UK '77 Punk
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UK '77 Punk is the British first-wave sound: barre-chord guitars, shout-along choruses, anti-authority lyrics, slashing downstrokes and a mix of speed, sarcasm and tabloid confrontation. It is often rougher and more slogan-driven than New York punk, with class anger, boredom and media panic built into the music. Reggae, pub rock, glam, mod and art-school provocation all sit underneath the three-chord attack.
History
The Sex Pistols became the scandalous flashpoint, but the scene quickly expanded through The Clash, The Damned, Buzzcocks, X-Ray Spex, The Adverts, Wire, Sham 69 and dozens of regional bands. Independent labels, John Peel sessions, the Roxy club, fanzines and the 1977 Jubilee moment turned punk into a national rupture. Its aftermath produced post-punk experimentation, street punk, oi!, anarcho-punk and UK hardcore, but the '77 sound remains the classic British punk vocabulary.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- England's Dreaming
- The Roxy London WC2 compilation notes
- AllMusic UK punk overviews
- John Peel session histories