebellion.

We want to offer you the chance to join Club Huck [it's free!] where you will receive exclusive newsletters, including personal takes on the state of pop culture and media from columnist Emma Garland, culture recommendations, interviews and dispatches straight to your inbox.

You'll also get priority access to Huck events, merch discounts, and more fun surprises.

Already part of the club? Enter your email above and we'll get you logged in.