Join music and Gothic culture aficionados John Robb (Membranes, Louder Than War) and Dr Claire Nally (Northumbria University) for a full and frank discussion on the Gothic past and Goth in the 21st Century.

Find out what John has learned from researching his forthcoming book on Goth music and fashion history and hear how Gothic literature and films connect to street style and pop culture.

Does the ubiquity of Gothic style in everything from Alexander McQueen to All Saints mean that goth has lost its dark edge and ability to express alienation? O does the massive popularity of shows like The Walking Dead and Penny Dreadful indicate that the Gothic sensibility has a special place in these post- hope, post-truth times? And what of phenomena such as happy-Goth, pastel-Goth and even ‘health-Goth’? Is Goth thriving or is Goth finally dead?

Further Gothic guests tbc!

John Robb has almost finished writing The Art of Darkness an in-depth book on the darker end of post-punk and Goth culture. He also fronts the critically acclaimed band Membranes, whose recent double album Dark Matter/Dark Energy has seen the band play gigs and festivals across Europe, including supporting Goth stalwarts The Sisters of Mercy on their tour.

Dr Claire Nally is Senior Lecturer in Twentieth-Century English Literature at Northumbria University, specialising in Irish Studies, subcultures and gender studies. She has published several published books: Envisioning Ireland: W. B. Yeats’ Occult Nationalism (Peter Lang, 2009), Selling Ireland: Advertising, Literature and Irish Print Culture, 1891-1922, (with John Strachan, Palgrave, 2012), Naked Exhibitionism: Gender, Performance and Public Exposure, (ed. with Angela Smith, I. B. Tauris, 2013), Forming and Performing Feminism (ed. with Angela Smith, Palgrave, 2015) and is the co-editor of the ‘Gender in Popular Culture Library Series’. Her recent work has focused on Goth and steampunk subcultures. Her next monograph is entitled Steampunk: Gender, Subculture and the Neo-Victorian.