Punk Scene in the UK

Hudson Axtell

In 1970s England, a depressing place with detrimentally high unemployment rates and economic decline, there began a societal rumbling with indignant music from bands like Sex Pistols, The Clash, X-Ray Spex, and more. This angry music sparked an earthquake of furious, gutsy European adolescents revolting against terrible social conditions. Characterized by a bitter refutation of essentially everything previously established, the Punk movement birthed a sea of political radicals who aimed to reinvigorate culture through the occasionally violent and most always affronting displays of defiance through music, fashion, and more. 

As expected, it is challenging to unite the group under one value and goal because of the open resistance to organization the movement had. Some ‘Punks’ took a more political stance against fascism, systemic racism, and other abusive practices they saw occurring in their government, hoping to change it. Others, however, didn’t actively strive for change but saw the scene as an outlet to lash out against society. An overtly polarized yet united group began to satisfy the expression of their values through makeshift mixed-media pamphlets called ‘fanzines,’ which expressed the occasionally satirical dejections of individual punks.

Attributing to Vivianne Westwood and Malcomb McClaren’s pioneering, punk fashion consisted of worn-down industrial-like clothing that emphasized tension and chaos, describing their attitudes towards society and its seemingly doomed future. Listless and rowdy, punks saw the present and realized they could forge a new future without looking at the past, being able to change society through force. Although the Punk movement ended up dissipating and diversifying into other subcultures, these attitudes are ever-present in these subcultures and even the world’s adolescents, awaiting its reawakening through a new way of thinking.