Post-punk is a diverse genre[6] that emerged from the cultural milieu ofpunk rock in the late 1970s.[7][8][9][10][nb 1] Originally called "new musick", the terms were first used by various writers in the late 1970s to describe groups moving beyond punk'sgarage rock template and into disparate areas.[2]Sounds writerJon Savage already used "post-punk" in early 1978.[12]NME writerPaul Morley also stated that he had "possibly" invented the term himself.[13] At the time, there was a feeling of renewed excitement regarding what the word would entail, withSounds publishing numerous preemptive editorials on new musick.[14][nb 2] Towards the end of the decade, some journalists used "art punk" as apejorative for garage rock-derived acts deemed too sophisticated and out of step withpunk's dogma.[15][nb 3] Before the early 1980s, many groups now categorised as "post-punk" were subsumed under the broad umbrella of "new wave", with the terms being deployed interchangeably. "Post-punk" became differentiated from "new wave" after their styles perceptibly narrowed.[17]
The writerNicholas Lezard described the term "post-punk" as "so multifarious that only the broadest use ... is possible".[6] Subsequent discourse has failed to clarify whether contemporary music journals and fanzines conventionally understood "post-punk" the way that it was discussed in later years.[18] Music historianClinton Heylin places the "true starting-point for English post-punk" somewhere between August 1977 and May 1978, with the arrival of guitaristJohn McKay inSiouxsie and the Banshees in July 1977,Magazine's first album,Wire's new musical direction in 1978 and the formation ofPublic Image Ltd.[19] Music historianSimon Goddard wrote that the debut albums of those bands layered the foundations of post-punk.[20]
Simon Reynolds' 2005 bookRip It Up and Start Again is widely referenced as post-punk doctrine, although he has stated that the book only covers aspects of post-punk that he had a personal inclination toward.[7] Wilkinson characterised Reynolds' readings as "apparent revisionism and 'rebranding'".[18] Author/musician Alex Ogg criticised: "The problem is not with what Reynolds left out ofRip It Up ..., but, paradoxically, that too much was left in".[7][nb 4] Ogg suggested that post-punk pertains to a set of artistic sensibilities and approaches rather than any unifying style, and disputed the accuracy of the term's chronological prefix "post", as various groups commonly labelled "post-punk" predate the punk rock movement.[7] Reynolds defined the post-punk era as occurring roughly between 1978 and 1984.[22] He advocated that post-punk be conceived as "less a genre of music than a space of possibility",[7] suggesting that "what unites all this activity is a set of open-ended imperatives: innovation; willful oddness; the willful jettisoning of all things precedented or 'rock'n'roll'".[22]AllMusic employs "post-punk" to denote "a more adventurous and arty form of punk".[8]
Reynolds asserted that the post-punk period produced significant innovations and music on its own.[23] Reynolds described the period as "a fair match for the sixties in terms of the sheer amount of great music created, the spirit of adventure and idealism that infused it, and the way that the music seemed inextricably connected to the political and social turbulence of its era".[24] Nicholas Lezard wrote that the music of the period "was avant-garde, open to any musical possibilities that suggested themselves, united only in the sense that it was very often cerebral, concocted by brainy young men and women interested as much in disturbing the audience, or making them think, as in making a pop song".[6]
Many post-punk artists were initially inspired by punk'sDIY ethic and energy,[8] but ultimately became disillusioned with the style and movement, feeling that it had fallen into a commercial formula, rock convention, and self-parody.[25] They repudiated itspopulist claims to accessibility and raw simplicity, instead of seeing an opportunity to break with musical tradition, subvert commonplaces and challenge audiences.[26][8] Artists moved beyond punk's focus on the concerns of a largely white, male, working-class population[27] and abandoned its continued reliance on establishedrock and roll tropes, such as three-chord progressions andChuck Berry-basedguitar riffs.[28] These artists instead defined punk as "an imperative to constant change", believing that "radical content demands radical form".[29]
Though the music varied widely between regions and artists, the post-punk movement has been characterised by its "conceptual assault" on rock conventions[23][6] and rejection of aesthetics perceived of astraditionalist,[7]hegemonic[23] orrockist[30] in favour of experimentation with production techniques and non-rock musical styles such asdub,[31][page needed]funk,[32]electronic music,[31][page needed]disco,[33]noise,world music,[8] and theavant-garde.[8][27][34] Some previous musical styles also served as touchstones for the movement, including particular brands ofkrautrock,[35]glam,art rock,[36]art pop[37] and other music from the 1960s.[38][nb 5] Artists once againapproached the studio as an instrument, using new recording methods and pursuing novel sonic territories.[40] Author Matthew Bannister wrote that post-punk artists rejected the high cultural references of 1960s rock artists likethe Beatles andBob Dylan as well as paradigms that defined "rock as progressive, as art, as 'sterile' studio perfectionism ... by adopting an avant-garde aesthetic".[41][nb 6] According to musicologist Pete Dale, while groups wanted to "rip up history and start again", the music was still "inevitably tied to traces they could never fully escape".[44][nb 7]
Nicholas Lezard described post-punk as "a fusion of art and music". The era saw the robust appropriation of ideas from literature, art, cinema,philosophy, politics andcritical theory into musical and pop cultural contexts.[23][45] Artists sought to refuse the common distinction between high and low culture[46] and returned to the art school tradition found in the work of artists such asRoxy Music andDavid Bowie.[47][27][37] Reynolds noted a preoccupation among some post-punk artists with issues such asalienation,repression, and technocracy of Westernmodernity.[48] Among major influences on a variety of post-punk artists were writersWilliam S. Burroughs andJ. G. Ballard,avant-garde political scenes such asSituationism andDada, and intellectual movements such aspostmodernism.[4] Many artists viewed their work in explicitly political terms.[49] Additionally, in some locations, the creation of post-punk music was closely linked to the development of efficacioussubcultures, which played important roles in the production of art, multimedia performances,fanzines andindependent labels related to the music.[50] Many post-punk artists maintained ananti-corporatist approach to recording and instead seized on alternate means of producing and releasing music.[6] Journalists also became an important element of the culture, and popular music magazines and critics became immersed in the movement.[51]
In the mid-1970s, various American groups (some with ties toDowntown Manhattan's punk scene, includingTelevision andSuicide) had begun expanding on the vocabulary of punk music.[52]
During the punk era, a variety of entrepreneurs interested in local punk-influenced music scenes began founding independent record labels, includingRough Trade (founded by record shop ownerGeoff Travis),Factory (founded byManchester-based television personalityTony Wilson),[53] andFast Product (co-founded by Bob Last and Hilary Morrison).[54][55] By 1977, groups began pointedly pursuing methods of releasing music independently, an idea disseminated in particular byBuzzcocks' release of theirSpiral Scratch EP on their own label as well as the self-released 1977 singles ofDesperate Bicycles.[56] TheseDIY imperatives would help form the production and distribution infrastructure of post-punk and theindie music scene that later blossomed in the mid-1980s.[57]
As the initial punk movement dwindled, vibrant new scenes began to coalesce out of a variety of bands pursuing experimental sounds and wider conceptual territory in their work.[58] By late 1977, British acts such as Siouxsie and the Banshees and Wire were experimenting with sounds, lyrics, and aesthetics that differed significantly from their punk contemporaries. Savage described some of these early developments as exploring "harsh urban scrapings", "controlledwhite noise" and "massively accented drumming".[59] In November 1977 Siouxsie and the Banshees' firstJohn Peel Session forBBC radio 1 marked the transition to post-punk when they premiered "Metal Postcard" with space in the sound and serrated guitars,[60] creating a music being "cold, machine-like and passionate at the same time".[61]Mojo editor Pat Gilbert said, "The first truly post-punk band were Siouxsie and the Banshees", noting the influence of the band's use of repetition onJoy Division.[62]John Robb similarly argued that the first Banshees gig was "proto post-punk", comparing the rhythm section Public Image Ltd'sMetal Box, which would be released three years later.[63]
In January 1978, singerJohn Lydon (then known as Johnny Rotten) announced the break-up of his pioneering punk band theSex Pistols, citing his disillusionment with punk's musical predictability and cooption by commercial interests, as well as his desire to explore more diverse territory.[64] In May, Lydon formed the groupPublic Image Ltd[65] with guitaristKeith Levene and bassistJah Wobble, the latter who declared "rock is obsolete" after citingreggae as a "natural influence".[66] However, Lydon described his new sound as "total pop with deep meanings. But I don't want to be categorised in any other term but punk! That's where I come from and that's where I'm staying."[67]
Around this time, acts such as Public Image Ltd,the Pop Group andthe Slits had begun experimenting with dance music, dub production techniques and the avant-garde,[68] while punk-indebted Manchester acts such as Joy Division,the Fall,the Durutti Column andA Certain Ratio developed unique styles that drew on a similarly disparate range of influences across music and modernist art.[69] Bands such asScritti Politti,Gang of Four,Essential Logic andThis Heat incorporatedleftist political philosophy and their ownart school studies in their work.[70] The unorthodox studio production techniques devised by producers such asSteve Lillywhite,[71]Martin Hannett, andDennis Bovell became important element of the emerging music. Labels such as Rough Trade and Factory would become important hubs for these groups and help facilitate releases, artwork, performances, and promotion.[72][page needed]
Credit for the first post-punk record is disputed, but strong contenders include the debuts of Magazine ("Shot by Both Sides", January 1978), Siouxsie and the Banshees ("Hong Kong Garden", August 1978), Public Image Ltd ("Public Image", October 1978), Cabaret Voltaire (Extended Play, November 1978) and Gang of Four ("Damaged Goods", December 1978).[73][nb 8] John Robb suggestedThe Stranglers' third LPBlack and White (May 1978) may be the first post-punk album.[74]
As these scenes began to develop, British music publications such asNME andSounds developed an influential part in the nascent post-punk culture, with writers like Savage,Paul Morley andIan Penman developing a dense (and often playful) style of criticism that drew on philosophy, radical politics and an eclectic variety of other sources. In 1978, UK magazineSounds celebrated albums such as Siouxsie and the Banshees'The Scream, Wire'sChairs Missing, and American bandPere Ubu'sDub Housing.[77] In 1979,NME championed records such as PiL'sMetal Box, Joy Division'sUnknown Pleasures, Gang of Four'sEntertainment!, Wire's154,the Raincoats'self-titled debut, and American groupTalking Heads' albumFear of Music.[78]
Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division,Bauhaus andthe Cure were examples of post-punk bands who shifted to dark overtones in their music, which would later spawn thegothic rock scene in the early 1980s.[79][80] Members of Siouxsie and the Banshees and the Cure worked on records and toured together regularly until 1984.Neo-psychedelia grew out of the British post-punk scene in the late 1970s.[81] The genre later flourished into a more widespread and international movement of artists who applied the spirit ofpsychedelic rock to new sounds and techniques.[82] Other styles such asavant-funk and industrial dub also emerged around 1979.[3][48]
Also emerging during this period was downtown New York'sno wave movement, as well as a short-livedart and music scene that began in part as a reaction against punk's recycling of traditionalist rock tropes, often reflecting an abrasive andnihilistic worldview.[87][88] No wave musicians such asThe Contortions,Teenage Jesus and the Jerks,Mars,DNA,Theoretical Girls, andRhys Chatham instead experimented with noise,dissonance andatonality in addition to non-rock styles.[89] The former four groups were included on the Eno-producedNo New York compilation (1978), often considered the quintessential testament to the scene.[90] The decadent parties and art installations of venues such asClub 57 and theMudd Club would become cultural hubs for musicians and visual artists alike, with figures such asJean-Michel Basquiat,Keith Haring andMichael Holman frequenting the scene.[91] According toVillage Voice writer Steve Anderson, the scene pursued an abrasive reductionism that "undermined the power and mystique of a rock vanguard by depriving it of a tradition to react against".[92] Anderson claimed that the no wave scene represented "New York's last stylistically cohesive avant-rock movement".[92]
However, during this period, major figures and artists in the scene began leaning away from underground aesthetics. In the music press, the increasingly esoteric writing of post-punk publications soon began to alienate their readerships; it is estimated that within several years,NME suffered the loss of half its circulation. Writers like Paul Morley began advocating "overground brightness" instead of the experimental sensibilities promoted in the early years.[96] Morley's own musical collaboration with engineerGary Langan and programmerJ. J. Jeczalik,the Art of Noise, would attempt to bringsampled and electronic sounds to the pop mainstream.[97] Post-punk artists such as Scritti Politti'sGreen Gartside andJosef K'sPaul Haig, previously engaged in avant-garde practices, turned away from these approaches and pursued mainstream styles and commercial success.[98] These new developments, in which post-punk artists attempted to bring subversive ideas into the pop mainstream, began to be categorised under the marketing termnew pop.[23]
New Romantic acts likeBow Wow Wow (left) dealt heavily in outlandish fashion, whilesynthpop artists such asGary Numan (right) made use of electronics and visual stylisation.
Several more pop-oriented groups, includingABC,the Associates,Adam and the Ants andBow Wow Wow (the latter two managed by former Sex Pistols managerMalcolm McLaren) emerged in tandem with the development of theNew Romantic subcultural scene.[99] Emphasizing glamour, fashion and escapism in distinction to the experimental seriousness of earlier post-punk groups, the club-oriented scene drew some suspicion from denizens of the movement but also achieved commercial success. Artists such asGary Numan,Depeche Mode,the Human League,Soft Cell,John Foxx andVisage helped pioneer a newsynthpop style that drew more heavily from electronic and synthesizer music and benefited from the rise ofMTV.[100]
The original post-punk movement ended as the bands associated with the movement turned away from its aesthetics, often in favour of more commercial sounds. Many of these groups would continue recording as part of thenew pop movement, withentryism becoming a popular concept.[95][page needed] In the United States, driven byMTV and modern rock radio stations, a number of post-punk acts had an influence on or became part of theSecond British Invasion of "New Music" there.[104][95][page needed] Some shifted to a more commercial new wave sound (such as Gang of Four),[105][106] while others were fixtures on Americancollege radio and became early examples ofalternative rock, such asR.E.M. One band to emerge from post-punk wasU2,[107] which infused elements of religious imagery and political commentary into its often anthemic music.
The Strokes debut albumIs this It spearheaded what became known as the New Yorkpost-punk revival. Which lead to an explosion of bands such as theYeah Yeah Yeahs,LCD Soundsystem,the Rapture,Interpol,Liars,the Rogers Sisters,the Fiery Furnaces,Radio 4 and!!!.[109] Following this a new group of bands that played a stripped down and back-to-basics version of guitar rock emerged into the mainstream,[108] such as the UKsFranz Ferdinand,the Futureheads andMaxïmo Park.[110] These bands were variously characterised as part of apost-punk revival/new wave revival.[111][112][113][114] Their music ranged from the atonal tracks of bands likeLiars to the melodic pop songs of groups likeThe Sounds.[111] They shared an emphasis on energetic live performance and used aesthetics (in hair and clothes) closely aligned with their fans,[115] often drawing on fashion of the 1950s and 1960s,[116] with "skinny ties, white belts [and] shag haircuts".[117] There was an emphasis on "rock authenticity" that was seen as a reaction to the commercialism of MTV-orientednu metal,hip hop[115] and "bland"post-Britpop groups.[118] Because the bands came from countries around the world, cited diverse influences and adopted differing styles of dress, their unity as a genre has been disputed. By the end of the decade, many of the bands of the movement had broken up, were on hiatus, or had moved on to other musical areas, and very few were making significant impact on the charts.[119][120][121]
Far Out magazine claimed a 2010s revival of the genre as having "claws firmly in the past, with many of the original post-punk bands such as The Fall and Bauhaus hailed as gods".[122] Referring to bands such as Denmark'sIceage, England'sEagulls,Savages andSleaford Mods, Canada'sOught andPreoccupations, and America'sProtomartyr andParquet Courts.[122] Further stating "This was the perfect time for post-punk to return, against a backdrop of hideous geopolitical happenings such as the financial crash of 2008, the ascendence ofDonald Trump and theBrexit vote."[122]
During the late 2010s and early 2020s, a new wave of UK and Irish post-punk bands gained popularity. Terms such as "crank wave" and "post-Brexit new wave" have been used to describe these bands.[123][124][125] The bandsBlack Country, New Road,Squid,Dry Cleaning,Shame,Sleaford Mods, andYard Act all had albums that charted in the top ten in the UK, whileIdles'Ultra Mono,[126]Fontaines D.C.'sSkinty Fia[127] andWet Leg'sself-titled debut all reached number one on the UK album charts.[128] This scene is rooted in experimental post-punk and often features vocalists who "tend to talk more than they sing, reciting lyrics in an alternately disaffected or tightly wound voice", and "sometimes it's more likepost-rock".[129] Several of these bands, including Black Country, New Road,Black Midi and Squid, began their careers by playing atThe Windmill, an all-ages music venue inLondon'sBrixton neighbourhood. Many of them have also worked with producerDan Carey and have released music on his DIY label Speedy Wunderground.[130]
^Punk rock, whose criteria and categorisation fluctuated throughout the early 1970s, was a crystallised genre by 1976 or 1977.[11]
^According to criticSimon Reynolds, Savage introduced "new musick", which may refer to the more science-fiction and industrial sides of post-punk.[10]
^In rock music of the era, "art" carried connotations that meant "aggressively avant-garde" or "pretentiously progressive".[16] Additionally, there were concerns over theauthenticity of such bands.[15]
^Ogg expressed concern regarding the attribution of "post-punk" to groups who came before theSex Pistols,[7] themselves credited as the principal catalysts of punk.[21] He also noted several underheralded post-punk influences, includingDischarge,XTC,UB40, thecow-punk scene, tape trading circles and the "unfashionable" portions ofgoth.[7]
^Guardian Music journalistSean O'Hagan described post-punk as a "rebuttal" to the optimism of the 1960s personified by the Beatles,[42] while author Doyle Green viewed it as an emergence of a kind of "progressive punk" music.[43]
^An example he gave wasOrange Juice's "Rip It Up" (1983), "a fairly basic pastiche of light-funk and r'n'b crooning; with a slightly different production style, it could certainly have fitted comfortably into the charts a decade before it was actually written and recorded".[44]
^Gang of Four producer Bob Last said that "Damaged Goods" was post-punk's turning point, saying, "Not to take anything way from PiL – that was a very powerful gesture for John Lydon to go in that direction – but the die had already been cast. The postmodern idea of toying with convention in rock music: we claim that."[73]
^Anderson, Rick."Broadcast to the World Review".AllMusic.Archived from the original on 11 May 2023. Retrieved10 May 2023.there was such a thing as rock-rap fusion -- but it sounded very different from the rap-inflected nu metal of the late '90s. It was more like hardcore punk or artsy post-punk with breakbeats
^For verification of these groups as part of the original post-punk vanguard seeHeylin 2008, Siouxsie & the Banshees, Magazine and PiL, Wire;Reynolds 2013, p. 210, "... the 'post-punk vanguard'—overtly political groups like Gang of Four, Au Pairs, Pop Group ...";Kootnikoff 2010, p. 30, "[Post-punk] bands like Joy Division, Gang of Four, and the Fall were hugely influential";Cavanagh 2015, pp. 192–193, Gang of Four, Cabaret Voltaire, The Cure, PiL, Throbbing Gristle, Joy Division;Bogdanov, Woodstra & Erlewine 2002, p. 1337, Pere Ubu, Talking Heads;Cateforis 2011, p. 26, Devo, Throbbing Gristle, Siouxsie and the Banshees, the Slits, Wire
^abcdeLezard, Nicholas (22 April 2005)."Fans for the memory".The Guardian (Book review: Simon Reynolds,Rip it Up and Start Again: Post-Pink 1978–1984).Archived from the original on 26 January 2021. Retrieved21 March 2016.
^Goddard 2010, p. 393: "Produced by Steve Lillywhite, [The Scream] arrived between Magazine'sReal Life and Public Image Ltd'sPublic Image as the second in that year's triptych of albums layering the foundations of post-punk."
^Armstrong, Billie Joe (15 April 2004)."The Sex Pistols".Rolling Stone. Archived fromthe original on 19 June 2008. Retrieved17 March 2009.
^abcdeKitty Empire (17 April 2005)."Never mind the Sex Pistols".The Guardian (Book review: Simon Reynolds,Rip It Up And Start Again: Post-Punk 1978–1984).Archived from the original on 26 January 2021. Retrieved17 February 2016.
^Reynolds 2005, p. 1953, On one side were the populist 'real punks' ... who believed that the music needed to stay accessible and unpretentious, to continue to fill its role as the angry voice of the streets.On the other side was the vanguard that came to be known as postpunk, who saw 1977 not as a return to raw rock 'n' roll but as a chance to make a break with tradition..
^Reynolds 2005, p. 1953, "They dedicated themselves to fulfilling punk's uncompleted musical revolution, exploring new possibilities by embracing electronics, noise, jazz, and the classical avant-garde.".
^Reynolds 2005, p. 1962, "Beyond the musicians, there was a whole cadre of catalysts and culture warriors, enablers and ideologues who started labels, managed bands, became innovative producers, published fanzines, ran hipster record stores, promoted gigs and organised festivals.".
^Stubbs, David (July 2009). "Siouxsie and the BansheesAt the BBC [review]".Uncut.the very first group to make the transition from punk's stage invasion to the more developed theatre of post-punk. You can hear it in the 1977 Peel sessions here, on "Metal Postcard (Mittageisen)" - the space in the sound, the serrated guitars.
^Goldman, Vivien (3 December 1977). "New Music – Siouxsie Sioux Who R U?".Sounds.
^"Classified Advertisements / Work/ Musicians Wanted".Melody Maker: 30. 6 May 1978.Drummer Wanted to play on/off beat for modern band with fashionable outlook and rather well known singer. - Virgin Records, 727 8070
^Spencer, Neil (27 May 1978). "Introducing Johnny Rotten's Lonely Hearts Club Band".NME.We talk about the differences between the rock culture and the reggae culture, which I suggest has a good deal more dignity than most rock bands or acts can muster. Both Levene and Wobble agree. 'Rock is obsolete,' says Wobble. 'But it's our music, our basic culture. People thought we were gonna play reggae, but we ain't gonna be no GT Moore and the Reggae Guitars or nothing. It's just a natural influence – like I play heavy on the bass.'
^Coon, Caroline (22 July 1978). "Public Image – John Rotten and the Windsor Uplift".Sounds.
^DeRogatis, J. (2003).Turn on your Mind: Four Decades of Great Psychedelic Rock. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Hal Leonard. p. 373.ISBN0-634-05548-8.
^Roach, M. (2003).This Is It: the First Biography of the Strokes. London:Omnibus. p. 8.ISBN0-7119-9601-6.
^abBorthwick, S.; Moy, R. (2004).Popular Music Genres: An Introduction. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. p. 117.ISBN0-7486-1745-0.
^Abbey, E. J. (2006).Garage Rock and its Roots: Musical Rebels and the Drive for Individuality. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. pp. 105–112.ISBN0-7864-2564-4.
Cieślak, Magdalena; Rasmus, Agnieszka (2012).Against and Beyond: Subversion and Transgression in Mass Media, Popular Culture and Performance. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.ISBN978-1-4438-3773-6.
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