John Robb with Pauline Murray: Punk Rock Ruined My Life

John Robb is an English musician and journalist best known as the bassist and singer for the mid-1980s post-punk band The Membranes. He writes for and runs the Louder Than War website which is one of the top 3 most read music and culture sites in the UK and at the front of diverse modern culture and saw him nearly release the Fontaines DC first single and give Charli XCX her first review amongst other many firsts.

Pauline Murray, lead singer of classic punk band Penetration was big news on the punk rock scene in the late '70s and played at gigs with The Stranglers, Generation X and The Buzzcocks among others. The Ferryhill based band performed their best-known single 'Don’t Dictate' on Granada TV’s iconic 'So it Goes' music show.

In the early '80s, Pauline teamed up with punk poet John Cooper Clarke’s backing band, The Invisible Girls and toured extensively to promote their album, 'Pauline Murray and The Invisible Girls'. Many experts on '80s pop culture cite the album as “the one that got away”, an excellent album that contained tracks that should have propelled Pauline up the charts.

Now, Pauline divides her time between her business, Polestar Studios in Byker where bands can rent out rehearsal space and touring with her band Penetration.