| Street punk | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins | |
| Cultural origins | Early 1980s,United Kingdom |
| Typical instruments | |
| Derivative forms | D-beat |
| Regional scenes | |
| United Kingdom | |
| Local scenes | |
Street punk (sometimes alternatively spelledstreetpunk) is anurbanworking class-based subgenre ofpunk rock, which emerged as arebellion against the perceived artistic pretensions of the first wave of British punk. The earliest street punk songs emerged in the late 1970s by bands includingSham 69, theU.K. Subs andCockney Rejects. By 1982, bands such asDischarge,GBH andthe Exploited had pushed this sound to become faster and more abrasive, while also embracing the influence ofheavy metal music. In the 1990s and 2000s, a street punk revival began with bands such asthe Casualties,Rancid andthe Analogs.
Street punk lyrics commonly address topics such as fighting, drinking, partying, inner-city turmoil, gang violence,blue-collar issues, union ororganized labor issues.[1]
Punk veteran Felix Havoc said:
It was aggressive, yet hadmelody. As opposed to today's "melodic" punk it still had a lot of energy. It washonest. Hence the term "street punk." There is and was a feel that this was the kids music, from the streets, and was uncorrupted by "professionalism" or "musicianship." As opposed to theanarcho bands its message was more bleak and irreverent. The music was not a-political, just a less intellectual expression of political views of working class youth. The music was marketed as being of and by the working class. I suspect this was not universally the case. Still most middle and upper class kids cringe at frank discussions of violence as evidenced in a typicalBlitz song. Early 80's UK punk was catchy as hell; it has sing-a-long choruses and hooky riffs.[2]
Street punk grew out ofworking class young people who disliked the first wave of punk's more artistic nature.[3] TheAllMusic guide creditsSham 69 as the band which brought street punk to prominence around 1978–1979,[4] while an article by thei hailed theU.K. Subs and their 1979 debut albumAnother Kind of Blues as one of the first examples of street punk.[5] Writer Ian Glasper credited theCockney Rejects 1980 single "Bad Man" as setting a "new standards for what was to become known as street punk" due to its "melodic lead guitar, belligerent vocal delivery and gang backup chants".[6] However, as the sound began to form, it was quickly split between two separate punk scenes: theanarcho-punk scene, which saw the sound as inherently political due to its working class ties; and theoi! scene, which was largely apolitical.[7]
UK 82 (orUK hardcore) is a style of street punk which pushed the genre's tempos faster and embraced the influence ofheavy metal music, particularlynew wave of British heavy metal bands likeMotörhead andIron Maiden.[7] The termUK 82 is taken from the title of a song bythe Exploited.[8]
The three most prominent UK82 acts were the Exploited,Discharge andGBH.[9] The Exploited werecontroversial due to their aggressive lyrics and rowdy concerts, and were considered by Glasper to be "cartoon punks".[10] Glasper wrote: "For many, The Exploited were the quintessential second wave punk band with their senses-searing high-speed outbursts against the system, and wild-eyedfrontmanWalter 'Wattie' Buchan's archetypal orange mohican."[10] Discharge's early work proved to be enormously influential, providing the blueprint for an entire subgenre. Their later work, however, has been described as moving intoheavy metal.[11]
The lyrics of UK 82 bands tended to be much darker and more violent than the lyrics of earlier punk bands. They tended to focus on the possibilities of anuclear holocaust, and otherapocalyptic themes, partially due to the military tension of theCold War atmosphere. The other mainstay of the lyrics of the era wasunemployment, and the policies of theConservative Party government. Lyrics frequently denounced the Conservative leaderMargaret Thatcher.[12]
D-beat (also known asDiscore[13] orkäng (boot), in Sweden[14]) was developed in the early 1980s by imitators of the bandDischarge, for whom the genre is named.[15] The first such group wasthe Varukers.[13] The vocal content of D-beat tends towards shouted slogans. The style is distinct from its predecessors by its minimal lyrical content and greater proximity toheavy metal. It is closely associated withcrust punk, which is a heavier, more complex variation.[14] D-beat bands typically haveanti-war,anarchist messages and closely follow the bleaknuclear war imagery of 1980sanarcho-punk bands. The style was particularly popular inSweden, and was developed there by groups such asAnti Cimex[16] andMob 47.[17]
In the 1990s, a new era of street punk began with emerging street punk bands likethe Casualties andRancid,[18] The Casualties became one of the most well-known street punk bands and achieved underground success. Their 2004 albumOn the Front Line peaked at number 8 on theIndependent Albums chart.[19]On the Front Line and the Casualties' 2006 albumUnder Attack peaked at numbers 7 and 9 on theHeatseekers Albums chart, respectively.[20]
The 1990s also saw the spread of street punk to other countries, particularlyEastern European states that were previously behind theIron Curtain.The Analogs, a group fromSzczecin formed in 1995, gradually became one of the most active punk bands inPoland;[21] with roots in the antifascist Oi! scene,[22][23] The Analogs are widely considered to be precursors of street punk in the country and are credited with popularising the genre there.[21][24][25] Their influence has spread to other countries in the region, asMister X (started in 2003) – leaders of the street punk scene inBelarus[26] – have often cited The Analogs as one of their main inspirations.[27][28]
International outfitBooze & Glory, originating from the Polish migrant punk scene inLondon, was formed in 2009. Playing punk rock, especially Oi! and street punk, they grew popular worldwide and have performed concerts selling thousands of tickets inIndonesia, where the hardcore punk scene is lively and growing.[29]
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