No New York by Adele Bertei

In 1975 a young queer singer from Cleveland meets photographer Nan Goldin – an encounter that will lead them to New York’s bombed-out downtown, where something unprecedented is brewing. At Max’s Kansas City and CBGBs, in derelict lofts and underground clubs, a generation of visionary women artists is rewriting the rules of creativity, sexuality, and power.

Adele Bertei didn’t just witness the No Wave explosion-she ignited it. As acetone organist for the Contortions and Brian Eno’s assistant, she was at the epicenter when punk collided with post-punk, birthing a counterculture that fused music, art, cinema, fashion and outlaw literature into an uncompromising explosion of creativity. While mainstream culture wallowed in sexism and homophobia, these artists and more created something fluid, fierce, and transgressive.

Raw, gripping, and illustrated with rare photographs from personal collections, No New York is the definitive insider’s account of the women who obliterated every barrier in their path, taking you deep into the artistic and sexual experimentation of an era when true expression mattered more than money or fame.

An intimate insider’s account of New York’s most radical cultural revolution.

About the Author: Born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1955, Adele Bertei was a founding member of musical insurrectionists the Contortions and lead singer for the Bloods, which is considered the first out, queer, all women-rock band. Her film credits include Lizzie Borden’s Born in Flames. She is the author of Peter and the Wolves (2020) and Why Labelle Matters (2021), Twist (2023) and Universal Mother (2025). She lives in Los Angeles.

26 Mar 2026
 

No New York: A Memoir of No Wave and the Women Who Shaped the Scene by Adele Bertei ISBN 9780571386154