Season of the Witch: The Book of Goth, with Cathi Unsworth - LIVE

Please note this is NOT a ZOOM Lecture but an in person lecture at our museum - tickets include a complimentary glass of Absinthe

Doors open at 6:30pm and lecture starts at 7pm

Season of the Witch: The Book of Goth, with Cathi Unsworth - LIVE

As Margaret Thatcher enters 10 Downing Street, a handful of bands born of punk - Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division and the Cure - find a way to distil the dissonance and darkness of the shifting decade into a new form of music. Pushing at the taboos the Sex Pistols had unlocked and dancing with the fetishistic, all will become global stars of goth.

By the time Thatcher is cast out of office in 1990, the arrival of goth will have imprinted on the cultural landscape as much as the Iron Lady herself.

Now, forty years since its inception, author Cathi Unsworth provides the first comprehensive overview of the music, context and lasting legacy of goth. This is the story of how goth was shaped by the politics of the era - from the miners' strikes and privatisation to the Troubles and AIDS ­­- as well as how its rock 'n' roll outlaw imagery and innovative, atmospheric music cross-pollinated throughout Britain and internationally, speaking to a generation of alienated youths.

A fascinating social history, Season of the Witch tells the tale of an enduring counter-culture, one that steadfastly refuses to give up the ghost.

About the Author

Cathi Unsworth began her career on the legendary music weekly Sounds at the age of nineteen, where she topped a poll to be named the Sounds journalist readers would most like to go for a drink with. Her popularity was down to her identification with gothic music.

Cathi's previous book, Defying Gravity, the life and times of punk icon Jordan, was described by Julie Burchill as 'the only book about punk you'll ever need' and was chosen as 'Book of the Year' by Rough Trade, Uncut and the Daily Telegraph in 2019. She has also written six pop-culture-laced noir novels and her short-form work has appeared in The Guardian, the Financial Times, Bizarre, Melody Maker, Mojo and Uncut. She has appeared on TV and radio, given talks, organised walks and hosted events too numerous to mention.

We are unable to give refunds for in person events with less than seven days notice in any circumstances

is London's first absinthe distillery, founded by Directors of The Last Tuesday Society's Absinthe Parlour & Cocktail Bar.

Event Venue

The Last Tuesday Society / Viktor Wynd's Museum of Curiosities, 11 Mare Street, London, United Kingdom