In Part 1, we left of with Death, and we pick up from there for Part 2 to cover the essential first wave of true punk rock. In order to break this up and form it a little better I'm going to separate the regions that we're covering, starting with New York.
New York
Starting with New York, the scene really centers around the iconic CBGB club.
The history of the New York punk scene starts with the Proto-Punk/Art Punk band Television. They were essentially a Garage rock band, along with a lot of the proto punk bands before them, but what sets Television apart is the bassist and singer is credited with pioneering what would become the Punk Rock look. In April of 1974 Television guitarist Tom Verlaine provided the guitar work on Patti Smith's single Hey Joe/Piss Factory. This record was released under Smith's own record label Mer Records, which created the DIY ethic that became a stable of punk rock. That single is referred to as the first real punk rock record.
Around this same time, one of the biggest acts in early punk rock was being formed. Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee and Tommy all took on the last name of Ramone and formed the Ramones. The name took influence from Paul McCartney's pseudonym of Paul Ramon during the days of the Silver Beatles (which later became just the Beatles. You may have heard of them. They had a little success.)
The Ramones played their first show at CBGB on August 16th, 1974.
In the Spring of 1974 Tevevision got a two month residency CBGB which is what truly raised the profile of the club. Televisions Blank Generation was becoming the anthemic staple of the movement around this time.
As we start getting into 1976, bands were starting to move into New York specifically to play at CBGB. By this time it was coming to be the mecca of Punk Rock. In February of 1976, The Ramones released their first single, Blitzkrieg Bop. Blitzkrieg Bop would go on to be named the 92nd greatest song of all time by Rolling Stone in 2005 and the Ramones self titled first album would go on to be Gold certified, being the first real commercial success of the punk movement.
United Kingdom
In May of 1975 Malcolm McLaren returned to London after witnessing the scene at CBGB around its rise. A band called The Strand were regular customers of McLaren's clothing store, Sex, which was renowned for its Anti-Fashion. In August this band was searching for a new lead singer. The job was won by another regular of the store, Johnny Rotten. Rotten won the job and the band would go on to rebrand themselves as the Sex Pistols. The band started gaining a cult like following
Early in 1976 a friend of McLaren was managing a band named London SS, however, this band broke up and gave birth to two highly influential Punk bands, The Damned and The Clash.
The UK Punk scene had a very important stretch of days in July of 1976. On July 4th, The Ramones played their first show in the UK at The Roadhouse, which was sold out. On the same night, The Clash opened for The Sex Pistols. This was The Clash's debut. On July 5th, The Clash and The Sex Pistols both attended a Ramones show at Dingwalls club. And on July 6th, The Damned performed their first show opening for The Sex Pistols in London. Why are these days so important you ask? The Ramones left their mark on the UK Punk scene that followed with their first appearance in the region and two very influential bands debuted. This really seems to be the biggest three days in the punk genre.
In August of 1976 a Punk Rock festival was attempted to be established in Mont de Marsan, France. However, The Sex Pistols and The Clash pulled out of the event. Therefore, The Damned were the only major Punk band to play at the festival.
On November 1976 The Sex Pistols released Anarchy In The UK, which really solidified the band as a major force in the Punk rock scene.
We're gonna leave Part 2 here at the end of the first wave and the beginning of the second wave. I'll get part 3 out more quickly than it took for me to get part 2 out I promise. Thanks for reading!
