Sex Pistols album art, Brian Eno's Roxy Music costumes and more to be displayed as part of V&A Punk to Pop exhibiton

Running from 13 March 2027 to 2 January 2028, Punk To Pop will feature around three hundred objects that explore how the 1970s fuelled the 1980s, and how underground scenes and movements — motivated by a DIY punk spirit — created genres that would inspire the future of popular music and entertainment.

The exhibition takes place across three acts. Act One: Grey Britain and Glam introduces visitors to the social and political landscape of the 1970s with a collection of posters, photographs, newspapers and archive footage. The declining industrial landscape and political unrest of the time will be juxtaposed against the escapism of glam rock, as represented by moments including Bowie’s Top of The Pops performance in 1972, and pieces such as a gold suit worn by T.Rex's Marc Bolan and a feathered stage costume worn by Roxy Music’s Brian Eno as the act also tracks how glam rock established a global presence.

Act Two: Going Underground delves deeper into defining subcultures, exploring punk music as a reaction to urban decay within the UK by placing fashion mogul Vivienne Westwood at the centre, as well as Malcolm McLaren, and pioneering punk bands such as Sex Pistols, The Clash, Buzzcocks, The Slits and X-Ray Spex. The act will also show how the crossover between punk music and genres such as reggae and ska, with objects such as a life mask of punk model and actress Jordan, and The Clash’s Mick Jones’ first electric guitar on loan from The Rock & Roll Public Library on display.

Act Two will continue into Northern Soul, disco, post-punk, goths, and the New Romantics, tracking the soul-inspired sound of the industrial north into British nightclub culture, the new sound that would follow the burnout of punk minimalism, the darkness of gothic sensibilities and the decadence of the romantic period that inspired the expansion of sound ahead of the 1980s.

The display will highlight rare Northern Soul records and ephemera, including a piece of the wooden floor from legendary venue Blackpool Mecca, an original Kraftwerk vocoder alongside designs from Factory Records, handwritten lyrics by Joy Division’s Ian Curtis, a bass guitar from Japan’s Mick Karn, and more.

The exhibition closes with Act Three: Pop Powerhouse, which takes visitors through the music of the 1980s, when MTV launched and new technologies fueled a boom that shaped pop sounds. It highlights the experimentation of artists including Bananarama, Duran Duran, Wham!, Kate Bush, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Trevor Horn and the Pet Shop Boys. The objects will be displayed as large, immersive projections that celebrate the art of the music video and live pop performances.

“Punk To Pop tells the story of a creative and technological explosion that rewired music, fashion and design from the 70s to the 80s," explains curator Kate Bailey. Born from frustration, rebellion and boredom, a generation tore up the rule book, fuelling cultural change through a DIY spirit. Through a rich mix of objects from across the V&A collections, the exhibition will journey from art schools to nightclubs, catwalks to stadiums, music videos to recording studios considering the contemporary relevance of these transformative decades.”