BRIT punk

Punk rock subculture began in 1976 in New York, but although it was largely an American invention, punk style and attitude were very much a product of British youth culture. It has a diverse and widely known array of ideologies, fashion, and other forms of expression - visual art, dance, literature, and film. Punk is presented as a negation of pretty-much everything: a line drawn in the cultural sand to reboot and rejuvenate youth culture as a site of provocative fun, protest and imagination.

The ideologies are primarily concerned with concepts such as mutual aid, equality, humanitarianism, anti-authoritarianism, anti-consumerism, anti-war, anti-globalization, anti-racism, anti-sexism, gender equality, racial equality, health rights, civil rights, animal rights, disability rights, free-thought and non-conformity. All these ideologies are expressed through punk music. Putting it into context, the 1970s was a time of blackouts, strikes and three-day weeks.

It was reported to be the gloomiest period since the second world war. No wonder there was a rebellion against the social conditions of the 70s.

Fashion

Punk fashion is characterised by leather, denim, metal spikes or studs, chains, spiked hair and military-style boots. The origin of punk fashion can be traced to King’s Road, London, and Dame Vivienne Westwood. Vivienne was a teacher turned pioneering fashion designer who developed the punk aesthetics of the era. Vivienne is believed to have commercialised punk fashion. She rose to prominence as a designer after creating clothing for her boutique and the Sex Pistols. With over 30 flagship stores, including one in Spring Gardens Manchester, the brand operates showrooms in London, Paris, Milan and Los Angeles, selling through over 700 points of sale worldwide. Vivienne died on 29th December 2022, age 81, peacefully surrounded by family in Clapham, South London.

Music

The most famous English punk bands are the Sex Pistols and The Clash. Two of the most important British bands of the era influenced a whole generation of musicians and achieved global fame with their music. The lead singer of the Sex Pistols was Johnny Rotten (named due to his bad teeth), the stage name of John Joseph Lydon. They never achieved a number one in the charts during their height of fame in the 70s, but had seven top tens and twelve top forties. Their second track, ‘God Save the Queen’, was released in 1977 during Queen Elizabeth II’s Silver Jubilee, but was banned by the BBC due to its highly provocative anti-monarchy lyrics. It was re-released during the Platinum Jubilee and quickly soured to number one in the UK streaming charts, 45 years after its initial release. Their final performance was on 14th January 1978 at the Winterland Ballroom, San Francisco. Following his departure from the Sex Pistols, Lydon formed Public Image Ltd and released 17 albums. The Clash’s frontman Joe Strummer’s politically charged lyrics helped bring punk to the masses, calling out social injustices and giving a voice to the struggles of the working class. The band sparked into life in June 1976 when west London art school drop-outs Paul Simon (bass) and Mick Jones (guitar) approached Strummer, who was with a band called The 101’ers, to join their new group. Guided by The Clash’s unorthodox and free-thinking manager Bernard Rhodes, the group had 4 albums and helped to create the English punk movement with the Sex Pistols.

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BY JANETTE DAVIES 13