Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Shot By Both Sides: Punk, Politics and the End of ‘Consensus’

2012; Routledge; Volume: 26; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/13619462.2012.703013

1743-7997

Matthew Worley,

American Political and Social Dynamics

Abstract This article examines the ways in which political organisations of the far left and far right responded to punk-informed youth culture in Britain during the late 1970s. It examines how both tried to understand punk within their own ideological framework, particularly in relation to the perceived socio-economic and political crises of the late 1970s, before then endeavouring to appropriate—or use—punk for their own ends. Ultimately, however, the article suggests that while punk may indeed be seen as a cultural response to the breakdown of what some have described as the post-war 'consensus' in the 1970s, the far left and far right's focus on cultural expression cut across the basic foundations on which they had been built. Consequently, neither left nor right proved able to provide an effective political conduit through which the disaffections expressed by punk could be channelled. Keywords: PunkConsensusYouthFascismCommunism Notes [1] 'Open Letter to the Sex Pistols', Challenge, August/September 1977, 11. [2] Punk is open to a variety of definitions. It is here defined in its British context and relating to people and cultural practices inspired or informed by the Sex Pistols from 1976. Such a definition recognises that punk was quick to splinter into multiple sub-sects that often conflicted with each other, but posits that punk tended to place itself in opposition to the status quo, disregarded symbols of authority and hierarchy, purported to provide a voice for the disenfranchised and disaffected, and extolled the virtues of self-sufficiency and autonomy (do-it-yourself). This, in turn, suggests punk may best be understood as a cultural process of critical engagement rather than a specific musical or sartorial style. As a term, it is used to encompass the initial punk 'movement' of 1976–77 and those who retained an open affinity to it through to the 1980s; the subcultural revivals that formed out of punk's trashing of pop's past (skinheads, new mod, 2-tone); the anarcho-punks that gathered around the Crass collective; and the post-punk milieu that understood punk to have opened up cultural spaces of both musical and intellectual innovation. [3] Roger Huddle, 'Punk Rock: Reactionary, Revolutionary, or Both', International Discussion Bulletin, November 1977, 22–3. [4] The Times, 16 January 1980; Young Socialist, 1 April 1978. [5] Paul Marris, 'Punktual Product of the Crisis', Socialist Challenge, 4 August 1977, 15. [6] Among the many surveys of the period, see Beckett Beckett, Andy. 2009. When the Lights Went Out: Britain in the Seventies, London: Faber & Faber. [Google Scholar], When the Lights Went Out; Harrison Harrison, Brian. 2010. Finding a Role? The United Kingdom, 1970–90, Oxford: Clarendon Press. [Google Scholar], Finding a Role; Whitehead Whitehead, Phillip. 1985. The Writing on the Wall: Britain in the Seventies, London: Michael Joseph. [Google Scholar], The Writing on the Wall. For the construction of the crisis, see Hay Hay, Colin. 2010. Chronicles of a Death Foretold: The Winter of Discontent and Construction of the Crisis of British Keynesian. Parliamentary Affairs, 63(3): 446–70. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], 'Chronicles of a Death Foretold'; Hay Hay, Colin. 1996. Narrating Crisis: The Discursive Construction of the "Winter of Discontent". Sociology, 30(2): 253–77. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar], 'Narrating Crisis'. [7] 'Crass—"Heavy Mob" Invade', The Leveller, October 1979, 6; Crass/Poison Girls Crass/Poison Girls. 1979. Statement. Kill Your Pet Puppy, 1: 13–15. [Google Scholar], 'Statement'. [8] Cross Cross, Richard. 2004. The Hippies Now Wear Black: Crass and the Anarcho-Punk Movement, 1977–84. Socialist History, 26: 25–44. [Google Scholar], 'The Hippies Now Wear Black'; Worley Worley, Matthew. 2011. One Nation Under the Bomb: The Cold War and British Punk to 1984. Journal for the Study of Radicalism, 5(2): 65–83. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar], 'One Nation Under the Bomb'. [9] Dick Hebdige Hebdige, Dick. 1979. Subculture: The Meaning of Style, London: Methuen & Co. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar] makes much of this in his Subculture, 87. For a warning against seeing the media construct of crisis as necessarily accurate, see Moran Moran, Joe. 2010. "Stand Up and Be Counted": Hughie Green, the 1970s and Popular Memory. History Workshop Journal, 70: 173–98. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], '"Stand Up and be Counted"'. [10] Caroline Coon, 'Sex Pistols: Rotten to the Core', Melody Maker, 27 November 1976, 34–5; The Sun, 15 October 1976; Daily Mirror, 6 December 1976; The Guardian, 4 June 1977. [11] Clarke, et al. Clarke, John, Hall, Stuart, Jefferson, Tony and Roberts, Brian. 1976. "Subcultures, Cultures and Class: A Theoretical Overview". In Resistance Through Rituals: Youth Subcultures in Post-War Britain, Edited by: Hall, Stuart and Jefferson, Tony. London: Hutchinson & Co.. [Google Scholar], 'Subcultures, Cultures and Class', 9–74. [12] Street Street, John. 1986. Rebel Rock: The Politics of Popular Music, Oxford: Blackwell. [Google Scholar], Rebel Rock, 51–62. [13] For just a selection, see Widgery Widgery, David. 1986. Beating Time: Riot 'n' Race 'n' Rock 'n' Roll, London: Chatto & Windus. [Google Scholar], Beating Time; Goodyer Goodyer, Ian. 2009. Crisis Music: The Cultural Politics of Rock Against Racism, Manchester: Manchester University Press. [Google Scholar], Crisis Music; Renton Renton, Dave. 2006. When We Touched the Sky: The Anti-Nazi League, 1977–81, Cheltenham: New Clarion Press. [Google Scholar], When We Touched the Sky. For skinheads and the far right, see Cotter Cotter, John, M. 1999. Sounds of Hate: White Power Rock and Roll and the Neo-Nazi Skinhead Subculture. Terrorism and Political Violence, 11(2): 111–40. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], 'Sounds of Hate'; Brown Brown, Timothy, S. 2004. Subcultures, Pop Music and Politics: Skinheads and "Nazi Rock" in England and Germany. Journal of Social History, 38(1): 157–78. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], 'Subcultures, Pop Music and Politics'. Lowles and Silver Lowles, Nick and Silver, Steve, eds. 1998. White Noise: Inside the International Nazi Skinhead Scene, London: Searchlight. [Google Scholar], White Noise. For a broader discussion of punk and racism, see Sabin Sabin, Roger. 1999. "I Won't Let the Dago By: Rethinking Punk and Racism". In Punk Rock: So What? The Cultural Legacy of Punk, Edited by: Sabin, Roger. London: Routledge. [Google Scholar], 'I Won't Let the Dago By', 199–218. [14] Clutterbuck Clutterbuck, Richard. 1978. Britain in Agony: The Growth of Political Violence, London: Penguin. [Google Scholar], Britain in Agony. [15] Andrews Andrews, Geoff. 2004. End Games and New Times: The Final Years of British Communism, 1964–91, London: Lawrence & Wishart. [Google Scholar], End Games and New Times. CPGB membership ebbed and flowed following the Second World War, but fell steadily from the mid-1960s. Having stood at 34,281 in 1964, it numbered just 12,711 in 1985. [16] For an overview, see Callaghan Callaghan, John. 1987. The Far Left in British Politics, Oxford: Blackwell. [Google Scholar], The Far Left in British Politics; Tomlinson Tomlinson, Jim. 1981. Left, Right: The March of Political Extremism in Britain, London: John Calder. [Google Scholar], Left, Right. [17] According to Callaghan, The Far Left in British Politics, 151, 205, the SWP numbered approximately 4000 in 1980; the WRP some 3000; and the IMG just 650 in 1976. Militant, meanwhile, numbered approximately 1000 members in 1975, rising to nearly 2000 in 1979 and over 4000 in 1983. In terms of composition, Callaghan (Far Left in British Politics, 98) records that in 1972, 26% of the International Socialists' membership were listed as manual workers. [18] This began with Martin Jacques, 'Trends in Youth Culture: Some Aspects', Marxism Today, September 1973, 268–80, and continued through until April 1975. [19] Bradshaw Bradshaw, Paul. 1976. Trends in Youth Culture in the 1970s. Cogito, 3: 3–13. [Google Scholar], 'Trends in Youth Culture in the 1970s'. [20] Challenge, February/March 1977, 14. See also Steve Munby, 'Bored and Angry: The Politics of Youth Unemployment', Marxism Today, June 1978, 183–91. [21] Widgery, Beating Time, 56. Huddle, Widgery and Saunders launched RAR 'as a gut reaction by socialists and music fans to the unbelievable hypocrisy of musicians who made their money out of black music and then turn against black people' (Socialist Worker, 2 October 1976). The main impetus for RAR came from racist remarks made by Eric Clapton and the references to fascism made by David Bowie in 1976. [22] Garry Bushell Bushell, Garry. 2010. Hoolies: True Stories of Britain's Biggest Street Battles, London: John Blake. [Google Scholar], 'Sex Pistols: Whose Finger on the Trigger?' Socialist Worker, 18 December 1976, 11. See also Roger Huddle, 'Punk Rock Rules?' Socialist Worker, 11 December 1976, 5. [23] Simon Frith, 'The Punk Bohemians', New Society, 8 March 1978, 535–6; Frith and Horne Frith, Simon and Horne, Howard. 1987. Art into Pop, London: Methuen. [Google Scholar], Art into Pop, 123–61; Simonelli Simonelli, David. 2002. Anarchy, Pop and Violence: Punk Rock, Subculture and the Rhetoric of Class, 1976–78. Contemporary British History, 16(2): 121–44. [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar], 'Anarchy, Pop and Violence'. [24] For example, Caroline Coon, 'Sex Pistols', Melody Maker, 27 November 1976; Steve Walsh, 'The Very Angry Clash', Sniffin' Glue, 4 October 1976. Likewise, songs by The Clash and the Sex Pistols' working-class backgrounds soon led to punk being hailed as 'dole queue rock', as in David Marsh, 'Dole Queue Rock', New Society, 20 January 1977, 112–14. [25] Challenge, April/May 1978; Red Rebel, January/February 1979; Young Socialist, 24 June, 22 July and 19 August 1978. [26] See Nigel Fountain's 'Warning Note' in Socialist Worker, 18 December 1976, 11; Phil Hardy and Dave Laing, 'Who Says the Kids are Alright?' The Leveller, December 1977, 17–18. [27] Savage Savage, Jon. 1992. England's Dreaming: The Sex Pistols and Punk Rock, London: Faber & Faber. [Google Scholar], England's Dreaming, 243. [28] I. Wright, 'New Wave', Challenge, February/March 1977, 14; Roger Huddle, 'Hard Rain', Socialist Review, July/August 1978, 12–13; Tony Parsons and Julie Burchill, 'The Revolution is not for Music. Music is for the Revolution', Socialist Worker, 29 April 1978, 5. For the CPGB's more uncertain relationship with RAR, see Smith Smith, Evan. 2011. Are the Kids United? The Communist Party of Great Britain, Rock Against Racism and the Politics of Youth Culture. Journal for the Study of Radicalism, 5(2): 85–117. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar], 'Are the Kids United'. [29] Lynne Hutchinson, 'Women in Punk', Challenge, April 1978 (Women's Special), 5; Lindsay Cooper, 'Rock Around the Cock', The Leveller, October 1978, 10–12; 'Women in Rock' issue of The Leveller, August 1981, 7–20; Sue Steward, 'Sound Barriers', Marxism Today, May 1982, 36–7. For an overview, see Reddington Reddington, Helen. 2007. The Lost Women of Rock Music: Female Musicians of the Punk Era, Aldershot: Ashgate. [Google Scholar], The Lost Women of Rock Music. [30] Bushell, 'Sex Pistols', 11; Hardy and Laing, 'Who Says the Kids are Alright?' 17–8; Dave Laing, 'Interpreting Punk Rock', Marxism Today, April 1978, 126; 'Notes', Socialist Worker, 14 October 1978, 5. [31] Hutchinson, 'Women in Punk', 5. [32] CP/YCL/21/1, Minutes of the [CPGB] Arts and Leisure Committee, 11 November 1976 (Labour History Archive and Study Centre [LHASC], Manchester). [33] Challenge, April/May 1978, 5; Challenge, September/October 1978, 7; Matthew Lynn, 'Music and Capitalism', Challenge, August 1979, 13. [34] Anthony Wall, 'Punk', Comment, 5 March 1977, 72–4; Laing, 'Interpreting Punk Rock', 124; Triggs Triggs, Teal. 2006. Scissors and Glue: Punk Fanzines and the Creation of a DIY Aesthetic. Journal of Design History, 19(1): 69–83. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar], 'Scissors and Glue'. [35] For example, Scritti Politti, Skank Bloc Bologna ep (St Pancras, 1978); Scritti Politti, 'Hegemony', on 4 A-Sides ep (Rough Trade, 1979); Gang of Four, Entertainment (EMI, 1979); Pop Group, 'She is Beyond Good and Evil' (Y, 1978). With regard political affiliation, Scritti's Green Gartside served on the editorial board of Challenge in the late 1970s; Tony Friel of The Fall (Tony Friel) was in the YCL and Crisis contained members of the SWP and IMG. In Leeds, meanwhile, the politics and approach of the Gang of Four, The Mekons and others was informed by leftist, feminist and radical tutors at the university. See Reynolds Reynolds, Simon. 2005. Rip it Up and Start Again: Post-Punk, 1978–84, London: Faber & Faber. [Google Scholar], Rip it Up, 110–28, 198–223. [36] Waite Waite, Mike. 1995. "Sex 'n' Drugs 'n' Rock 'n' Roll (and Communism)". In Opening the Books: Essays on the Social and Cultural History of the British Communist Party, Edited by: Andrews, Geoff, Fishman, Nina and McIlroy, John. London: Pluto. [Google Scholar], 'Sex 'n' Drugs 'n' Rock 'n' Roll (and Communism)', 210–24; 242/2/1/3, Steve Jefferys, 'The Politics Behind the Row on the Paper' (Modern Record Centre, Warwick); John Hoyland, 'How Do Music and Socialism Connect?', Comment, 11 June 1977, 200–2. [37] See, for example, John Boyd, 'Trends in Youth Culture', Marxism Today, December 1973, 375–8. [38] Wise Wise, David and Stuart. 1996. "The End of Music". In What is Situationism? A Reader, Edited by: Home, Stewart. Edinburgh: AK Press. [Google Scholar], 'The End of Music', 63–102. This was originally published as a pamphlet in 1978 and circulated around anarchist groups in Leeds. Its original title was 'Punk, Reggae; A Critique'. [39] See the articles in The News Line, 3 December 1976; and Young Socialist, 11 and 18 December 1976, 1 January and 5 March 1977, 7 January 1978, 4 August 1979. [40] Ian Walker Walker, Martin. 1978. The National Front, London: Fontana. [Google Scholar], 'Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On', The Leveller, July/August 1977, 18–20; 'Who is Cornelius Cardew?', NME, 10 September 1977, 11–12; Simon Frith, 'Beyond the Dole Queue: The Politics of Punk', Village Voice, 24 October 1977, 77–9. [41] Young Socialist, 24 June, 22 July, 12 and 19 August 1978, 29 July 1979. [42] Bob Lentell, 'Youth in Contemporary Capitalism', Marxism Today, January 1978, 6–15; Paul Thompson, 'Youth Politics and Youth Culture', Revolutionary Socialism, Spring 1978, 11–15; Laing, 'Interpreting Punk Rock', 123–8. Laing Laing, Dave. 1985. One Chord Wonders: Power and Meaning in Punk Rock, Milton Keynes: Oxford University Press. [Google Scholar] later developed his analysis of punk in his book, One Chord Wonders. [43] John Hoyland and Mike Flood, 'You Can Lead a Horse to Water', Socialist Review, June 1978, 16–17; Mike Garner, 'Our Music? Their Music', Socialist Review, December 1978/January 1979, 34–5. [44] Lucy Toothpaste, 'Wouldn't You Like To Rip Him To Shreds', Temporary Hoarding, Summer 1978; Terry Allcock, 'The Sham in Sham 69', Socialist Worker, 25 November 1978, 10; Noel Halifax, 'Second Wave: A Punk Mortem', Socialist Review, April 1982, 35. [45] Walker, The National Front; Thurlow Thurlow, Richard. 2006. Fascism in Britain: From Oswald Mosley's Blackshirts to the National Front, London: I.B.Tauris. [Google Scholar], Fascism in Britain. [46] Walker, The National Front; Thurlow Thurlow, Richard. 2006. Fascism in Britain: From Oswald Mosley's Blackshirts to the National Front, London: I.B.Tauris. [Google Scholar], Fascism in Britain; Hill and Bell Hill, Ray and Bell, Andrew. 1988. The Other Face of Terror: Inside Europe's Neo-Nazi Network, Glasgow: Grafton. [Google Scholar], The Other Face of Terror. [47] Woodbridge Woodbridge, Steve. 2003. "Purifying the Nation: Critiques of Cultural Decadence and Decline in British Neo-Fascist Ideology". In The Culture of Fascism: Visions of the Far Right in Britain, Edited by: Gottlieb, Julie and Linehan, Thomas. London: I.B. Tauris. [Google Scholar], 'Purifying the Nation', 129–44; Spearhead, April and May 1981. [48] Colin Jordan, 'Letter', British Patriot, May/June 1977, 3. [49] A. Critic, 'Rock and Reich', British Patriot, January/February 1977, 3–4. [50] John Blake, 'Rock's Swastika Revolution', Evening News, 7 May 1977; Mick Farren, 'Fascism in the UK '77!', NME, 22 January 1977, 20–1. [51] Street, Rebel Rock, 51–6. [52] Bulldog, 16 (1979), 21 (1981), 29 (1982). See, for examples of fascist imagery/references, the cover of Joy Division's Ideal for Living ep (Enigma, 1978) and the logo for Throbbing Gristle's Industrial Records. [53] British News, March 1978. [54] Ward and Henderson Ward, Colin and Henderson, Chris. 2002. Who Wants It?, Mainstream: Edinburgh. [Google Scholar], Who Wants It?, 60–2. [55] British News, November 1978; Bulldog, 19, 20 (1980), 21, 22 (1981). [56] Letter from Eddy Morrison to the editor of Sounds, 1 April 1977 [my thanks to Jon Savage for providing me with a copy of this letter]; British News, September 1978, 6–7; Bulldog, 14 (1979), 3. [57] 'Rock Against Communism', supplement, Bulldog, 19 (1979). [58] British News, September 1978 and September 1979; David Brazil, 'Spittin' Hate at the Future of Rock 'n' Roll', The Leveller, October 1979, 18–19; Vivien Goldman, 'Seeing Red', Melody Maker, 25 August 1979, 9; Lowles and Silver, White Noise, 9–27. [59] 'Punk, Mods, Skins and Teds—All Unite to Fight the Reds!', Bulldog, 18 (1980), 3. [60] Bulldog, 24 (1981), 3. [61] Johnson Johnson, Garry. 2008. The Story of Oi! A View from the Dead End of the Street, Romford: New Breed. [Google Scholar], The Story of Oi!; 'The Story of Oi!', Punk Lives, Nos. 9 & 10, 1983; Bushell, Hoolies, 143–79. [62] Halifax, 'Second Wave', 35; Joanna Rollo, 'Sounds Familiar', Socialist Worker, 18 July 1981, 4; Marek Kohn, 'Hip Little Englanders', Marxism Today, November 1983, 37–8. [63] Bulldog, 18, 20 (1980), 22 (1981). [64] Marshall Marshall, George. 1991. Spirit of '69: A Skinhead Bible, Dunoon: ST Publishing. [Google Scholar], Spirit of '69, 62–119. [65] See fanzine extracts in Davis Davis, Julie. 1977. Punk, Southampton: Millington. [Google Scholar], Punk. Also, for examples of political comment, see 'zines such as Kill Your Pet Puppy, Toxic Graffiti and Vague. [66] See Reid in Savage Savage, Jon. 2009. The England's Dreaming Tapes, London: Faber & Faber. [Google Scholar], The England's Dreaming Tapes, 442; Letter from Malcolm McLaren to Evening News, 11 May 1977, 10; Lydon et al. Lydon, John, Zimmerman, Keith and Zimmerman, Kent. 2003. Rotten: No Irish, No Black, No Dogs, London: Plexus. [Google Scholar], Rotten, 96. [67] Temporary Hoarding, 2 (1977). [68] Mark Farrar, 'Is it More than Rock 'n' Roll?', The Leveller, July/August 1977, 17. [69] Temporary Hoarding, 5 (1978). [70] Paul Morley and Ian Penman, 'Devoto', NME, 2 December 1978, 37; Nick Kent, 'Devoto: The Complete Fatalist', NME, 28 April 1979, 28–9. [71] Paul Du Noyer, 'Taking Tyne-Age Wasteland', NME, 21 April 1979, 25; Steve Clarke, 'The Rise of The Ruts', NME, 14 July 1979, 7–8. [72] See the interview with Pursey in Temporary Hoarding, 6 (1978). [73] Rimbaud Rimbaud, Penny. 1982. "The Last of the Hippies—An Hysterical Romance". In A Series of Shock Slogans and Mindless Token Tantrums, Edited by: Crass. London: Existential Press. [Google Scholar], 'The Last of the Hippies', 2–12; Crass, 'Bloody Revolutions' (Crass Records, 1980); also, 'White Punks on Hope', on Stations of the Crass (Crass Records, 1979). [74] Garry Bushell, 'The New Breed: A Teenage Warning', Sounds, 1 November 1980, 31–2; 'Oi—The Debate', Sounds, 24 January 1981, 30–1; 'Skunk Rock '81', Sounds, 11 July 1981, 16; Johnson, 'United/The Voice of Oi!', in his The Story of Oi, 92. [75] The Business, 'Suburban Rebels', on Carry on Oi! (Secret Records, 1981); Turner Turner, Jeff. 2010. Cockney Reject, London: John Blake. [Google Scholar], Cockney Reject, 57–60; Cock Sparrer, 'Watch Your Back', on Shock Troops (Razor, 1983). [76] Paul Castles, '4 Play', Punk Lives, 8 (1983), 6–7. Members of 2-tone bands said similar. See, for example, Pauline Black quoted in Big Flame, April 1981, 13. [77] Stuart Hall, 'The Great Moving Right Show', Marxism Today, January 1979, 14–20. [78] For example, Noel Halifax, 'The Personal is Artistic', Socialist Review, July–August 1981, 43. [79] Matthew Lynn, 'Music and Politics', Challenge, December 1979, 7; Simon Frith, 'Post-Punk Blues', Marxism Today, March 1983, 18–21; Halifax, 'The Sounds of Struggle', Socialist Review, March 1983, 27–8; Torrid McTorrent, 'Punk is Dead', Big Flame, December 1980/January 1981, 13; Chris Schüller, 'Wanna Buy a Lifestyle?', The Leveller, 9–22 January 1981, 18. [80] See Bulldog, issues 32–9 (1983–4). [81] Spearhead, May and June 1981, 16–17. [82] For an excellent discussion of this, see Robinson Robinson, Lucy. 2007. Gay Men and the Left in Post-War Britain: How the Personal Got Political, Manchester: Manchester University Press. [Google Scholar], Gay Men and the Left. [83] Street, Rebel Rock, 222–6.