Paradiso, Amsterdam was a temple of pop in Leidsplein. It used to be all about flower power, but then some new bands came along in the second half of the seventies and turned the place into a punk paradise. The music was crazy fast and the crowds went wild, with punks climbing up on stage and the band rocking out like there was no tomorrow.
But like all good things, it eventually came to an end. Nowadays, a lot has changed and people have moved on, but thanks to some awesome snapshots, we can still remember the good times. In a review from a fanzine called KoeCrandt back in 1979, they said the crowd was full of energy and everyone was pogoing like there was no tomorrow. The punks were climbing up on stage and causing a ruckus, but the band didn’t let it get in the way of the music.
One of the fans who was there through it all was a guy named Max Natkiel. He realized that all good things must come to an end and decided to start taking his camera to concerts and events to capture those moments in time. He was just in time to capture the end of the first punk-wave and the start of the eighties with all its diverse subcultures, from Skins to Rude Boys to Heavy Metal Hardrockers and of course, the Punks, all coming together at Paradiso.
