No New York

A New York Times Book of 2026 'Essential reading for anyone with even a passing interest in alternative music' Guardian '[An] electrifying account of downtown demi-monde days' Irish Times 'Exhilarating' Mojo 4**** In 1975 a young queer singer from Cleveland meets photographer Nan Goldin — an encounter that will lead them to New York's bombed-out downtown, where something unprecedented is brewing. At Max's Kansas City and CBGBs, in derelict lofts and underground clubs, a generation of visionary women artists is rewriting the rules of creativity, sexuality, and power. Adele Bertei didn't just witness the No Wave explosion—she ignited it. As acetone organist for the Contortions and Brian Eno's assistant, she was at the epicenter when punk collided with post-punk, birthing a counterculture that fused music, art, cinema, fashion and outlaw literature into an uncompromising explosion of creativity. While mainstream culture wallowed in sexism and homophobia, these artists and more created something fluid, fierce, and transgressive. Raw, gripping, and illustrated with rare photographs from personal collections, No New York is the definitive insider's account of the women who obliterated every barrier in their path, taking you deep into the artistic and sexual experimentation of an era when true expression mattered more than money or fame.