Punk to me was a form of free speech.
It was a moment when suddenly all kinds of strange voices – that no reasonable person could ever have expected to hear in public – were being heard all over the place.
– Greil Marcus
For nearly two years, readers of The Number Ones Comment Section were treated to a daily music history lesson from Bill “Virgindog” Bois.
V-dog marked the passage of time by noting significant milestones in the essential later-’70’s and early-’80s genre known as “Punk Rock.”
He was there in real time, performing as a working musician and absorbing all that the nascent culture entailed. All of us at tnocs.com are grateful that he’s dug into the vault, as he re-shares the chronicling of the names, dates and artists who were part of a truly unique period in 20th century popular music.
So, join Bill as he looks at the first week of August, 1975, in an encore edition of The Punk Side of Town.
August 5, 1975
Three blokes and their manager in London are looking for a lead singer. They spot a guy on the street in a Pink Floyd t-shirt with the words “I hate” scrawled near the neck line.
They figure he’s their man and have him come in for an audition.
Late in August 1975, John Lydon becomes Johnny Rotten.
And the band becomes The Sex Pistols.
August 6, 1975
The band Brinsley Schwartz had been under contract to United Artists, and had put out half a dozen albums. But they hadn’t really had a hit. Naturally, they broke up. UA released all the members from the contract – except one – because he was the main songwriter, and a good one.
Nick Lowe, however, wanted out of the contract and, as he explains in this video, decided to hand in songs so bad that UA would have no choice but to release him. But he couldn’t just record white noise or fingers on a blackboard. It had to appear like he was doing his best and that his best wasn’t very good.
His first submission was Bay City Rollers We Love You. He thought surely this would be the start of his contract’s demise, but the label loved it.
Very few other people loved it and it flopped everywhere.
Except Japan. It was released as a single there in this virtual month and year.
Lowe’s contract remained intact for a while longer.
August 8, 1975
Patti Smith records her tribute to Jimi Hendrix, Elegie, on September 18, 1975, the anniversary of his death. It’s released on her first album, Horses, in December.
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Ooh, nice. 1975 has an almost mythic feel to it. So many important rumblings going on below the surface.
Some other happenings of note:
The Heartbreakers form: Johnny Thunders and Jerry Nolan from the just-disbanded New York Dolls united with Richard Hell (freshly kicked out of Television by his best friend) to start their own band.
Cleveland band Rocket From the Tombs breaks up. Two other bands are formed in its wake: Pere Ubu and Frankenstein (later re-dubbed The Dead Boys).
First Talking Heads’ gig, supporting The Ramones at CBGB.
Television records “Little Johnny Jewel,” and weird punk prog is born.
Pere Ubu records “30 Seconds Over Tokyo/Heart of Darkness” and, oddly enough, the sound of post-punk is born. 🙂
One of my band’s first gigs was opening for Johnny Thunders. Jerry Nolan was on drums but Richard Hell wasn’t there. It was a great time though.
That’s awesome!
My favorite critic is Howard Hampton. I felt better about liking Cloudland after reading his review in Born in Flames: Termite Dreams, Dialectical Fairy Tales, and Pop Apocalypses. “Waiting for Mary”, Pere Ubu’s bid “to write a big hit song”, still, was odd. If David Thomas was selling out, he did with grace and panache. That bridge is really funny: “Oh, I wonder why she can’t ever be on time?” the way he draws out each word with growing exasperation. Reissues of their early work blew my mind. Some of those albums were released on a major label. Kinda like Sparks. Weirdos without an indie label that catered to weirdos. Early Pere Ubu sounded like a Drag City band to me.
I’ve come to terms with Cloudland, but it’s less a sell-out effort for me than one that just can’t come near the genius of their early efforts. Even the one right before that, Tenement Year, is markedly more interesting, and perhaps the most conventional they could be while still being fully weird.
As seminal as their earliest stuff was, to me the absolute best material is on their first three proper albums: the 78-79 line-up. Simultaneously absurd, hilarious, terrifying, sad, and full of religious reverie. Such was the surreal power of Ubu.
That Nick Lowe story is great. Maybe not for Nick but if at first you don’t fail, try, try again.
Punk is one musical era I wish I’d been around for. I don’t think I’d have bought into the fashion aspect – though in the rural corner of the world I grew up in it would probably have had an even bigger shock factor than in London. Sex Pistols and their notoriety were my gateway into it and led me to find so much more. Reading England’s Dreaming by Jon Savage as a teenager was the next big influence and allowed me to piece together how it all came about and evolved.
Its a shame that just like everything it been co-opted into commercial posturing. There’s a pizza restaurant in Leeds called Pizza Punks with the a in the form of the circled A anarchy symbol. Its what Joe Strummer would have wanted I’m sure. Apparently they’ve ripped up the rule book on how to make pizzas. I don’t care how good the pizzas might be I just can’t bring myself to try them.
From the photos, the pizza looks…rather normal and orderly. I mean, not that safety pins are all that fun to eat…
“Its what Joe Strummer would have wanted I’m sure.”
It’s like the time Bill Hicks was approached to be in an ad campaign for Orange Drink.
https://youtu.be/pRcF7t5HGhQ
My view on the whole punk genre and later the grunge genre.
The male groups seemed to be to much in your face style (i.e. if you don’t like my music then f**k you) as opposed to disco in the ’70’s (hey, just dance and have a good time).
But Patti Smith caught my ear and eased me on in to the gentler side of another music style and I enjoyed her take on the alternative music.
V,
I hope you share your “wrong side of the tracks” you’ve written in the comments over at TNO.
I hope you’re sharing stuff you’ve already written and enjoying your vacation!
I’ll take “The Punk Side of Town” revisits anyday!
Punk music is something I’ll never embrace, but it is still a fascinating era to watch from the sidelines.
{re: the re-run:}
{V-dog is on a well-deserved holiday. But it wouldn’t be a Friday without his byline.}
Mad props for Nick Lowe.
“(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding” is turning into the new “Hallelujah”.
There will be many more covers in the forthcoming future.
A friend just texted me a photo of Lowe visiting Elvis Costello backstage, along with Wanda Jackson last night.
Costello’s most oft-covered song is a song he didn’t write. I wonder how he feels about that.
For just $59 I can catch The 1975 at the Waikiki Shell on August 6.