Punk rock emerged in the mid-1970s and is still considered one of the most important subversive movements in rock history. What began as an anti-commercial protest culture against mainstream rock and all forms of authority has long since become a commercialized mix of music, culture, and fashion. But is punk dead? Of course not – it just looks different today!
We’ll take you through a brief history of punk, looking at influential bands, their sound, and their gear.
The roots of punk rock – who invented it?
As with any genre of music, there are differing opinions about who ultimately invented punk rock. In the early 1970s, bands such as The Stooges and MC5 laid the foundation for a raw and minimalist style that sought to be the antithesis of commercial stadium rock.
In the mid-1970s, a music scene emerged around the cult New York club CBGB’s that is considered the cradle of punk rock. Its most prominent protagonists were four young men with three chords under their belts: The Ramones. Their self-titled debut album from 1976 is now considered the most important historical document of the birth of punk in the USA.
Ramones – Blitzkrieg Bop
Around the same time, in November 1975, a band called the Sex Pistols played their first concert in London. In their three-year history with just one studio album, this band managed like no other to become the figurehead of a new punk spirit. Songs like “God Save The Queen” and “Anarchy in The U.K.” are still revered as anthems by the scene today.
Sex Pistols – God Save The Queen
Beyond the music, bands like the Sex Pistols and The Clash made a name for themselves with chaotic concerts, drug excesses, and protest against all forms of authority. This was underlined by fashion accessories such as leather jackets, torn clothing, dyed hair, and studded belts, which remain hallmarks of the punk scene to this day.
Marshall
1959 HW
The DIY (do it yourself) movement, which sought independence from major record companies, concert promoters, and mainstream media, was also part of this new youth movement. So punk rock may not have been invented in England, but the overall cultural concept of “punk” as we know it today was most impressively demonstrated here.
Gibson
Les Paul Custom AW
As you’d expect, the equipment used by the leading punk veterans was unpretentious. They used whatever was available, as long as it was loud enough. The Marshall 1959 Super Lead Full Stack appeared repeatedly on stage with the Ramones, the Stooges, and MC5. In the early days, Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols liked to use a cream-colored Gibson Les Paul Custom and a Fender Twin Reverb amp.
Fender
65 Twin Reverb
New wave, post-punk, hardcore: the splitting of the punk scene
On 4 June 1976, the Sex Pistols played a concert at the Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester in front of about 40 people. Among the audience were a handful of young musicians who, looking back, cited this concert as the main inspiration for forming their own bands. These were Joy Division, The Smiths, and The Buzzcocks, who are considered the forefathers of post-punk and new wave. Their music was characterized by a more pop-oriented style of punk with more sophisticated vocal lines and early forays into synth pop. Fashion-wise, these bands also increasingly turned away from the U.K. punk of the early days.
Johnny Marr of The Smiths became famous above all for his atmospheric clean sounds, which he created in the early days with a Rickenbacker 330 paired with a Roland JC-120 Jazz Chorus.
Rickenbacker
330 FG
Roland
JC-40
At the same time, a scene developed on the other side of the pond that continued the punk spirit of the previous years, both musically and ideologically. Bands such as Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, and Minor Threat focused on an uncompromising sound, fast riffs, and a DIY ethos. This gave rise to American hardcore punk in the early 1980s, which would become the main inspiration for a few more commercial punk bands in the years to come.
The commercial side of punk: the 90s and 2000s
In the wake of new wave, post-punk and hardcore, numerous punk bands were formed on both sides of the Atlantic during the 1980s, some of which would usher in the most commercially successful phase of the music genre. In Germany, Die Toten Hosen and Die Ärzte celebrated their first successes in the mid-1980s, while in the USA bands such as Bad Religion and NOFX saw the light of day.
In the 1990s, Green Day and The Offspring benefited from the golden age of the music industry and achieved sales figures in the double-digit millions in the wake of the grunge wave. The resulting mixture of punk and alternative rock with catchy melodies and strong choruses remains one of the most successful variations of punk rock to this day. In terms of fashion, the style was once again more strongly oriented towards 1970s UK punk, combined with the typical skater accessories of the 1990s.
In commemoration of the 30th anniversary of Green Day’s breakthrough album “Dookie”, MXR dedicated a special distortion pedal to their guitar sound. Live, mastermind Billie Joe Armstrong increasingly swears by the Gibson Les Paul Junior.
MXR
Dookie Drive 30th Ann. LTD
Epiphone
Billie Joe Armstrong LP Junior
At the end of the 90s, bands such as blink-182, Sum 41, and Rise Against were at the forefront of more melodic mainstream punk genres such as pop punk, skate punk, and emo punk. Many of these bands are still active today and continue to fill large stadiums and festivals. Of course, they weren’t universally praised by the punk scene. Bands such as Green Day and Bad Religion were repeatedly accused of selling out commercially and betraying the punk ethos. On the other hand, it can be argued that many of these bands have their roots in DIY punk and are simply advancing the genre.
Punk Today
Even today, the punk spirit hasn’t lost any of its appeal and has long since embraced modern channels of self-promotion such as social media and streaming platforms. The DIY ethos and political dimension still play a major role. Good examples from Germany include the band Feine Sahne Fischfilet from Neubrandenburg or Team Scheisse from Bremen. Both bands frequently address topics such as racism, capitalism, and diversity in their lyrics.
International acts like Amyl and the Sniffers or Turnstile bring new life to genres such as punk and hardcore, presenting them in a fresh, modern guise – and nowadays, female band members on stage are simply part of the scene. Turnstile guitarist Meg Millis is often spotted playing Jackson guitars with HSS pickup configurations and the ever-popular Peavey 6505 amp head.
Jackson
X Series Soloist SL3X DX OR
Peavey
6505 II Head
Greetings from the 80s – the Jackson X Series Solist. The all-purpose weapon for punk and hardcore – the Peavey 6505 amp head.
The English band Idles has carried the post-punk genre into the present day with dignity, without denying its musical roots. Guitarists Mark Bowen and Lee Kiernan create their experimental sounds using a wide array of effect pedals from companies like Death By Audio and EarthQuaker Devices. Post Punk synth sounds – the EarthQuaker Devices Bit Commander.
EarthQuaker Devices
Bit Commander V2
Is Punk Dead?
Definitely not! The punk spirit has never lost its appeal and continues to inspire young bands to try changing the world with just three chords. Perhaps the mohawk hairstyle, leather jacket, and studded belt are no longer the defining symbols of the punk scene. Yet the DIY ethos of countless indie labels, small promoters, and bands has endured beautifully over the decades. You just have to look closely…
Punk today: your feedback
What are your favorite punk bands – past and present? Tell us in the comments!
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