Were you a Punk Rock fan when Punk Rock first arrived (ca. 1976-177)? Was anyone here a fan of “proto-punk” ala Iggy Pop and such earlier in the 70s?
For the first group, what do you remember about the scene prior to 1980?
For the second, as fans of proto-punk, how did you view the aesthetics and culture of Punk once it fully bloomed in the later 70s?
No I was a suburban hard rock idiot. I came to it later.
ETA: this should be in Cafe Society.
I was in college in 1976, so I heard all the latest trends. I immediately became a Ramones fan, but didn’t get very deep into the rest of the punk scene. There were an awful lot of (largely awful) bands trying to out-punk each other. I stuck with the Ramones because they seemed to be in it for the fun.
I liked Lou Reed (was he Punk or Glitter?), the New York Dolls and the Clash. “London Calling” is still one of my favorite songs. Never got into the Ramones, I doubt I would recognize any of their songs. I was 30 by then, probably a bit older then the typical audience.
Dennis
Being from the far southern Chicago suburbs, I didn’t hear any Punk until it broke into the top 40.
Yeah, pretty much, because I lived near CBGB back then, and was 17, and CBGB was pretty lax about checking ID, and the drinking age was 18 back then anyway.
Mostly because of the friendly door policy at CBGB, more that than being avant-garde or even aware that this was a “scene.”
And, Tim R. Mortiss, you’re right. The Ramones *were *a lot of fun. Even though Joey stole a girl from me once.
I loved Iggy and his stuff and liked the Sex Pistols but I never got into the punk scene much. Punk-Metal (along the lines of say the Meatmen) was easier and required less shopping for just the right look. By 1980 I was too old to worry much about looks.
I was in my 20s. I knew of it, and was a big fan of the Ramones and the Clash, but I found New Wave more interesting.
That’s too bad! Chi had a thriving punk scene in late 70’s/early 80’s and bands like The Effigies, Naked Raygun, Rights Of The Accused, Strike Under, and Subverts would be very influential in the national music scene for years to come, influencing bands like Urge Overkill, The Smashing Pumpkins, Veruca Salt, and Liz Phair. The documentary***You Weren’t There: A History of Chicago Punk, 1977–1984 *** does an excellent job of telling the story!
so, yeah, I was a fan!
mc
I fell into punk around 1979, so I missed those first couple of years. I lived in Dallas at the time, and there was zero punk on the radio (or in clubs, though I did get to see the Ramones in 80), so it was entirely word of mouth that got me interested.
I’m not a huge punk fan but I liked The Ramones and The Clash other random punk/power pop groups of the era. Never really got in to Iggy, but I did follow the infamous Sex Pistols tour and still have my cassette of their final show at Winterland. I heard Rotten proclaim "Ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated?" live on KSAN. What a thrill!
The albumBurning Ambitions - A History of Punk got me into punk, but that wasn’t until 1984. There are some great examples of real punk there.
Influences of punk - Nuggets garage, MC5, Stooges…
Reddy Mercury … cinnabar … Zanzibar ???
I was more a prog fan at the time but back in the 70s I was browsing in record shop (Hell, in Thistle Street in Edinburgh, iirc, but it might have been the original Edinburgh branch of Virgin, which was a few doors along) and one of the staff put a new record on the shop system.
Before the second song finished I had walked up and asked who it was and bought it.
‘It’ being Raw Power by Iggy Pop.
The only other record I remember doing that with was a bit later with Parallel Lines by Blondie.
My tastes changed from prog to punk and new wave but also reggae so the gigs I went to were as likely to be groups like Tradition, Culture, or the Revolutionaries, than the Gang of Four or Pere Ubu. My punk gigs were mainly local bands in the local scene.
If anyone wants to see pictures of old Edinburgh record shops, with their bags, etc. this is a good page. Hell Records is about 1/2 way down, and Virgin almost at the bottom.
When the Pistols arrived (at JFK Airport?) in '78 for their U.S. tour, Eyewitness News (“with Roger Grimsby. And Bill Beutel”) was there to cover the story, IIRC - giving many of us suburban N.J. kids our first glimpse of Punk.
Their reputation for violence and controversy was enhanced by the image of the band spitting on the fans who’d assembled to greet them. If it was meant to be off-putting, I’d say it was largely successful, but this didn’t stop WNEW Radio from placing “God Save the Queen” into its file for occasional airplay, alongside the new sounds of Elvis Costello and Talking Heads.
By '79, The Ramones could be heard even on WPIX Radio. Something was definitely up.
I was about ten when I first heard punk in small-town central Florida. God bless friends’ older siblings.
I loved it. I loved the Ramones. I loved Iggy Pop. A few years later, I heard the Damned, Dead Kennedys, and X. Loved them, too.
Was a 1980s punk/new wave/early Goth.
I listened to a bunch of other stuff as well, but punk and new wave are the soundtrack to my youth.
Central Wisconsin didn’t have any punk bands, but we did have an awesome radio station that played some punk and new wave in the late 70s. So I got a good sampling of the better stuff.
I always thought I missed out, until I watched The Decline of Western Civilization last year. But I still like the music, even after all these years.
Remember the girl group, the Shangri-Las? Later in their career they toured college campuses with other groups like the Young Rascals. One of the groups was The Sonics with a young Iggy Pop. Many many bands said they were influenced by the Shangri-Las, from the 60’s till the present. They were seen as ‘tough girls’ and proto-punks. (this is according to Wikipedia.) So, if you count this girl-group, lol, yeah, I was a big fan! … I liked the Clash, Blondie, and the New York Dolls, but being a lady-like suburbanite, I was more into New Wave and Glam Rock.
SACRILIGE!
Nervebreakers formed in 1975
[my bolding]
Wait, what??? Iggy toured with the Sonics? Not that I don’t believe you, it’s just that I’ve never heard about that and would find it very exciting. Do you have any further info?
Never into the punk rock scene myself, but I have fond recollections of watching New Wave Theatre which showcased many such bands and the prevailing attitudes. The music ranged from pretty dreadful to damn good, but the show always managed to be entertaining.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=New+Wave+Theatre