“Music," says the Sex Pistols repulsive lead singer, Johnny Rotten, “became muzak. It was rubbish, just noises. Rick Wakeman epics...theyre just nonsense. You cant relate to them. So we done something about it."

What the Sex Pistols done was to create, almost single-handed, the biggest change-around on the British rock scene for a decade or more. Whether you call it punk rock, New Wave, or— as Rotten suggests— 1970s high energy rock, hardly matters. “Everyone knows," as' Mick Jones of The Clash puts it, “that its the next thing thats going to have any real force."

Punk has divided the rock audience because it demands a commitment. As the'Pistols drummer Paul Cook notes with satisfaction: “Its great the way all this is getting yp the old farts noses." The shock comes when you realize an old fart is no longer the generation that put down the Stones, but hippies, long hairs, rock fans!

The music itself is the Who crossed with the Chain Saw Massacre, the lyrics are by Samuel Beckett crossed with a street urchin. Principal influences, apart from Pete Townshend, are Bowies New York predecessors: the Velvet Undergroung the New York Dolls, Iggy and the Stooges. It has little to do with the American garage bands of a decade or more ago, which is why “punk" is a misnomer, but it does share with them a conviction that anyone could and should get up and do it. It speaks a language whose common denominators are excitement, deliberately provocative sexuality, outrage. And desperation. It is youth reasserting its hold on rock 'n roll. After all, with a great technique and no ideas, youre screwed; but with little technique and a headful of ideas...you can always practice.

One of the twenty-odd fanzines that have grown up around the New Wave has a page entitled: “Playin In The Band. First and last in a series..." There then follows a diagram featuring the three chords of E, A and G. “Now," exhorts the text, “go and form a band." Or, as Malcolm McClaren, Sex Pistols manager, said, when asked why he had replaced Glen Matlock by the musically inferior Sid Vicious on bass: “The playing is not the big deal. Its the attitude that counts."

THE FRONT LINE

1. The Sex Pistols A spectre is haunting the European music biz and its name is John, Paul, Steve and Sid—Rotten, Cook, Jones and Vicious that is, collectively the Sex Pistols^^yvhich you can boutiqcg^Hp^g^feLand Malcol^BBfCCiarenPthei and p^Marlv the Svei greatest Brothers, rock and frighteg|Jj§ measulp round m

previous look like Andy Williams. “Dont but I k Rotten in The UK conviction whose arrogance ugh ftmake thi flefB| crawl.

McClareff took an^nterest intiff boys when they frequented his boutique Sex, on the Kings Road, in late 1975. The shop had opened as Let It Rock, catering to the Teddy Boy revival cult; changing its name with the changes in fqshion, it evolved into Too Young To Live, Too Fast To Die, Sex, and now Seditionaries. Along the way it attracted a clientele of visiting American rockers, including Alice Cooper and the New York Dolls, whose manager McClaren became for the last few months of their first incarnation. His Sex boutique also became a Mecca for young would-be British punks, so when Johnny Rotten

showed u t Sex “looking bored" he was a al to join Cook, original bassit Matlock, and Jones, who had rehearsing. in a Hamwarehouse. who clings to the notion the Pistols are McClarens ts cannot have seen them, one of the great rock 'n roll original reptilian features, pop-eyes in a face, awkward inarticulate movements, a semi Cockney sneer for Aeingin and an awesome ability to a reaction crowd by edling them,

TiinT^tette^ of months the group fad won tfpride London following, got lemselvaP \ canned fron^^^t clubs record company in town sla JdlP^'d for a contract, and knocked a hole in the wall through which every other punk/New Wave band has poured. Two singles, one as yet unreleased, two torn up contracts, a tour cut to ribbons by local council cancellations, and more publicity than the Bicentennial and the Jubilee Dut together, have flowed under the bridge since they first performed “Anarchy In TheL^litiManchester last July. It was, and is, a rock classic. Based on JHHIvho s pummdfig “Substitute aHlT it is an^^^®e, abandoned,^Hebration of J^faw J status. mm J

CLASH

THE DAMNED

Bassist GlefPHHfeMjfl|BS jHf left (“He was into mSSBPPH; liked the Beatles, we didnt want to kiMMuH guitarist Steve Jones) to be reptacecW by Sid Vicious who, when asked why he got the job, replied: “Because I beat up Nick Kent." (A writer for the New Musical Express.) * Like McClaren says, its the attitude that counts.

A&M paid the Pistols oft, let them go and they were finally picked up by Virgin Records in the U.K., who have released two singles, “God Save The Queen" (which went to nurnber one), and “Pretty Vacant." At press time, an album release was imminent.

The Pistols did the initial spadework. They are the best, because theyre the worst.

2. The Clash

The only group apart from the Pistols with the power to start this movement on their own; they are, as Mick Jones (the Pete Townshend of the group) puts it: “a trashy white rock 'n roll band dealing with oppression." Like the Pistols and the Damned, The Clash met each other hanging out in McClarens Sex boutique, and they are managed by Bernard Rhodes, a former McClaren junior partner. But whereas the Pistols provide a vicarious outlet for sheer nihilistic rage at a world offering no future, The Clash take a more committed stance. They are consciously a young white equivalent to reggae—Junior Murvins “Police and Thieves" is the longest track on the debut CBS album.

Malcolm McClaren has said of The Clash: “Theyre the intellectuals of the punk rock movement and theyll be taken seriously." Joe Strummer sums up their philosophy: “Were antifascist, wgre anti-violence, were antiracist, and were procreative [sic]. We^. against ignorance." To begin wflHHick Jqn^was also pro-Keef Richard to a^HHHtanal is now jike "nothing but Otherwise, edifaWho mey influences, th;Hjgh outgiHHTfast uHHe furio

Pthat matte crowd bay? the thudding prT the characteristic punk/New Wave noise—a thrashing, jangling, maelstrom of guitar noise that usually turns out to be the work of only one or two hands playing at a fraction under the speed of light. This gives The Clash their other punk characteristic: two-minute songs, twenty-five minute sets—just like Eddie Cochran, just like the Beatles but just unlike everything since. And listen to the words:

In 1977

Ain't so lucky to be rich.

Sten guns in Knightsbridge.

Danger stranger

You better paint your face.

No Elvis, Beatles or the Rolling

Stones

In 1977*

The Clash crystallize that release of energy pent up in eons of boredom on the d^g, irtfccl^^HWppinq out, which rocl^P roll was once about. They do it in two^nd three ffrinifte shards of aural gl|ffit^piH encap^latejjfcban teenagePUhxperience in ' that, couldnt aflMKr Year' as Mick J(HHTpuNkJHLJH^

3.|e Damned ^

The Damned manage to combine the rolesof Dr$cula, the Marx Brothers, ancFifmbassadors for the rest of the punks. They are: Dave (Transyl) Vanian on vocals and Prince of Darkness clothes; Captain Sensible on bass and inspired lunacy; Brian James on lead guitar and songwriting; Rat Scabies on drums. James looks like a later generation Keef, leather and mean mien; Rat is a showman whose greatest debt is to Keith Moon, though more for stance than technique. It is the lads proud boast that Mr. Vanian actually was a gravedigger, while Rat and the Captain met while cleaning toilets together. James, of the legendary London SS, doesnt really look as he ever did anything but play itar. They also hardly ever play han a 25-minute set, but thats not policy, just that they have no more numbers. Principal influences are Dolls, Stooges, Velvets and other New York decadents but their songs are peculiarly their own. Vanians sepulchral monotone and graveyard chic gives the word deadpan a new resonance. Numbers include “Feel The Pain", “Born To Kill", “Stab Your Back", and even innocuous titles such as “Fan Club" reveal lines like: “You send me pretty flowers while Im slashing my wrists."

The Damneds career had a meteoric send-off when they played a French punk festival where the artists showed but the audience stayed home—you cant get more punk than that. Their shrewd combination of New Wave virtuosity and oldfashioned showbiz panache has made the Damned the only band of the bunch to get halfway decent, airplay

ier but

tion gap proved too much and Vanian, then humble Dave Letts, was spotted at a Sex Pistols gig “looking like a singer." The Damned were born, or whatever it is that the undead do to get here. Despite their less than serious approach they represent the same underlying sentiments and appeal to the same audience as the other New Wave bands—“Before us," says James, “there was nothing. We came out of apathy." But, commercially, the Damneds ability to package outrage as a rocky horror show has made them less menacing and more instantly appealing—an Alice Cooper to the Pistols Stones. Underneath is solid skillful musicianship, and although they scorn politics there are reasons why the Damned are at the heart of the New Wave. Ray Burns, now Captain Sensible, explains why he is in rock 'n roll: “I enjoy the free drinks. I enjoy being able to say things I like and having people listen to me. I havent really got that much to say. Its just that there are loads of people like me ...who aint got no chance."

Jam

the Stranglers

4. The Stranglers

The Stranglers are the subject of some controversy among the habitues of the punk milieu. As one employee of United Artists, their U.K. record company (theyre on A&M in the States) put it to me: “I dont know why they are so anxious to be accepted by that crowd." Fact is the Stranglers h&tt|^|ieved punk status, and the biSMBHWltoles of theJjiunch so far, by aWocesflfl^aj^PMKity rather than vy gijflpingf/ up and with the movell^^|»sl^t^BBMark P, doyen of punk fgmzineflvrMVs (he edits Sniffin' Q^J^and co-founder of the Step record label, puts it:

“ThougM^be punk because of their violent starfce but their ages give them away. Hippoft^ndi|||jA|||||fei to call; them “an arJBros^|edM| bjWiB which thtywPean a bunch of cheijj Doors imflKrs, whose lyrics are thaj most mindlessly violent *and offensively sexist of a new music whose degree of liberation can be measured by its two worst epithets: “hippie!" and “girl!".

Interestingly enough, the Stranglers main audience appears to be students, which is fair enough since, if the New Wave in general represents urban teenage frustration working its way into song, then the Stranglers are a group of ex-teacher training college lads in their twenties whose upward path to fame was accelerated by a nifty graft ot nduvelle vague credibility when they scored the support slot for PaMSmithsJLMadgH dates over a year ago. underestimates thj|ptdflH^^“'''™ appeal—they can ^|y.ls jui what they play andJRoBour more in cordflbn Iflfh rhainstream rock of the mijpMs jjtan with the white noise and youtihiu} angst of the punks. As McClaren, aWlys ready with the bon mot, has it: “The Stranglers will work pretty well on the rock circuit. Theyll be taken as a reasonably serious rock act."

5. The Jam

When The Clash tore the Rainbow apart, they were following an act that couldnt have looked more different: Joe Strummers fighting fatigues with the stencilled slogans and the enormous backdrop photo of the police charging down the street were preceded by a sober three-piece. In black Italian suits just too short at the ankte, black and white shoes, ties, bog brush hairdos, the Jam looked like three mods caught in a time warp— the lead guitarist plays a Rickenbacker! Paul Weller (guitar, vocals), Rick Butler (drums and rectangul||r granny glasses), and Bruce fiMfton (bass and occasional vtfbgls) JKerage age are alLiggff) Woking, Surrey. With thfjj; dark conservative rood clones go some dark conservative politics. iflHBWhe Bols and The .'Clash, Ithe Jam^e proud of,their Queen and Country An Hr that be OToffy scfl^

R&B and early V^ho numbers (does this begin to sound familiar?) is now almost entirely their own work, mainly that of Paul Weller, whose father gave up a labouring job to manage him. But the Jam do draw some themes from the urban teenage alienation handbook. Their “In The City" debut single on Polydor addresses the older generation on the subject .of youth: “Theyre gonna tell you/About their young ideas/You better listen now/You said your bit", and, like their contemporaries, they look further afield than boy-meets-girl for subject matter with titles like “Time For Truth", “Bricks And Mortar", and My Address". But, unlike the |he Jams real talent is for the teen ballad and Weller, a [me® Beatles freak, is adept at songs which, underneath the M|ll Wave freneticism, have melody and harmonies. Unless youve been listening to the Whos “My Generation" closely of late, these boys dont sound bad. Mr. Weller Sr. is unlikely to be seeing bricks and mortar anywhere except in a lyric sheet for a long time, if

THE BEST OF THE REST -The Adverts

Stiffs second New Wave signing, forrnpd around nucleus of singer TV Smith (who doesnt care for comparisons with Mr. Rottens stage style) ancL^star attraction, female lhassist GaydjKdvert. They met in high Tevon through common y^vith the Stooges and the mistake: releasing a ___ ne Chord Wonders. AnHeb

The Boys

A llPPfnece whose gimmick is a piano played by Norwegian Casino Steel, and whose philosophy is “Were just frustrated football hooligans. Bring back fun." Manager Ken Mervis spent five years with Andrew Loog Oldham but his Boys still sound like pastiche early Beatles and, yes, Who. Signed to NEMS.

The Buzzcocks

Original members introduced to each other by Malcolm (the ubiuitous) McClaren at a Pistols gig in their native Manchester last summer. An intense, tough sound fronted by singer Howard Devoto who announced he was in rock 'n roll temporarily and has proved as good as his word. Spurned lure of record company lucre and released debut EP, Spiral Scratch, on their own New Hormones label. Devoto, whose parting comment on punk was that “what was once unhealthily fresh is now a clean old hat," is threatening a comeback on an EP of spoken excerpts from the works of Samuel Beckett.

Eater

This is the one to make you really feel old. From Finchley, North London; average age 15. Drummer Dee Generate learned his style from Rat Scabies, which explains why Eater sounds like the Damned on “Outside View", their debut single (on The Label label). They play Alice Coopers “Eighteen" as “Fifteen", and singer Andy Blade silences hecklers with “You aint gotta go to school tomorral"

Generation X

Formed when Gene October left Chelsea, taking the name with him. Clean-cut, blond-haired, milk-drinking mini-James Dean, Billy Idol stepped up to the vocal mike from guitar. Their reply to the last generation is called “Your Generation": “...dont mean a thing to me." Name came from a book qbout Mods, a recurrent obsession. Clean clear singing, cute lead, good tunes. Cant miss.

Gorillas

Fell foul one step short of World Domination. Sideburned singer/ guitarist/leader Jesse Hector, who considered himself a true star alongside Jimi Hendrix and Steve Marriott (!), took this power trio out of the backstreets of Hammersmith and onto the front page of the NME in no time, making independent label Chiswick a force to be reckoned with. Then disaster in the form of “nervous exhaustion" struck and the band crumbled. They leave behind two ace singles, “Shes My Gal" and “Gatecrasher", plus a little-knowp version of the Kinks “You Really Got Me". They are mourned. .

Johnny Moped

A legend in his own time. Often opens for' the Damned, whose Ray Burns began life with Mopeds outfit and still joins him onstage when so moved. Mopeds speciality is a series of prolonged and vituperative attacks on the intelligence and morals of his audience to a backing of rumblings, freeform white noise and feedback. When all else fails resorts to such threats as “Alright, if its music you want, then music youll get."

So-called becaiJHpHH^irnsHKy began life giggidHpicPpedesttian i subway in W^aHtomdon." Share management Specialize in aJHrm of cgU/KKm awful music thdHHMU^listdflp^ble— not even good ba*f, just plain horrible. It may be conceptualanPKit its never rock 'n roll. y „

Ultravox

Dont really belong here despite their youth and plastic see-thru clothing, the ripped and torn outfit worn by singer John Foxx, and song titles such as “Saturday Night In the City of the DEAD" and “Life at Rainbows End For All The Tax Exiles On Main Street". Even so, an exciting new band in post-Bowie mould, owing much to Roxy Music (though Enos production on their Island debut album is a little too thin) and Who's Next.

Vibrators

Sniffin' Glue's Mark P has the word, as ever: “Went under punk tag cause they thought it was the 'in thing to do." By now, however, indistinguishable from the real thing—i.e., buzzsaw guitar style, sado-masochistic song titles like “I Need A Slave" and “Whips and Furs". Two singles, “We Vibrate" and “Pogo Dancing" (the latter backing Chris Spedding), on Mickie Mosts Rak label before being signed to CBS. Plus ca change...

POST MORTEM SCRIPT The punk scene is changing fast: the do-it-yourself philosophy is encouraging kids to try, and many are finding they can. So by the time you read this, a few more names may be faces and someone will probably be mass marketing Joe Strummer flak jackets sprayed with slogans. “When we did ta^gstever interview," says Johnny KSBHMMB said we just wanted more baSBmkeus. We didnt mean exactly

an attitude, a f e ason to live." Among t hose who may hmm proved they have something to

SKI now ar* *'me y°u The Slits, X-RsPspBLsiouxsie and the Banshees, CorVgNs, Models, Snatch Sounds, ChelSre, Slaughter and the Dogs, The Squeeze, Table, Remote, Prefects, Quick Spurts, Skrewdrivers, Tom Robinson Band, Radiators From Space, Rejects, GBH, Depression, Sore Throat, Wire, Disease, Suburban Studs. And then, from Australia, theres the Saints; from New York, Johnny Thunders Heartbreakers; from France, Stinky Toys; from Germany...Dont say we didnt warn you.