Now, let’s go back in time to where ‘punk’ originated from.
WHAT BROUGHT ABOUT THE PUNK REVOLUTION?
I will touch on two styles of rock from the late 60’s – early 70’s, Art/Progressive Rock and Glam Rock. A summary of key features is tabulated below:
The ‘big bang’ of progressive/art rock was birthed through the poetry of Bob Dylan, conceptually unified albums like The Mothers of Inventions, Freak Out, The Beatles, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. These albums suggested that rock should be taken more seriously as an art form. Progressive began to emerge from the British psychedelic scene in 1967. This was specifically a strain of classical/symphonic rock led by the Nice, Procol Harum, Pink Floyd and The Moody Blues. With the release of King Crimson’s debut album, In the Court of the Crimson King, (1969) the concrete sound of progressive rock had arrived, loud and harsh but also alternately beautiful and poetic. (Refer to attachments; Red, Exiles and The Thin Ice Selection for two examples of King Crimson and one from Pink Floyd).
Glam rock was mainly a British phenomenon that became vigorously popular in the early 70’s. In America, The New York Dolls along with Kiss were two of the ‘big’ glam rock bands. One of glam rock’s goals was to upset the seriousness of the progressive/art rock movement. Late in 1972, The New York Dolls set out for their first tour of England. Playing their crash and burn rock & roll the New York Dolls influenced a generation which went on to form ‘punk’. (Nolan, J.) Other “musicians my own age.” “Couldn’t understand why these guys were getting so much attention – the Dolls were not what you’d call great technical musicians”. “You’re missing the fucking point. They’re bringing back the magic of the fifties!” (Please Kill Me, n.d. pp117, 118). Other glam rock bands such as; T. Rex, Gary Glitter, Sweet, David Bowie and Roxy Music pioneered glam’s fashion sense with Marc Bolan (T. Rex) leading the way. They created music which was fun, silly and sexy or in other words, what you saw is what you got. Artists like Gary Glitter and Sweet went on with the T. Rex style to create a new sub style known as glitter, which was very British (vividly coloured hair, outrageous costumes and heavy make-up). David Bowie and Roxy Music explored the arty side of glam, which was more splendidly dramatic and ambitious, both aurally and lyrically. (Refer to attachments; Trash, Heaven and Suffragette City for glam rock examples from The New York Dolls, Sweet and David Bowie).
Where does punk fit in? Basically the New York Dolls created ‘Punk Rock’ before there was a term for it. They set the scene and aesthetic for what eventually became known as ‘punk’. The generation they influenced in New York and London created the terms Punk and Punk Rock. The first ‘punk rock’ band was The Ramones from New York. The Ramones created the musical ideas of ‘punk’. They achieved this by speeding the tempo up significantly and breaking rock & roll down to its basic form – four chords; simple catchy melody and alluring inane lyrics. In Britain, the Sex Pistols were the first and most influential punk band. Their immediate impact in 1976 directly inspired almost every punk band that started. The Sex Pistols formed the blueprint for British punk, using simple, raw, stripped-down guitar riffs. Their ‘in your face’, playful destructive exaggerated behaviour resulted in the band being physically attacked in the streets and the media portraying them as ‘demons’. The Sex Pistols weren’t the only key punk band in Britain. Incorporating early rock and reggae, the Clash became the most politically idealistic and musically eclectic group in punk. (Refer to attachments; Anarchy in the UK & Rock the Casbah, for examples from The Sex Pistols and The Clash).
Early on, the punk scene was quite diverse, other bands such as; The Buzzcocks, The Jam, The Damned and X-Ray Spex all had different musical approaches and lyrical subjects. Most British punk artists shared a unique vigorous energy; they explicitly repudiated progressive/art rocks’ extravagating over indulgence. Punk aimed to return rock & roll to its basic form. Punks D.I.Y. attitude encouraged anybody could pick up an instrument, (even if they couldn’t play), get on stage, speak their mind and blast out some distinguishable noise. With the advent of punk, progressive/art rock almost completely disappeared but only the most successful bands survived i.e. The Moody Blues and Pink Floyd to name just a couple.
HOW DID PUNK ROCK INFLUENCE GIRLS?
Firstly, girls needed to change their role in popular music. They needed to broaden their roles by showing they were more than just singers and sex objects (refer to attachment girls’ pop photo). Punk, enabled girls to give up their eyeliners and hairspray for electric guitars and a chance to set the stage for girls in rock. Popular music failed to provide girls with opportunities to become young instrumentalists because the mainstream music was so restrictive for women. This is where punk succeeded. Punks’ D.I.Y. approach enabled girls to use rock & roll as a medium of expression. Punk’ inspired girls to pick up their own instruments, compose their own songs and to start their own bands. Basically punk gave women the opportunity to follow paths that were previously unavailable for them.
To sum up punk! Well, why not read this poem written by Johnny Rotten (lead singer of the Sex Pistols). I believe this poem is an accurate description of how people viewed punks in the 70’s.
You never listen to the words that I say
You only see me by the clothes I wear…
Or did the interest go so much deeper
It must have been the colour of my hair.
Two sides to every story, somebody had to stop me
I’m not the same as when I began
It’s not a game of monopoly
The public image, you got what you wanted
The public image belongs to me
My entrance, my own creation
My grand finale, my goodbye.
If I ride my skateboard to the local skate park, any ordinary person would think to themselves. “Look at that dag, dressed like that with nothing else better to do”. Yet, that same day, the same ordinary person would attend my evening concert with me playing sax, thinking to themselves. “What a talented young man, he’s on the right track”.
Punk rock and progressive/art rock are similarly judged, the public views punks as garbage and punks think progressive/art rock is garbage.
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