In what ways was punk a rebellion against the social conditions of the 1970s?

By Tom Taylor, Third Year History Student

  ‘Early seventies Britain was a very depressing place’, John Lydon recalled in a 2006 interview. ‘It was completely run down, there was trash on the streets, total unemployment – just about everybody was on strike’. Under the name Johnny Rotten, Lydon led the punk band the Sex Pistols against a backdrop of perceived decline and social malaise in 1970s Britain, a sentiment which was also felt more widely across Europe. This essay will argue that punk, as a subculture, was a reaction to the economic decline and social restrictions of Europe during this era and also a battleground for a variety of political agendas and motivations. In terms of style, the reaction to social conditions could also be interpreted as a rebellion. This is a view shared by cultural historian Matthew Worley, who argues that ‘punk set itself against things, be it other music cultures, the establishment […] class divisions, society and even itself. Whilst, as an often contradictory and incoherent subculture, the motivations of punks cannot be neatly defined, historians can gain some insight into the views of individual punks at the time. The amateur music and culture publications produced by fans, known as ‘fanzines’, such as the Bristol-based 1977 publication Loaded, as well as interviews with key figures within the subculture are useful to historians in understanding the nature of punk. Unified by a nihilistic, disaffected attitude, as well as a do-it-yourself approach to music and fashion, punk can be read as a musical form, style, media constructed label and lifestyle which enthused some young people in the 1970s and 1980s. This essay will take the Oxford English Dictionary’s definition of ‘rebellion’ to mean ‘an open or determined defiance or resistance to any authority, controlling power or convention.’ As a subculture which developed primarily in the United Kingdom, the majority of discussion will focus on Western Europe and Britain in particular. However, the situation in Eastern Europe, especially East Germany, will form part of the essay’s argument. By considering punk music, style and politics individually, this essay will demonstrate how the punk subculture reacted to the social conditions of the 1970s and how this reaction, when applied to punk style and aesthetics, could constitute a rebellion.

Much scholarly attention has focused on documenting the origins of punk and charting its impact in Britain throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Jon Savage’s England’s Dreaming, for example, concentrates on the role of the Sex Pistols as a band at the forefront of the subculture and arguably neglects punks at the periphery. As such a broad and multifaceted subculture, historians often concentrate on only one element, such as style or music, and therefore are unable to achieve effective analysis of the bigger picture. Moreover, many histories of punk seem subjective and driven by the author’s own experiences and prejudices. Whilst this essay draws on the arguments of Matthew Worley, it must be noted that he was once a punk himself and this may influence his work on the subculture. Elements of nostalgia are likely to be present, if not overtly, in scholarly work by those who were once involved in the subculture. The role of women and ethnic minorities in punk is also an area of historical research that has not received enough attention, especially considering the prominent role of female-led bands such as X-Ray Spex and Siouxsie and the Banshees. Furthermore, the music and attitudes of punk drew heavily from reggae and the Rastafari movement which is only touched on briefly in punk’s historiography. It must also be noted that, as a largely underground movement, particularly in Eastern Europe, the primary sources that scholars analyse are often limited in scope. Fanzines and interviews can only express the views and experiences of a limited number of people and do not reflect the movement as a whole. Whilst they do provide useful insight into how contemporaries thought and behaved; it must not be assumed that views were shared across the entire subculture. This is especially true of interviews conducted decades after the punk movement ended, such as those in John Robb’s Punk: An Oral History, as memory is often highly personal and subjective. Interviewees such as John Lydon or Don Letts are likely to position themselves at the centre of the action and driving the movement, rather than at the peripheries. Attention granted to Eastern Europe and punk within the Soviet Union is also limited, although recent publications such as William Jay Risch’s Youth and Rock in the Soviet Bloc are widening the scope to include punks in East Germany, Slovenia and Ukraine. The historiography of punk, therefore, is underdeveloped, often subjective and largely narrative based. Whilst there are some notable exceptions, academic study of punk needs to be broadened to include those at the peripheries and a more analytical approach needs to be taken.

  Punk music reacted to a sense of decline and crisis in Europe during the 1970s by highlighting the lack opportunities and boredom which confronted young people. At the heart of the British punk scene as videographer for The Clash was Don Letts who in 2006 recalled the attitude of punks, commenting that there were:

‘No jobs. There was a general feeling of no future, the SUS laws, high unemployment, strikes […] People singing about ‘Hotel California, and we don’t even know where California is, much less than check into a fucking hotel!’

Lett’s description of economic crisis, in particular ‘high unemployment’ and ‘strikes’, is supported by the work of historians Worley, Dan Stone and William Risch. Stone highlights the decline of traditional industries such as iron and steel, textiles and shipbuilding where employment fell to 58%, 62% and 28% respectively in ten Western European countries between 1974 and 1985. In Eastern Europe, high energy costs, scarce raw materials and lack of investment in capital had halted the rapid economic growth of the early 1970s. Most notable in the Soviet Union was the inability of the government to meet increasingly sophisticated consumer needs and this contributed to a feeling of restriction and entrapment amongst the Eastern European youth. Lett’s exclamation, ‘we don’t even know where California is, much less than check into a fucking hotel!’ reflected the restricted horizons of European youth. Mainstream rock music, and in particular progressive rock, was criticised as being out of touch with the realities of life. Instrumental songs, some over ten minutes long, were viewed as pretentious and self-indulgent by punks as it was thought bands such as Yes and Pink Floyd had become complacent and lazy. Punk rock, on the other hand, was full of energy and vibrancy. Little to no skill was required to start a punk band which fed into the ‘do it yourself’ culture which surrounded the subculture. Songs such as The Clash’s ‘1977’ portrayed a society on the verge of collapse and a disaffected youth: ‘In 1977 I hope I go to heaven, ‘cause I’ve been too long on the dole’. The lyrical content of punks songs, evidenced by The Clash, reflected a central theme that extends across the genre: no future. Punk music, then, was not so much a rebellion against diclinism as a reflection of it. Worley, argues that it provided an alternative sense of excitement and belonging, away from the mundanity and malaise of everyday life. In his first interview to the music press, Johnny Rotten stated: ‘I hate shit. I hate hippies and what they stand for […] I want people to go out and start something, to see us and start something, or else I’m just wasting my time.’ This was especially the case in Eastern Germany where punk music was also seen as something new, shocking and fun and provided a welcome distraction from the constrictive social and economic conditions. The authoritarian Soviet regime had created an stifling, constrictive atmosphere and punk represented an escape from this. It provided authentic artistic expression, in contrast to government approved rock bands who were careful to toe the party line. Punk wasn’t, then, an active ‘resistance’ to the economic crises and social malaise of 1970s Europe, but instead a reflection of it. It provided an escape rather than a rebellion.

  The political motivations of punk are too contradictory and varied to constitute an ‘opened or determined defiance’ against the social conditions of the 1970s. Again, they were a reaction and reflection of 1970s Europe rather than a direct challenge to it. This challenges the assumptions of the Birmingham Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies (CSSS) which published a series of papers in the late 1960s arguing that youth subcultures should be interpreted through a Marxist lens and emphasising their role in a larger class struggle. The examination of punk as a subculture reveals how CSSS scholars projected their own political motivations onto youth subcultures, because punk is too internally disparate and contradictory to hold a coherent class consciousness. In the second edition of Loaded, a 1977 Bristol fanzine edited by a Kingsdown resident and punk Tim Williams, the author writes: ‘Last week we went to the Arnolfini arts centre to see a couple of the films […] in my estimation both films were crap all the boys started to throw things at the hippies in the audience. The film, or at least what I could see of it amid the flying bottles, toilet rolls, fag ends and abuse had now fallen completely on its face […]’. The disdain for mainstream culture, expressed in the authors statements ‘both films were crap’ and ‘the boys started to throw things at the hippies’, could be read as a working class subculture rebelling against a bourgeoisie mainstream. It could also perceived as a generational clash, with punks rebelling against an outdated rival subculture. This, however, avoids the varied and contradictory reality of punk politics in the 1970s. Some punks saw their movement as inherently left-wing, embracing its anarchy and rejection of authority. Bands such as The Clash played benefit concerts for political causes and emphasised their rejection of fascism and racism in songs such as ‘(White Man) in Hammersmith Palais’. Others failed to see the irony in punk’s use of the swastika and gigs often became recruiting grounds for the National Front and fascist organisations. The aggression and violence which characterised some punk concerts attracted those who saw punk simply as a means to fight and cause trouble. Shows would often end in brawls between skinheads and anti-fascists squads. Worley argues that punk should be seen as a site of political struggle and as a medium to explore agendas rather than a coherent political movement set on rebellion. The final line of William’s description of the film viewing is perhaps most insightful in this sense. Whilst some punks have had political motivation for their actions, others were there for the excitement and fun it provided. In throwing ‘bottles, toilet rolls’ and ‘fag ends’, punks were lashing out at society rather than actively attempting to change it.

  Whilst the music and politics of punk is most convincingly interpreted as a reaction to the social conditions of Europe in the 1970s, its style and aesthetic can be seen as a rebellion with reference to the OED’s definition. Punk captured attention in both Eastern and Western Europe because it was ‘openly defiant’ of authority and rejected cultural norms. The do-it-yourself fashion, where rubber and leather bondage accessories were attached to ripped denim jackets by safety-pins, originated in a boutique called SEX, run by Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren on Kings Road in London. The fashion was provocative and deliberately designed to shock and offend the sensibilities of mainstream culture. Clothes were ripped, pierced and decorated with swastikas, pornographic images and lavatory chains. Common hairstyles included dyed Mohicans and shaved heads. Historian of style, Valerie Steele, has labelled this phenomenon ‘anti-fashion’ and argues that it was deliberately aggressive and confrontational. Rather than reflecting the social conditions of 1970s in Europe, the style of punk provided an open challenge to it. The style Vivienne Westwood pioneered in SEX filtered down to the mass market and became the distinctive outwards presentation of the punk subculture. Furthermore, the rebellious aesthetics and visuals of punk were not present solely in fashion. The Sex Pistol’s ‘God Save the Queen’ album artwork, which showed a defaced image of the British monarch’s face, originally with swastikas for eyes, caused outrage amongst the media and general public. Venue owners, local authorities and student organisation attempted to prevent punk gigs from taking place or made sure there was a heavy police presence in place. In Eastern Europe, authorities saw the punk aesthetic as a threat to the socialist system. Historian William Risch argues that the East German government had curated an ideal ‘socialist personality’ who had a firm class outlook rooted in the accepted Marxist-Leninist world view. The ideal socialist youth would be ‘imbued with collective thought and deeds, consciously and creatively contributing to the shaping of socialism.’ The outlandish aesthetic of punk, which was inherently visible and extroverted, subverted this socialist ideal. The East German government, therefore, used the media and youth groups to discourage youths from becoming punks as well as police intimidation and Stasi surveillance to suppress the subculture. In both Western and Eastern Europe, the highly visible, shocking aesthetic of punk can be viewed as a rebellion against restrictive social norms and attitudes which were present across Europe in the 1970s. In the West, this meant shocking the older generation’s sensibilities, in the East it subverted the socialist ideal projected onto the youth from older members of society.

  Punk, as a subculture, was a rebellion against the social conditions of the 1970s through its openly confrontational and aggressive style and aesthetics. The vulgarity of punk clothing and obscene artwork was a purposeful attempt to shock and offend mainstream culture and figures of authority. It rebelled against what punks saw as a stagnant and tired Europe, injecting energy and excitement into the lives of young people. However, it is more accurate to see punk on the whole as a reaction to social conditions rather than a rebellion against them. The sense of decline and malaise which unemployment, high inflation and media panic brought, was reflected in the hopeless and disaffected sound of punk. In this sense, young people weren’t engaging in organised, determined resistance against social conditions in 1970s Europe. Instead, they echoed the crisis through harsh, raw lyrics and aggressive performance. Politics did play a role, but it was contradictory and disparate with punk being claimed by both left and right-wing organisations. Some, moreover, saw punk as an apolitical subculture and rejected attempts to explain their motivations or ideas. Whilst bands such as The Clash and Sham 69 played benefit concerts for organisations such as Rock Against Racism, this was partly because they wanted to deter fascists and violence rather than ideas around class consciousness. The reading of punk as uniform movement, grounded in class consciousness, does not consider its broad, contradictory nature. John Lydon best summed this up in his statement: ‘If you came from the wrong side of the tracks (which of course was of not much use because the trains were on strike) then you had no hope in hell and no career prospects at all. Out of that came pretentious moi and the Sex Pistols and then a whole bunch of copycat wankers after us.’ This captures the nuance and irony in punk, which the label of ‘rebellion’, rather than ‘reaction’, largely ignores or confuses.

Bibliography

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Robb, John, Punk Rock: An Oral History ed. by Oliver Craske (Oakland, CA: PM Press, 2012)

John Robb, Punk Rock: An Oral History ed. by Oliver Craske (Oakland, CA: PM Press, 2012), p.

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Cover Photo Credit: Frankie Cordoba on unsplash