Introduction

Punk music and culture has had a great impact on many different aspects of
culture, both in its own right and by fundamentally changing the social
environment which other western cultures share with it. Despite the wide variety
of modern elements of punk, it is generally agreed that the culture began in
England in the years 1976 to 1981, when the first and simplest from of punk
music began and ended.

There was a recognizable progression in the kind of music being created during
this era. This is a progression which went on to result in the pervading influence
of punk in areas of the culture where it could never have imagined being
influential back during its birth, when it was a youth culture and an outsider
culture.

Although punk music, which called itself punk music, was a very English thing
until the early eighties, the bands which led Malcolm McLaren to create a band
called the Sex Pistols in early 1976 were American, principally the New York
Dolls, for the image and attitude, and the Stooges, for the basis of the music.
Punk was a reaction against the pretentiousness of the prevailing bands of the
mid seventies, progressive rock bands with songs so indulgent and inaccessible
to the youth of Britain that there was a palpable gap in youth culture.
 History of punk music in England: 1976-1981

The Sex Pistols, led by John Lydon, aka Johnny Rotten, were one of the first
wave of bands including the Clash and the Damned that started playing around
London in 1976. They initially played in front of small and hostile crowds but
eventually gaining a burgeoning audience who were easily distinguishable by
their uniform of ripped clothing and dyed hair. By the time a number of the
London bands and some early punks from the rest of Britain played at the 100
Club in a legendary gig that cemented the existence of this new genre of music,
punk was a viable term. Almost immediately after the 100 Club concert, the
Damned released New Rose, the first punk single, and although it failed to sell,
this was not a problem faced by the Sex Pistols when they released Anarchy in
the UK a month later. Aided by the willful controversy of the band's members
and an infamous television interview with Bill Grundy, the single made the lower
reaches of the UK charts, announcing punk to a wider audience. The Damned
released their album “Damned Damned Damned” to an active culture in
November of that year.

In 1977 the Pistols sacked bass player Glen Matlock and brought in Sid Vicious,
a fan who could not play the bass but had the image, reputation and heroin
habit to court more controversy. In a flurry of publicity, the Pistols signed first to
A+M records, where they were dropped after a week and then to Virgin, where
they released two more excellent singles, God Save the Queen and Pretty
Vacant. Their album Never Mind the Bollocks Here's the Sex Pistols came out
later in the year to much acclaim.

Other early punk bands were cashing in on the publicity with records. Some,
like The Clash's eponymous debut album, were excellent, but the majority were
terrible. The Damned released their second album Music For Pleasure to
widespread derision, and as the year ended without any activity from flagship
band the Sex Pistols, punk seemed in a bad state considering its ever-
expanding and ever-diluting fanbase.

1978 was the year that the first wave of punk bands became washed up, but a
newer and more interesting generation swept over their bodies. At the start of
the year following a strenuous tour of America Johnny Rotten left the Sex
Pistols onstage with the legendary question, 'Ever get the feeling you've been
cheated?' As back in Britain a wave of talentless and characterless punk bands
released mediocre singles and albums the Pistols remained in America, without
a singer but living on the publicity of the film based on their story, Malcolm
McLaren's The Great Rock and Roll Swindle. They released a single, Cosh the
Driver, with train robber Ronnie Briggs on vocals, but were otherwise out of
ideas. In October Sid Vicious' girlfriend Nancy Spungen was found stabbed to
death in their hotel room and Sid was arrested on suspicion. However, while the
original punks learned the hard way that they could not trade forever on attitude
and image, there was a new generation in the wings who adapted the primitivity
of the music to something with a purpose.
While the demise of the old punks was signaled in the mediocrity of bands like
the UK Subs and the Clash's less popular second effort, there were new bands
like the Undertones, who released the perennial classic Teenage Kicks and
added pop to punk, and then Joy Division, who ditched their simple punk past
as nonentities Warsaw and were signed to Factory records.

1979 saw the death from a heroin overdose of Sid Vicious in February, a death
that effectively marked the end of the initial punk momentum. The rest of the
year was more encouraging, as a wave of post punk bands released classic
albums. The Clash was one of the few original punk bands to escape the
decline, as they adapted their music to include reggae, ska and pop elements
on their London Calling double album. The Undertones followed up Teenage
Kicks with a re-release and then an album of clever punk-pop, while punk was
now less centered in London then in the industrial towns, particularly
Manchester.

It was here that a new punk scene sprung up and produced, in Joy Division and
The Fall, two of the great British bands, whose music transcended any genre.
Joy Division released the angst filled paranoia of Unknown Pleasures after
some well recieved singles, and its singularly alienated and modern sound of
silences, white noise and sparsely driving rock rhythms made it an instant
classic. The Fall released two albums in 1979, first the twisted punk of Live At
the Witch Trials and then the dark and decidedly weird Dragnet, which marked
a departure already from punk.

1980 was efectively the end of punk, as Ian Curtis of Joy Division hung himself
shortly before the release of their second album Closer. In the light of his death
it is a terrifyingly intimate and despairing album, but still an absolute classic. His
death seemed to mark the end of punk's capacity for inspiration, and the Clash
released the terrible Sandanista to effectively end their careers while the
majority of punk bands either gave up or carried on with no purpose. Bands like
the Fall and the Mekons left punk behind almost totally as they continued to
make significant music.

In 1981 even the Undertones left punk behind as an influence, and punk as an
entity was almost completely dead, but its influence lived on in the whole of
youth culture, not present in itself but casting a shadow over everything. The
previous four years had had a profound effect.
 Most important bands

THE SEX PISTOLS

The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975.
They are responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom
and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians. Although their
initial career lasted just two-and-a-half years and produced only four singles and
one studio album, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols, they are
regarded as one of the most influential acts in the history of popular music.

The Sex Pistols originally comprised vocalist Johnny Rotten, guitarist Steve
Jones, drummer Paul Cook and bassist Glen Matlock. Matlock was replaced by
Sid Vicious in early 1977. Under the management of impresario Malcolm
McLaren, the band created controversies which captivated Britain. Their
concerts repeatedly faced difficulties with organizers and authorities, and public
appearances often ended in mayhem. Their 1977 single "God Save the Queen",
attacking Britons' social conformity and deference to the crown, precipitated the
"last and greatest outbreak of pop-based moral pandemonium".

In January 1978, at the end of a turbulent US tour, Rotten left the band and
announced its breakup. Over the next several months, the three other band
members recorded songs for McLaren's film version of the Sex Pistols' story,
The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle. Vicious died of a heroin overdose in February,
1979. In 1996, Rotten, Jones, Cook and Matlock reunited for the Filthy Lucre
Tour; since 2002, they have staged further reunion shows and tours. On 24
February 2006, the Sex Pistols were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame, but they refused to attend the ceremony, calling the museum "a piss
stain".

THE CLASH

The Clash were an English rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original
wave of British punk rock. Along with punk, they experimented with reggae, ska,
dub, funk, rap and rockabilly. For most of their recording career, The Clash
consisted of Joe Strummer (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Mick Jones (lead guitar,
vocals), Paul Simonon (bass, backing vocals, occasional lead vocals) and Nicky
"Topper" Headon (drums, percussion). Headon left the group in 1982, and
internal friction led to Jones's departure the following year. The group continued
with new members, but finally disbanded in early 1986.

The Clash were a major success in the UK from the release of their debut
album, The Clash, in 1977. Their third album, London Calling, released in the
UK in December 1979, brought them popularity in the United States when it
came out there the following month. Critically acclaimed, it was declared the
best album of the 1980s a decade later by Rolling Stone magazine.
The Clash's politicised lyrics, musical experimentation and rebellious attitude
had a far-reaching influence on rock, alternative rock in particular. They became
widely referred to as "The Only Band That Matters", originally a promotional
slogan introduced by the group's record label, CBS. In January 2003 the band
—including original drummer Terry Chimes—were inducted into the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked The Clash number 30 on their
list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

THE DAMNED

The Damned are an English punk band formed in London in 1976. They are
notable for being the first punk rock band from the UK to release a single ("New
Rose"), an album (Damned Damned Damned), and to tour the United States.
The Damned later evolved into one of the forerunners of the gothic genre.
They have incorporated numerous styles into their music and image, including:
garage rock, psychedelic rock, cabaret, and the theatrical rock of Screaming
Lord Sutch and Alex Harvey. Lead singer Dave Vanian's vocal style has been
described as similar to a crooner. The Damned have dissolved and reformed
many times, with Vanian as the sole constant member. However, the lineups
have always included either guitarist Captain Sensible and/or drummer Rat
Scabies, who are both founding members. The current line-up includes Vanian,
Captain Sensible, Monty Oxy Moron, Pinch and Stu West.
 Conclusion

• The punk subculture emerged in the United States, the United Kingdom,
and Australia in the mid-1970s. Exactly which region originated punk has
long been a major controversy within the movement.
• Around 1977, the subculture began to diversify with the proliferation of
factions such as 2 Tone, Oi!, pop punk, New Wave, and No Wave.

• By late 1976, bands such as the Ramones, in New York City, and the
Sex Pistols and The Clash, in London, were recognized as the vanguard
of a new musical movement

• The first wave of punk rock aimed to be aggressively modern, distancing

itself from the bombast and sentimentality of early 1970s rock.

• Typical punk rock instrumentation includes one or two electric guitars, an

electric bass, and a drum kit, along with vocals. Punk rock songs tend to
be shorter than those of other popular genres

• The classic punk rock look among male U.S. musicians harkens back to
the T-shirt, motorcycle jacket, and jeans ensemble favored by American
greasers of the 1950s associated with the rockabilly scene and by British
rockers of the 1960s.

Bibliography

• http://www.pirata.com.ni/pistols.html

• Glasper, Ian (2004). Burning Britain—The History of UK Punk 1980–1984

• http://pirata.biz/clash.php

• Harris, John (2004). Britpop!: Cool Britannia and the Spectacular Demise of
English Rock
 UNIVERSIDAD DE PLAYA ANCHA
FACULTAD DE EDUCACIÓN
CARRERA DE PEDAGOGÍA EN INGLÉS
PROMOCIÓN 2008

“Punk Music in
UK”
Nombres:
Octavio Contreras
Sebastián Escobar
Belén Espergue

Profesor:
Hammish Stewart

Valparaíso, Chile
25/11/2009