On the tail end the life of Malcolm McClaren, one of the more complex godfathers of London Punk, it seems appropriate to find that the city is more alive than ever in terms of music and culture. There are some who will say that punk rock here is dead, but the purists will understand the irony of the statement, because it was never really alive.
That might be something that needs unpacking, and to do so means looking at a kind of history, or pre-history of punk in London . Right now, visitors to the city can find plenty of memorabilia, and some traces of what appear to be the makings of another wave of punk rock, and there are many ways to take history tours of the city to see the places made famous by bands like the Sex Pistols, to name an obvious face for the music. Even here, looking at the ephemera, there are philosophical traces that reflect its origins.
One could argue that it started in 1976-1977, with the Pistols here, the Ramones in the U.S., and the Saints in Australia. That’s a fairly standard version, and also fairly contested, because there are many who will argue the point to the wee hours of the morning. There are plenty of worse ways of spending time in a pub in London, however, and it’s a fine way to meet people. The time spent mulling over these conversations in the charming hotel later will also be time well spent.
The ones who argue most for the U.K. origins will want to trace it back to the Who and the Kinks , and similar bands who were expressing a similar energy. The energy here is really the key to the music. That sentiment expressed in Pete Townshend’s guitar-smashes was characteristic of the generation. It demonstrates a destructiveness and a frustration that borders on art, and it seemed to be a rare moment that captured something elemental. However, Townshend himself would remind interviewers that he was always quoting in his performance, and his live work has always been a masterful study on how to move a crowd.
The origins, artistically, to punk actually belong to Paris, because it was the Dadaists who seemed to animate the teenage impulse toward active ennui. That desire to undermine meaning and stop making sense didn’t start here either, but it certainly became codified, and then dismantled immediately. Visitors to London looking for its origins are promised a brilliant time of it, and might want to look into Paris as the next destination.
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