Punk rock didn’t just exist out of a love of the music, it was a genuine youth movement born out of frustration and anger. One of the biggest sources of dissatisfaction was the music scene itself, which was deemed unfit for purpose by working class teenagers fed up with stadium rock’s bloated indulgences.
Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols was famously photographed wearing a ‘I Hate Pink Floyd’ t-shirt, while The Clash vehemently proclaimed, "No Elvis, Beatles or The Rolling Stones" on the flipside of one of their early 45s. The old guard were the enemy.
This revisionist approach meant a total rejection of the music of the past, but there were a number of bands on both sides of the Atlantic that slipped through the net. Here are 11 bands that the punks made an exception for, and we’ve added a ‘punky’ track from each of them for a splash of spice.
11 bands punks didn't totally hate
11. Alice Cooper
When Johnny Rotten auditioned for the Sex Pistols the track he famously chose to perform was Alice Cooper’s ‘I’m Eighteen’. An acknowledgement, of sorts, that the American band must have possessed a degree of credibility. This theory is backed up no less than by Joey Ramone, who admits that the first song he wrote for The Ramones was lovingly lifted from the very same Cooper track.
Punk’s acceptance of Alice Cooper is linked to the themes of rebellion and teenage frustration that provided the backdrop for his band’s early, glam-adjacent anthems.
Punkiest track – ‘I’m Eighteen’
10. Can
The iconic Krautrockers were held in high esteem in punk rock circles, with Siouxsie and the Banshees, Buzzcocks and The Fall all entranced. Johnny Rotten was a huge Can fan, especially 1971’s classic double Tago Mago. The German innovators were to prove a huge influence of his post-Pistols’ project, PIL.
Much of this love originated from Can’s rejection of the past, one of punk’s most important principles. Can were not remotely interested in mainstream rock’s traditional song structures. The band also embraced the non-corporate, DIY spirit many years before punk picked up on the trend.
Punkiest track – ‘Father Cannot Yell’
9. The Stooges
One of UK punk’s earliest slogans was, "Never trust a hippie." It’s a catchphrase that could have written for The Stooges, whose rejection of hippie culture was worn as a badge of honour. Just how may hippies there were in late 70s London is open to debate, but there’s no doubting the UK and US punk scene’s affinity with The Stooges.
Fronted by the chaotically disruptive Iggy Pop, the Detroit proto-punk’s live shows were loud, aggressive and notoriously confrontational. Baiting the crowd was a tactic gleefully adopted by the punk movement. A Stooges song, ‘No Fun’, even made it onto the flipside of the Sex Pistols’ ‘Pretty Vacant’.
Punkiest track – ‘No Fun’
8. Mott The Hoople
The Clash’s Mick Jones was a huge fan of Mott The Hoople and used to follow them across the UK when they were on tour. Mott’s influence informed Jones’ approach to songwriting, especially on tracks such as Give ‘Em Enough Rope’s ‘All The Young Punks’ – a nod to his favourite band’s biggest hit. Mott were also one of few band’s of their era that didn’t pose about as unapproachable rock gods, a huge bugbear of the punk movement.
When recording landmark album London Calling, Jones’ invited former Mott producer Guy Stevens into the studio to produce - a further nod to his lingering affection for the band.
Punkiest track – ‘One Of The Boys’
7. The Sonics
Apart from economic circumstances and haircuts, there are obvious parallels between the US Garage rock scene of the mid-60s and the punk movement over a decade later. Simple three chord song structures, an energetic DIY ethos and a lack of pretension were common ideals. The Clash, after all, were a self-proclaimed ‘garage band’.
Formed in 1961, The Sonics were at the harder edge of Garage rock. Lead singer Gerry Roslie’s visceral vocal delivery comfortably pre-dated punk, and the rawest of raw production values made them unwitting godfathers to the scene. Lenny’s Kaye’s Nuggets compilation of garage rock was also an often-cited inspiration on the US punk scene.
Punkiest track – ‘The Witch’
6. Hawkwind
UK punks would always choose raw power and noise over technical proficiency, something that renegades Hawkwind were famed for. The volume, speed and aggression of the gnarly space rocker’s live shows were comfortably a match for any punk band.
Hawkwind’s outsider lifestyle and anarchic stance also gained them admirers among the bondage-trouser wearing masses. Any band boasting a pre-Motörhead Lemmy on bass were never going to be part of any rock establishment. The mutual respect went both ways, with Lemmy an early, outspoken fan of both The Ramones and The Damned.
Punkiest track – ‘Silver Machine’
5. Captain Beefheart
The abrasive and wildly unconventional style of Captain Beefheart made him one of the artists punks on both sides of the pond couldn’t quite rouse themselves enough to hate. The Clash’s Joe Strummer reportedly listened to Trout Mask Replica on repeat as a teenager, which says a lot about his childhood.
Johnny Rotten was also a devotee of the chaotic rhythms emanating out of The Magic Band. Iconic Cleveland punks Pere Ubu also owe an inspirational debt.
Punkiest track – ‘Zig Zag Wanderer’
4. Bob Marley and The Wailers
In the UK, punk and reggae artists bonded over a spirit of rebellion and a deep distrust of authority. Many working-class punks grew up listening to dub and reggae and bands like The Clash and The Ruts brought this influence into their own music. The Clash’s cover of Junior Murvin’s ‘Police and Thieves’ is a highlight of their debut album.
It must be said that way more punks listened to reggae than the other way round, but the political solidarity forged by rising racial tensions did inspire Bob Marley to release the track ‘Punky Reggae Party’ as a single.
Punkiest track – ‘Punky Reggae Party’
3. Dr Feelgood
Pub rock was a reaction to the sonic excesses of over-indulgent stadium rock bands. Dr Feelgood played frantic R&B at breakneck speed to appreciative audiences in the sweaty back rooms of pubs. The movement provided a vital stepping stone leading to the creation of punk.
Joe Strummer, for instance, was fronting a pub rock band, The 101ers, before he was headhunted by The Clash.
The Feelgoods were a tough, working-class band with no airs or graces. You were unlikely to find singer Lee Brilleaux dressed in a cape or guitarist Wilko Johnson adorned in brushed velvet, they just weren’t that type of band. Early Dr Feelgood live performances were the stuff of lasting legend.
Punkiest track – ‘She’s A Wind Up’
2. New York Dolls
The US punk scene in the Big Apple venerated the New York Dolls with many future artists inspired to form a band after seeing them live at the Mercer Arts Center. The Dolls spread the message that attitude, energy and swagger was more important than technical skill, as such they provided the starter manual for the US punk scene that was lurking just around the corner.
The Dolls’ punk connections were considerable. After they split, Johnny Thunders and Jerry Nolan formed The Heartbreakers, prime players on the NY scene. Even before then, Sex Pistols’ Svengali Malcolm McLaren had briefly managed the band.
Steve Jones inherited Sylvain Slyvain’s 1974 Gibson Les Paul Custom courtesy of McLaren, and used it to record Never Mind The Bollocks.
Punkiest track – ‘Personality Crisis’
1. Thin Lizzy
Many of the rock generation that preceded punk were not especially keen on the new snotty kids on the block. Thin Lizzy’s Phil Lynott was the exception and enthusiastically championed punk’s raw energy for the breath of fresh air it was. The punks, in turn, respected Lynott’s outsider status, street cool and lack of pretension.
During Thin Lizzy’s downtime Lynnott formed a punk rock supergroup called The Greedy Bastards (later changed to The Greedies) along with Steve Jones and Paul Cook of the Sex Pistols. They even released ‘A Merry Jingle’, a minor Christmas hit in the UK in 1979.
Punkiest track – ‘Bad Reputation’
All photos Getty Images
Top image Sid Vicious with girlfriend Nancy Spungen and Lemmy from Motörhead, circa 1978
