John Robb (musician)

English music journalist

John David Robb (born 4 May 1961) 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 and a monthly music magazine of the same name. He has written several books on music and occasionally makes media appearances as a music commentator. He is also the vocalist in the punk rock band Goldblade. Since 2014 Robb has run the music writing festival Louder Than Words which is held in Manchester every November, and is a TEDx speaker and spoken word artist.

John David Robb was born on 4 May 1961 in Fleetwood, Lancashire, and grew up in Anchorsholme, Blackpool, Lancashire. He attended Blackpool Sixth Form College an addition to the Collegiate Grammar School which Robb attended, where after reading about the emerging punk rock scene in the music press in 1976 he was inspired to start his own band.

The Stone Roses and the Resurrection of British Pop. Ebury Press, 1996. Noise Bible – Adventures on the Eighties Underground with the Membranes. Thrill City. The Soul Manual. Ultimate. The Charlatans: We Are Rock. Ebury Press. The Nineties: What the Fuck Was That All About. Ebury Press. Punk Rock: An Oral History. Ebury Press, 2006. The North Will Rise Again – Manchester Music City 1976–1996. Aurum Press, 2009. Death to Trad Rock – The Post Punk Fanzine Scene 1982–1987. Cherry Red, 2009. The Stone Roses and the Resurrection of British Pop: The Reunion Edition. Ebury Press, 2012. Manifesto. Ebury Press, 2012. The Art of Darkness : The History Of Goth. Louder Than War Books, 2023. Do You Believe in the Power of Rock & Roll? : Forty Years of Music Writing from the Frontline. Unbound, 2023.