The Retro Man

 "This second volume in a series bringing together short stories of veteran science fiction author Gordon Eklund leads off with 'The Retro Man,' a visionary tale of a man reliving his life in reverse time."

A science fiction short story from 1977 - and quite an early appearance of the concept of "retro" in the Anglosphere. (In France, it's in use from the beginning of the decade, referring to a kind of nostalgic cinema).

For instance, I have not come across any "retro" references in Anglosphere music writing until the early 1980s.

the word "retro" (an intermittent series - 2 of ??)

 

Surprised / intrigued to see the term "retro" pop up as early as 1977 in this singles column by Jon Savage for Sounds, November 5 of that year.  

The reference to "retro-Punk" and "history-Punk" seems to be preparing the ground for the New Musick initiative in the month ahead, with Savage and fellow Sounds writers Vivien Goldman, Sandy Robertson, Jane Suck, et al, identifying and forecasting directions out of punk and into what we now think of as post-punk. 

"Post punk" is actually a word Savage uses in his intro for the New Musick feature-package (which stretched across two issues of Sounds, November 26 and December 3rd) but as an adjective rather than a noun: "post punk projections". 

Several weeks earlier, the deployment of "retro-Punk" already hints that there's been an conservative outcome to punk (a narrowed vision: bring back basic teenage rock'n'roll) and that the direction to get behind and push is the more expansive vanguard. 

I'm curious if there are earlier examples of "retro" being used in the context of Anglosphere music and youth culture...