In this episode of the Paul Weller Fan Podcast, I chat to Cat Santos and Sodge Adams, two of the creative minds behind Fifth Column, the pioneering screen-printing collective that helped define the look of Punk and Mod culture in late-1970s London.
Fifth Column started when a group of friends decided to design and print - by hand - punk rock t-shirts for bands like X-Ray Spex, The Clash, The Jam, and The Damned. After creating the artwork on paper and curing the shirts in tumble dryers at a laundrette on Kilburn High Road, they sold them outside London gigs.
From Camden Market and Kings Road to working with Paul Weller, John Weller, Cat and Sodge share memories of printing iconic imagery, climbing drainpipes to get into gigs, and living the chaos and creativity of the era.
As the conversation unfolds, they reflect on how the Punk ethos evolved into political activism through Red Wedge and campaigns like Anti-Apartheid and Coal Not Dole. From surviving a devastating factory fire to designing artwork for All Mod Cons and Setting Sons, Fifth Column’s story is one of resilience, collaboration, and rebellion.
It’s a vivid portrait of DIY innovation - and of how a few friends with screens, ink, and ideas helped shape the visual identity of a generation.
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