No Future
The Clash's debut album signaled the arrival of a raw new sound that would define the era.
The Clash, The Sex Pistols and the Damned were at the forefront of the London punk scene of the 1970s. These bands took aim at the political and cultural landscape of the time. Originating in Great Britain, the United States, and Australia between 1974 and 1976, punk rock finds roots in 1960's Detroit bands like the Stooges, MC5 and Death.
The Sex Pistols released the song God Save the Queen during the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II in 1977. The song was quickly banned from British radio.
God Save the Queen was a track from the album Never Mind the Bollocks Here's The Sex Pistols. Despite it being the band's first and only album, it is considered by many to be one of the greatest albums of all time.
In the late 1960s, Detroit's Stooges were making music far ahead of their time. The Stooges and bands like the MC5 were punk's forerunners.
Photo by Tom Copi
Inspired by blues musicians during a stay in Chicago, Iggy Pop appropriated some of their musical forms and began playing with the Asheton brothers in Detroit. Iggy's explosive stage antics were unlike anything audiences had seen.
The fast-paced, stripped-down sound of New York's Ramones was full of energy and urgency.
photo by Ian Dickson, 1977
The Ramones formed in Queens in 1974. The band helped shape the punk rock movement in the 1970's. Punk magazine editor John Holmstrom described punk as "rock and roll by people who didn't have very many skills as musicians but still felt the need to express themselves through music."
FURTHER. . .
READ:
England's Dreaming by John Savage
Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain
Let Fury Have the Hour: The Punk Rock Politics of Joe Strummer edited by Antonio D'Ambrosi
Girls to the Front: The True Story of the Riot Grrrl Revolution by Sara Marcus
Pretty in Punk: Girl's Gender Resistance in a Boy's Subculture by Lauraine LeBlanc
The Riot Grrrl Collection,edited by Lisa Darms
Sex Pistols: Poison in the Machine by John Scanlon
Punk Avenue: Inside the New York City Underground, 1972-1982 by Phil Marcade
LISTEN:
London's Calling, The Clash
Sandanista, The Clash
Demolcion!, Los Saicos
Ramones, Rocket to Russia, Ramones
Damned Damned Damned, The Damned
Kick Out the Jams, MC5
Raw Power, The Stooges
Bikini Kill, Bikini Kill
Damaged, Black Flag
Complete Discography, Minor Threat
Repeater, Fugazi
VIEW:
The Punk Singer
The Other F Word
Punk’s Not Dead
End of the Century: Story of the Ramones
Gimme Danger: Story of the Stooges
The Damned: Don't You Wish That We Were Dead
“Punk rock is just another word for freedom." -Patti Smith