With
the 1970's
rise of disco music, big hair, flared trousers and pantsuits,
the punk movement was an angry "no thanks" to popular
culture.
First
exploding on the scene in the U.K. in 1977, British punk culture
saw its heroes in The
Damned and the Sex
Pistols - who kicked, screamed and raged against authority,
the media, and sugar-coated pop hits.
Punk
culture also reserved special rancor for the advertising and
marketing industry which, ironically, helped to turn the underground
movement into a global phenomenon.
Meanwhile,
a generation of teens worldwide strongly responded by showing
their punk colors in day-glo
hairstyles, spikes and mohawks. To complete the look,
safety pins were strategically implanted in cheeks,
lips and eyebrows.
By
the 80's, mainstream designers began to send models attired
in punk costumes, strutting down international runways
and effectively killed-off the fashion movement's claim to
being anti-establishment. Punk
eventually evolved into glitter and glam rock, and the movement
began losing its hard-core edge.
Although
punk culture is generally regarded to have peaked between
the years 1977-1987, a post-punk movement remains alive and
kicking today in alternative and do-it-yourself online communities
- populated by those who still regard any band in the Top
40 charts as sellouts.
Today, US pop punk bands as Blink-182 ("Enema of the State") and Green Day ("American Idiot") are generally regarded as the torch bearers of the original punk tradition, with the 'established order' still firmly in the cross-hairs.
True
Punk - Online punk rock community offering music reviews,
videos, feature articles & band interviews, busy chat
rooms and message boards.
Punk
Rockers & Punk Meetups - Information on active
groups with similar interests including online sign-up to
join punk & punk rock communities in the U.S. and U.K.
Punk77
- A virtual encyclopedia of punk culture in the UK & U.S.
with a history of bands browseable in an A-Z list including
bios and photos of The Sex Pistols, Debbie Harry, with lesser-known
bands & groups, audio clips, a review of punk fashion,
punk rock lyrics, interviews.
Punk rock - The whole survey from Wikipedia, including a history from its earliest beginnings to the present, with information and bio's of major performers, photos, sample audio files, related resources.
1970s
Punk Fashion History - Good overview of fashion history
with its beginnings in the design studios of Vivienne Westwood
and Malcolm McLaren with later refinements by Zandra Rhodes,
including information on hairstyles, bondage in punk fashion,
related resources.
How
to Be a Punk - One insider's take with a review of
the music, beliefs, hairstyles and ideology of punk culture.