Most people will tell you that punk rock kicked off in New York in 1976 when four rascals from Queens released their self-titled debut and gave the world the first punk anthem - 'Blitzkrieg Bop'.
The Ramones' hugely influential debut album celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, with many honouring punk's supposed Year Zero. However, Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee and Tommy didn't come out of nowhere, with several artists like The Stooges, The Velvet Underground and the New York Dolls considered as the music genre's forebearers – the artists who were punk, ie: rejected overproduction and mainstream arena rock, before the movement had a name.
Both a music genre and major cultural phenomenon leading to a subversive subculture expressing rebellion and an anti-establishment spirit through music, fashion and socio-political statements, the word 'punk' usually conjures certain names... Ramones, Dead Kennedys, Sex Pistols, The Clash, Gang of Four, The Damned, Bad Brains, Buzzcocks, Misfits, Black Flag, The Cramps...
The list goes on and there’s no denying the boys made a lot of noise. But foundationally, punk as music, punk as an anarchist mindset, punk as a counter-cultural ideology, is female.
Fearless artists like Patti Smith, Siouxsie Sioux, Nina Hagen, Poly Styrene, Viv Albertine, Debbie Harry, Linda Lunch and Poison Ivy shaped the punk movement in the 70s and were the driving force of a genre that was in fact a revolution. They shattered conventions, pushed boundaries, and tore down the expectations thrusted upon them. And one exhibition knows it.
This Friday marks the opening of "Up Yours! God Save The Queens" - a new multidisciplinary exhibition at London's Museum of Youth Culture which honours "50 years of She Punk!"
Curated by Lauren Estelle Jones, Celeste Bell and Vivien Goldman, "Up Yours! God Save The Queens" brings together rare archival material, unseen photography and contemporary artworks. The exhibit prioritises and celebrates the women who shaped punk culture and shows that the genre should never be reduced to just four rapscallions in Converse or a few safety pins on your jacket.
Because female punk artists and female-led bands have often slipped beneath the radar of certain (not all) music fans, Euronews Culture has put together a by no means exhaustive list of five essential 70s female punk albums that every self-respecting punk fan should own.
These are the albums from the trailblazers who paved the way for every female musician and female led-band that came after them, from Bikini Kill, Hole, L7 and PJ Harvey to Le Tigre, Sleater-Kinney, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Amyl and the Sniffers.
Patti Smith - ‘Horses’ (1975)
Patti Smith’s debut album redefined the New York punk scene before it even had a name. A regular at Manhattan’s legendary venue CBGB, Smith's dreams of becoming a poet led her to the city's vibrant world of underground literature, art and music. 'Horses' established her as the “godmother of punk”; it's an eclectic and commanding declaration of artistic freedom, merging Beat lyricism with brash rock passion and the minimalist aesthetic of then-formative punk. Songs like 'Free Money' and 'Break It Up' are classics, as is her radical reworking of Them's 'Gloria'. Then there's 'Land', the 9-minute masterpiece which showed that Smith wasn't just a part of forming the punk movement; she was carving out a new space for female artists around the world. (On a side note, when are the Nobel Foundation going to give her the Nobel for Literature?)
Blondie - ‘Blondie’ (1976)
Debbie Harry was another CBGB regular alongside Patti Smith, and she too helped shape the New York scene. Her striking bleached-blond look was part of the visual language of punk, and even if Blondie leaned more towards new wave and pop sensibilities and found more mainstream success (especially with their 1978 classic 'Parallel Lines'), the band's first record had an unmistakable punk DIY energy to it. Kicking off with 'X Offender' (originally titled 'Sex Offender' but renamed because radio stations wouldn't play a song with such a provocative title), the album is a bold, foot-stomping gem which brought pop out of the 60s and shoved it into the 70s with a snarl.
X-Ray Spex - ‘Germfree Adolescents’ (1978)
Poly Styrene, the founder of UK band X-Ray Spex, is recognized as the first multiracial frontwoman of a punk band. She wore braces, made her Day-Glo rags, and sang anti-consumerist lyrics, upending every expectation of what a frontwoman could be. The band's debut album tackled feminism, identity politics, consumer society and not giving a shit about other people's opinions. As she screeches in the anthem 'Art-I-Ficial': “I am a poseur and I don’t care! I like to make people stare!” The album's highlight can be found on the reissue with the empowerment single 'Oh Bondage Up Yours!', with the chant "Some people think little girls should be seen and not heard, but I think 'Oh bondage, up yours! One, two, three, four!”. It became the prototypic British punk rallying cry but also a feminist statement that influenced many punk acts, including the 90s riot grrrl movement.
The Slits - ‘Cut’ (1979)
Another British gem, this time from the trio The Slits, who are not to be underestimated in how they too defined punk as feminist. The band boasted an unpolished style which fused punk rock, art pop and elements of dub and reggae, challenging both the music industry and societal norms. Their 1979 debut album is a defiant and raw collection of anarchic hits like the self-determination anthem 'Instant Hit' (later sampled by Lauryn Hill), 'Shoplifting', 'Newtown', and the classic 'Typical Girls' - a protest against female stereotypes. “Typical girls get upset too quickly / Typical girls can't control themselves / Typical girls are so confusing," incants singer Ari Up, before asking the question: "Who invented the typical girl?" The Slits defied preconceptions through humour, verve and a 'fuck you' spirit. Much like X-Ray Spex, their music would go on to influence countless other musicians and movements like riot grrrl and fourth-wave feminist punk music of the 2010s.
The Raincoats - ‘The Raincoats’ (1979)
Since the "Up Yours! God Save The Queens" exhibition is in London, we're sticking to the UK for our last pick. The first full-length album from the British foursome The Raincoats is perhaps best known for the ramshackle, off-kilter cover of the Kinks' hit song 'Lola', but the rest of the album is a ragged racket to treasure. It's dissonant, odd, features plenty of violins (courtesy of Vicky Aspinall), and is completely captivating. Bolstered by Ana da Silva and Gina Birch's vocals, as well as ex-Slits member Palmolive's drumwork, the anything-goes spirit present throughout the album is at the very heart of punk. The band used their songs to call out the establishment and address societal ills like rape culture and misogyny. If you're looking for a copy, seek out the 1993 reissue, which includes the single 'Fairytale in the Supermarket', and also check out their 1977 song 'No One’s Little Girl' (only released in 1982), featuring the lyrics: "I'm no one's little girl, oh no, I'm not / I'm not gonna be, cause I don't wanna be / I never shall be on your family tree..."
"Up Yours! God Save The Queens" opens on Friday 23 October at the Museum of Youth Culture in London and lasts until 22 November.