punk rock changed our lives

[Wyatt Earp]

punk rock changed our lives

Nesta Que Un Club wrote:

Punk rock changed everything man, everything. Growing up in Hersham in the 70s, there was nothing for young people, nothing. Just all these prog rock bands doing quintuple album rock operettas on ice(nb subs check this).

Ha ha ha.

[Wyatt Earp]

punk rock changed our lives

I was 14 in 1977, and knew nothing about punk except for what I'd read, which was all disapproving, and occasionally outrightly moral-panic-y. Then I caught the Sex Pistols doing Pretty Vacant on TOTP and thought it was astonishing. So I'm the guy Nesta Que is satirising...

(It's OK, I know that guy is actually Jimmy Pursey.)

Actually, I've a feeling I carried on going along with the majority "They can't even play their instruments" line for a couple of days, for the reasons one does go along with majority lines when one's 14. Then I realised they were all part of the SYSTEM that had to be SMASHED.

I don't know if the Pistols would have hated my parents. Probably. But then my parents weren't that keen on each other, and I didn't hold that against either of them, did I?

[Wyatt Earp]

punk rock changed our lives

That was very much what yer Rock fans, including most of my little pals, were saying at the time.

[Bored Of Education]

punk rock changed our lives

Johnny Rivers describes see Elvis for the first time at a county fair in the South. This cat wearing a pink shirt and a guitar on a piece of string walks on stage, leers at the front row, swings his arm and breaks three strings. Not punk rock? I'd beg to differ.

Absolutely and, indeed, in Albert Goldman's book, he riffs on Elvis being the original punk.

I read a review the other day from when I supported the Damned who had got together the original line-up for the first time after years of Grimly Fiendish gothery and, apparently, I 'sneered' (yes it said 'sneered') "We're the only punk band you are going to see tonight". Bless

I do remember a lot of self-proclaimed original punks getting very precious about younger types such as us wearing unoriginal Sex Pistols t-shirts or young bands covering Sex Pistols songs and thinking that it was all a bit exclusive competitive and, well, not really punk.

[historyman]

punk rock changed our lives

I love the English/Scottish punk bands of the late '70s, mainly because they paved the way for post-punk, which was far less musically restrictive.

[danielmak]

punk rock changed our lives

I bought my first punk records when I was 9. Black Flag's Jealous Again had just come out. The Circle Jerks' Group Sex was on the way. Although I love all types of punk--old and new and different styles, that Southern California sound is still my favorite.

On that note, Chris sent me PDFs of his MRR article about Red Kross (or Red Cross). Check it out if you're interested.

And get their amazing first EP here (plus a ton of other oop stuff).

[VTTBoscombe]

punk rock changed our lives

It changed my life, in as much as it it changed my record collection the width of the bottom of the legs of my jeans, boosted the number of times for getting out.
Before, we never got to see real bands down in Bournemouth, you had to travel up to London at worst, Southampton at "best".
Suddenly Bournemouth seemed to be on the tour circuit.

My taste in music is distinctly coloured by that time, and my snobbishness against certain genres stems from that period. So I am actually not sure that is a good thing, as I have probably missed out on some good stuff.

Aside/I must have had more stamina as well, as I tried to pogo for the first time since then, the other night - and I could barely make it through "No More Heroes"./End of Aside

[Bored Of Education]

punk rock changed our lives

As much as I love punk and think that, along with hip hop, it is easily one of the biggest influences on not only music but fashion, art, TV, film and other culture as well as politics etc, there must be other musical scenes that have had the same effect on people that I am not into such as reggae, for instance, beforehand and acid after.

[Stumpy Pepys]

punk rock changed our lives

It amuses me though that the champions of punk — who at the time professed to despise the established musical order, built up over the previous years — have become the most shameless nostalgists of all.

[Bored Of Education]

punk rock changed our lives

Actually, that is genuinely amusing. I remember a certain element of laughing at teds and mods for their hopeless nostalgia.

I play a lot of punk gigs nowadays supporting 999, the Lurkers, UK Subs, Penetration etc and it is fascinating seeing 50-60 year old faces underneath mohicans. Actually, on occasion, the mohican has to be off centre to allow for male pattern baldness. I met a lovely guy the other day who genuinely looked like my granddad as I remember him only with tattoos all over his head.

The one thing that is to be said is that these sort of punks are often more egalitarian and less exclusive, snotty and judgemental as those who had the privilege of growing up in reasonably enlightened metropolitan centres rather than grim provincial semi-rural outposts

[MsD]

punk rock changed our lives

To be fair, they've not much to be snotty or exclusive about.

[Felicity, I guess so]

punk rock changed our lives

"I remember poonck rock, like it was only yesterday..."

This is where I would link to Vic Reeves singing that song, if I could find my way round t'internet. Can't do it, sorry- all that pogoing damaged my inner ear. Or something.

I've been going through a bit of punk nostalgia for some months now

a) because I was uploading some of my cassettes and vinyl to itunes

b) because one of my punky gang from '77-'79 died last year and we all shared a tribute cd (Pistols/Skids/Rezillos/Jam/999/Patti Smith/Ian Dury/Clash/Saints/Radiators/Richard Hell/NY Dolls/Wayne County etc etc etc).

Whoever said it wasn't just about music was spot on: in RAF Germany we were starved of musical artefacts, so that John Peel's 1-hour weekly digest on BFBS radio became endlessly replayed, rewound tapes.

The Stranglers, Eddie and the Hot Rods, The Vibrators, Patti Smith, Tom Petty and the f-ing Heartbreakers. These were the only 'new wav-ish' vinyl on offer in the NAAFI 'Durables' shop on the camp. German independent shops were only in the biggest cities, not near us and mail order was unreliable and expensive.

Trips 'home' at xmas were like all-you-can-eat buffet visits after a detox diet: getting the next birthday's money out of the folks months early to spend at 'Andy's records' and end up with some real dross amongst the gems, cos the band had a punky name, or the sleeve looked good.

Obviously we pored over the NME for the latest names to at least imagine what they sounded like.

So yes, it was about attitude and narrowing your trousers. Also, once we had a copy of it, blasting out 'God Save the Queen' on a tape player from the top of a bunker in the middle of a military base on Jubilee Day.

"I joined up to serve 'er " said the military copper when he came to ask us to get down. (That's right- 'ask': the BONUS of being in RAF Germany was that the police had no real sanction over you other than 'I'll tell your Dad' or, at worst, 'Your Dad'll get in trouble with the C.O.'

I decided to be an Anarchist, began refusing to go to church/attend RE lessons. Joined RAR and the ANL (even though the NF weren't exactly present on the bases in Germany, and some odd reactions in German shops/bars to the badges, I assure you).
Have remained a rebel ever since, though the irrelevance of Class War etc during the Miners' Strike convinced me anarchism was little more than a pose in British politics.

So punk rock did change my life, I can still burst out in a grin of pleasure at the sound of even the lowest of common punk denominators (Hurry Up Harry, for example- 'No I don't want a cup of tea!' That's you telt).

And if I was on Desert Island Discs, I'd include a lot more soul, post-punk, disco, hip hop etc than 'pure' punk (and while we're on it, the 'pure' punk of Oi! etc really was a foul-smelling armpit of a dead end) but I still recall the shift in consciousness, part fashion, part politics that punk encouraged in me and my mates, and will always value it.

[Felicity, I guess so]

punk rock changed our lives

As punishment for killing this thread with my rambling musings (or were they musing ramblings?), here are the lyrics to Vic Reeves' song cited above:

I remember Punk Rock,
Like it was only yesterday,
Oh, Mr. Buzzcock singing on my shoulder,
In that very special way.

Yes, I remember Punk Rock,
And I recall all those melodies,
By The Clash, The Adverts, Wire, Eater,
Not to mention ATV.

Well, The Generation X sang so sweetly,
While the Pistols ate their lunch,
The Damned had tea with The Lurkers,
Whilst X Ray Specs enjoyed brunch.

Oh, I remember Punk Rock,
Like it was only yesterday,
Oh, Mr. Buzzcock singing on my shoulder,
In that very special way.

Well, The Vibrators sang so tenderly,
Whilst 999 had soup,
Richard Hell had The Slits round for coffee,
And Slaughter and The Dogs round too.

Yes, I remember Punk Rock,
And I recall all those melodies,
By The Clash, The Adverts, Wire, Eater,
Not to mention ATV.

Well, The Generation X sang so sweetly,
While the Pistols ate their lunch,
The Damned had tea with The Lurkers,
And Sex Respects enjoyed brunch.

Well, I remember Punk Rock,
Like it was only yesterday,
Oh, Mr. Buzzcock singing on my shoulder,
In that extra special way

[Felicity, I guess so]

punk rock changed our lives

and here's the youtube link to the song (NOT the tv performance of it, which is blocked by Channel 4 at the moment):

[RobM]

punk rock changed our lives

Bored of Education wrote:

Johnny Rivers describes see Elvis for the first time at a county fair in the South. This cat wearing a pink shirt and a guitar on a piece of string walks on stage, leers at the front row, swings his arm and breaks three strings. Not punk rock? I'd beg to differ.

Absolutely and, indeed, in Albert Goldman's book, he riffs on Elvis being the original punk.

I read a review the other day from when I supported the Damned who had got together the original line-up for the first time after years of Grimly Fiendish gothery and, apparently, I 'sneered' (yes it said 'sneered') "We're the only punk band you are going to see tonight". Bless

I do remember a lot of self-proclaimed original punks getting very precious about younger types such as us wearing unoriginal Sex Pistols t-shirts or young bands covering Sex Pistols songs and thinking that it was all a bit exclusive competitive and, well, not really punk.

I may have unknowingly seen you live at that time Bored. What's your band's name (or the name of your band at that time)?

[Bored Of Education]

punk rock changed our lives

Aha, someone fell into my trap. It was The Milk Monitors and we released a album and an EP and did a couple of Peel sessions so you may have heard of us at the time if you were into really obscure music at the time. We actually got together for a couple of songs last years for a gig in London

My band now is the Lone Sharks and, to bring the thread full circle, we are now playing at this festival in the summer.

[MsD]

punk rock changed our lives

Felicity, I guess so wrote:

"I remember poonck rock, like it was only yesterday..."

This is where I would link to Vic Reeves singing that song, if I could find my way round t'internet. Can't do it, sorry- all that pogoing damaged my inner ear. Or something.

I've been going through a bit of punk nostalgia for some months now

If you want to ramble on and get that out of your system, you could sign up to TalkPunk. You're only obliged to make one post. I don't mod it anymore and have probably said all I have to say about Sid, but I have great affection for the place and there are threads about all the bands mentioned by you and VR.

Www.punk77.co.uk/talkpunk

[Calvert]

punk rock changed our lives

Caught a bit of the Pistols (Brixton?) gig on telly when I got home last night.
It's all terribly sad (not for them though, they've consistently made it clear it's all about the money) and reminiscent of the way we used to laugh at the old Teddy Boys.
The amount of legal people and management mentioned in the credits was depressing, still, at least they were the unintentional spark for DIY and anarcho punk, something far more tangible and worthwhile than mere posturing fashion and clubbing, that's something.
The effect of punk rock on the city I was raised in was totally unique and can't be underestimated in that it planted a seed of togetherness and a complete rejection of sectarianism among the people involved and for that we should be grateful alone.

[Gangster Octopus]

punk rock changed our lives

I can't help but feel that I've got something to contribute to this thread. But what?

[Calvert]

punk rock changed our lives

Tell us about the time you saw the Ramones.

[Gangster Octopus]

punk rock changed our lives

You know all about it, you miserable old scrote...

[Calvert]

punk rock changed our lives

Don't make me laugh, my back's fucked and it's really sore.

[Bored Of Education]

punk rock changed our lives

The effect of punk rock on the city I was raised in was totally unique and can't be underestimated in that it planted a seed of togetherness and a complete rejection of sectarianism among the people involved and for that we should be grateful alone.

That's great. I think SLF said much the same

[MsD]

punk rock changed our lives

Calvert W. McCutcheon wrote:

The amount of legal people and management mentioned in the credits was depressing, still, at least they were the unintentional spark for DIY and anarcho punk, something far more tangible and worthwhile than mere posturing fashion and clubbing, that's something.

each to their own, but fashion and club culture are tangible and worthwhile esp. where they intersect with art and politics, and although DIY, anarcho-punk are good things, a lot of the music is just awful. I love Rubella Ballet as people, a much loved ex is an ex member, and they're one of the more tuneful outfits, but still .... apart from the odd song, it's a bit painful. Whereas, many early punks turned to more accessible but slight left field music.

Talking of Leftfield ... Lydon's Open Up captures much of that spirit, I think. Tuuuuuuuuuune.

[Pietro Paolo Virdis]

punk rock changed our lives

On a slightly related note, Bored....

Refused are back