0:00:02 > 0:00:03'Hello and best wishes, everyone,
0:00:03 > 0:00:07'and happy birthday, Mary and Jean, begins this batch of dedications.
0:00:07 > 0:00:10'This is a record for you all from the people
0:00:10 > 0:00:13'who sent the message, Down By The Lazy River, with the Osmonds.'
0:00:13 > 0:00:17# What are you doing tonight?
0:00:17 > 0:00:19# You got no place to go... #
0:00:19 > 0:00:211976.
0:00:21 > 0:00:23Britain seems half asleep.
0:00:23 > 0:00:29This programme contains strong language.
0:00:29 > 0:00:31'It was awful. The main colours were orange,
0:00:31 > 0:00:33'brown'
0:00:33 > 0:00:35and mustard.
0:00:36 > 0:00:38'People weren't as sussed as what they are today.
0:00:38 > 0:00:40'People weren't as well travelled
0:00:40 > 0:00:42'and we were still stuck in this little hole
0:00:42 > 0:00:45'as British people, I thought.'
0:00:45 > 0:00:49You think of the '70s as being modern times,
0:00:49 > 0:00:52but they were very backward and people's attitudes were very backward.
0:00:54 > 0:00:56'There was one or two TV channels.
0:00:56 > 0:01:00'Everything seemed to end at 11pm. There were no jobs,
0:01:00 > 0:01:01'there was no future...'
0:01:01 > 0:01:04There was a sense in those early years of boredom.
0:01:04 > 0:01:08'You don't remember your youth as being populated by these guys
0:01:08 > 0:01:12'who looked like the worst kind of bureaucrat from 1952.'
0:01:14 > 0:01:16Those were the people who still ran the country.
0:01:19 > 0:01:21Welcome to boring Britain.
0:01:21 > 0:01:25A young generation has been locked out.
0:01:29 > 0:01:31But in a small pocket of the London music scene,
0:01:31 > 0:01:33something is stirring.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36The UK is about to be rudely awoken.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43'For mash get smash.'
0:01:45 > 0:01:49- Dirty bastard.- Again. - You dirty fucker.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52- What a- BLEEP.
0:02:06 > 0:02:10'Who do you think you're kidding, Mr Hitler,'
0:02:10 > 0:02:15If you think old England's done?
0:02:29 > 0:02:32In the scorching summer of 1976,
0:02:32 > 0:02:34the Sex Pistols, the Clash and the Damned
0:02:34 > 0:02:37were beginning to ignite.
0:02:37 > 0:02:39# I don't want a holiday in the sun
0:02:39 > 0:02:43# I want to go to the new Belsen
0:02:43 > 0:02:47# I want to see some of history
0:02:47 > 0:02:50# Cos now I got a reasonable economy
0:02:50 > 0:02:53# Now I got a reason Now I got a reason
0:02:53 > 0:02:56# Now I got a reason And I'm still waiting... #
0:02:56 > 0:02:58As word gradually spread through the country,
0:02:58 > 0:03:02London was becoming a place of pilgrimage for the curious few.
0:03:03 > 0:03:08'There was this feeling that something was going on in London. There'd been a couple of reviews
0:03:08 > 0:03:11'of the Sex Pistols in the music papers and we thought,
0:03:11 > 0:03:12'"Hello! This sounds good."
0:03:12 > 0:03:16'Then you saw this photo of Rotten just looking incredible, mean and nasty.'
0:03:16 > 0:03:20Finally, someone who's looking different and challenging.
0:03:20 > 0:03:24'Looking like we felt! I think trying
0:03:24 > 0:03:28'to get a punk band together in Torquay at that time was never going to happen.'
0:03:31 > 0:03:33I was always escaping the suburbs
0:03:33 > 0:03:37and gravitating towards the centre of London.
0:03:38 > 0:03:40If you're brought up in the suburbs,
0:03:40 > 0:03:44with all that ultra-conservatism that goes on there,
0:03:44 > 0:03:46there's a lot to kick back against.
0:03:48 > 0:03:50'I thought London was central to everything.'
0:03:50 > 0:03:52There wasn't a music scene in Woking.
0:03:54 > 0:03:57Meeting people my own age represented a place where you could be yourself.
0:03:57 > 0:04:01At that time we were playing social clubs
0:04:01 > 0:04:04to disinterested punters really, who just wanted the bingo.
0:04:04 > 0:04:08Maybe they'd have a dance towards the end of the night, when they're pissed enough.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11# I got no reason It's all too much
0:04:11 > 0:04:14# You'll always find me
0:04:14 > 0:04:18# Out to lunch... #
0:04:20 > 0:04:24'I read this review in the NME of the Pistols and thought we've got to see this band.
0:04:24 > 0:04:29'We travelled up and went to this all-nighter, where we took speed for the first time.'
0:04:29 > 0:04:33The effect of the pills and seeing this band was like, "Wow! This is it, this is our time."
0:04:33 > 0:04:36# We're so pretty Oh so pretty... #
0:04:36 > 0:04:39'It was such a closed, small scene,
0:04:39 > 0:04:42'maybe there was 500 people in the whole of England,
0:04:42 > 0:04:43'maybe, who knew about it?'
0:04:43 > 0:04:47It was very small, you knew the faces you saw every week.
0:04:50 > 0:04:54'What Johnny Rotten and Joe Strummer, etc, were expressing,'
0:04:54 > 0:04:59was so absolutely instantly recognised right across the land.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02'There was this punk rock explosion.'
0:05:03 > 0:05:05# Pretty
0:05:05 > 0:05:08# Pretty vacant. #
0:05:10 > 0:05:12News of the small scene that had been incubating
0:05:12 > 0:05:15in the heart of the capital was slowly spreading.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18# We don't care. #
0:05:22 > 0:05:25We were aware of a core of punk bands
0:05:25 > 0:05:28that were starting to, sort of,
0:05:28 > 0:05:30move out, get out into the provinces,
0:05:30 > 0:05:32and we would go and see them, you know.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35ROUSING GUITAR
0:05:37 > 0:05:39But with virtually no support,
0:05:39 > 0:05:42punk wasn't reaching its audience through established channels.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44It was all about word of mouth.
0:05:44 > 0:05:46# Mystery man
0:05:46 > 0:05:49# Be a doll, be a baby doll... #
0:05:49 > 0:05:51It was just like,
0:05:51 > 0:05:53you went there once,
0:05:53 > 0:05:54there was the first few
0:05:54 > 0:05:56curiosity seekers and so on,
0:05:56 > 0:05:58and the next time you come,
0:05:58 > 0:06:01it would be really considerably different.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04It just grew, I think, because the UK is such a small place,
0:06:04 > 0:06:05it was able to spread.
0:06:05 > 0:06:07# Can't afford a cannon
0:06:07 > 0:06:09# Neat neat neat She can't afford a gun at all
0:06:09 > 0:06:12# Neat neat neat She can't afford a cannon
0:06:12 > 0:06:16# Neat neat neat She can't afford a gun at all. #
0:06:16 > 0:06:20I remember Redcar, playing at the Coatham Bowl. It was great.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23But the Flaming Groovies are the headliners.
0:06:23 > 0:06:24That's who you want, isn't it?
0:06:26 > 0:06:30Converting a few Flaming Groovies fans was one thing.
0:06:30 > 0:06:33But punk at the tail end of '76 only really
0:06:33 > 0:06:37existed in the minds of the converted few.
0:06:37 > 0:06:39But all that
0:06:39 > 0:06:41was about to change.
0:06:41 > 0:06:43They are punk rockers.
0:06:43 > 0:06:45The new craze, they tell me.
0:06:46 > 0:06:48Well, there's a conservative.
0:06:48 > 0:06:50They are as drunk as I am.
0:06:50 > 0:06:52He was the institution,
0:06:52 > 0:06:54and we were not.
0:06:54 > 0:06:56They are a group called the Sex Pistols..
0:06:56 > 0:06:58Bill Grundy was the host of a pre-watershed news programme
0:06:58 > 0:07:00called The Today Show,
0:07:00 > 0:07:02on which the Sex Pistols were a last-minute booking.
0:07:02 > 0:07:04They are heroes,
0:07:04 > 0:07:07not the nice clean Rolling Stones.
0:07:07 > 0:07:11Queen were going to go and pulled out at the last minute, so there
0:07:11 > 0:07:13we were, short notice,
0:07:13 > 0:07:17and Bill Grundy didn't want to interview us.
0:07:17 > 0:07:21I didn't know that Steve had found a bottle of Blue Nun
0:07:21 > 0:07:23and gone to another room and drunk the lot.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27Suddenly millions of viewers, sitting down to their early evening
0:07:27 > 0:07:32TV dinners, were confronted by something a little bit unexpected.
0:07:32 > 0:07:34- BILL GRUNDY:- What about you girls behind?
0:07:34 > 0:07:38'We didn't have a clue what was going to happen.'
0:07:38 > 0:07:40Bill Grundy was just so
0:07:40 > 0:07:42contemptuous of them.
0:07:42 > 0:07:44It's what?
0:07:44 > 0:07:47Nothing. A rude word. Next question.
0:07:47 > 0:07:49No, no. What was the rude word?
0:07:49 > 0:07:51Shit.
0:07:51 > 0:07:53'There he is. He's the one goading us into it.'
0:07:56 > 0:07:59He definitely had an eye on the young ladies in the bin liners.
0:07:59 > 0:08:02- Always wanted to meet you. - Did you really?- Yeah.
0:08:02 > 0:08:04We'll meet afterwards, shall we?
0:08:04 > 0:08:06You dirty sod.
0:08:06 > 0:08:07I was being,
0:08:07 > 0:08:12"Ooh, I've always wanted to meet you", - not really(!)
0:08:12 > 0:08:14So, he had a real attitude.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17He picked the wrong guys, and then halfway through the interview,
0:08:17 > 0:08:20Steve's bottle of Blue Nun kicked in.
0:08:20 > 0:08:22You know, it was a recipe for disaster.
0:08:22 > 0:08:24Go on, you've got another five seconds,
0:08:24 > 0:08:25say something outrageous.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28- You dirty bastard.- Again.
0:08:28 > 0:08:31- You dirty fucker. - What a clever boy!
0:08:31 > 0:08:33- What a fucking rotter. - That's it for tonight.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36Swearing on prime-time television
0:08:36 > 0:08:38just didn't happen in 1976.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43I mean, the reaction the next day in the newspapers,
0:08:43 > 0:08:45was just like, "What?"
0:08:49 > 0:08:52"The Filth And The Fury", and it was like,
0:08:52 > 0:08:56exclamation mark. Front pages.
0:08:56 > 0:08:58Far from revelling in the scandal,
0:08:58 > 0:09:02Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren was initially very worried.
0:09:02 > 0:09:06Malcolm was ghostly white, like, "You've ruined everything
0:09:06 > 0:09:10"I've been working for. You've just destroyed a year's
0:09:10 > 0:09:14"worth of work by swearing on television."
0:09:14 > 0:09:18The next morning, he saw all the front pages
0:09:18 > 0:09:21and realised it was a good idea.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24Next day, punk rock was a national phenomenon.
0:09:25 > 0:09:29# I am an Antichrist
0:09:29 > 0:09:33# I am an anarchist... #
0:09:33 > 0:09:35Fresh from their Grundy Show appearance,
0:09:35 > 0:09:37the Sex Pistols embarked on the Anarchy In The UK tour
0:09:37 > 0:09:39with The Dammed and The Clash.
0:09:39 > 0:09:42But they quickly discovered that being the centre of national
0:09:42 > 0:09:45attention wasn't necessarily a good thing.
0:09:45 > 0:09:50# Anarchy-y-y. #
0:09:53 > 0:09:54I remember it felt great
0:09:54 > 0:09:57on the Sex Pistols' first tour that was no tour.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00We had a crate of beer and I was drunk.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04But the next day, that's like,
0:10:04 > 0:10:06"No, that's just not right.
0:10:06 > 0:10:08"Why are we banned?"
0:10:08 > 0:10:12Relationship with God and a right way with God in this world.
0:10:12 > 0:10:16This protest is to make Wales know, to let the people of this town
0:10:16 > 0:10:19know, that we do protest.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22On the rare occasion a town council
0:10:22 > 0:10:23allowed the Pistols to play,
0:10:23 > 0:10:27they were met with a mixture of local protesters,
0:10:27 > 0:10:31and the odd curiosity seeker, who managed to break through
0:10:31 > 0:10:33the picket line.
0:10:33 > 0:10:37# I want to be-e-e
0:10:37 > 0:10:40# Anarchy-y-y. #
0:10:40 > 0:10:42It's lowering the standard of our people in Caerphilly.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45It's degrading and disgusting for our children
0:10:45 > 0:10:48to hear and see such things.
0:10:48 > 0:10:49PROTESTORS SING
0:10:49 > 0:10:52How do you feel about the crowd opposite?
0:10:52 > 0:10:54There are entitled to do what they want.
0:10:54 > 0:10:55It was strange
0:10:55 > 0:10:59to be part of something where venues were being
0:10:59 > 0:11:02withdrawn where you can't play, you're being censored.
0:11:02 > 0:11:04You felt persecuted.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07Lines were drawn, and you chose what side you were on.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14How do you react to the reputation that your group is the most
0:11:14 > 0:11:17revolting in the country?
0:11:17 > 0:11:19Look, our group is creating a generation gap for the first
0:11:19 > 0:11:21time in five years in this country
0:11:21 > 0:11:24and a lot of people are feeling genuinely threatened by it.
0:11:24 > 0:11:25We ain't even being allowed to play.
0:11:28 > 0:11:30'There was so much going on,'...
0:11:32 > 0:11:35..so much vicious hatred towards us,
0:11:35 > 0:11:37because we were doing something completely new,
0:11:37 > 0:11:42'we looked like nothing most people had ever seen.'
0:11:42 > 0:11:45I try so hard to be nice.
0:11:45 > 0:11:49It taught me that the British are, by nature, very conservative.
0:11:49 > 0:11:53# Anarchist
0:11:53 > 0:11:55# I get pissed
0:11:55 > 0:11:59# Destroy-oy. #
0:12:07 > 0:12:10Almost overnight, punk had become public enemy number one.
0:12:13 > 0:12:17Punk rock has become almost a battle cry in British society.
0:12:17 > 0:12:19For many people, it's a bigger threat to our way of life
0:12:19 > 0:12:22than Russian Communism or hyperinflation.
0:12:22 > 0:12:25What I'm concerned about is the manner in which certain groups
0:12:25 > 0:12:26behave onstage.
0:12:26 > 0:12:30Now they're bringing out these freak punk rock groups.
0:12:30 > 0:12:32We're not going to have this punk rock brigade.
0:12:32 > 0:12:36It's all wrong! HE BURPS
0:12:36 > 0:12:39ROUSING GUITAR
0:12:41 > 0:12:42But for much of Britain's youth,
0:12:42 > 0:12:45punk meant something else entirely.
0:12:45 > 0:12:46# I want it with you
0:12:46 > 0:12:49# Wishing your love will see me through. #
0:12:52 > 0:12:54I want it to do something for me.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57Look at me now, I'm nothing.
0:12:57 > 0:12:58That's what punk is.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01Punk was our time.
0:13:01 > 0:13:03This was our music and our generation.
0:13:03 > 0:13:05There was a real sense of
0:13:05 > 0:13:09these people are going to destroy civilisation.
0:13:11 > 0:13:13If you get a bit up for it, that's bloody hard luck.
0:13:13 > 0:13:16We're never going to back down.
0:13:17 > 0:13:21It didn't matter about class, but a lot of it was largely
0:13:21 > 0:13:23working class,
0:13:23 > 0:13:26but it mattered about what your ideas were like.
0:13:31 > 0:13:33# This is the future. #
0:13:33 > 0:13:36There's people branding us. They're saying I'm vile and obscene.
0:13:36 > 0:13:38Do I look vile and obscene?
0:13:39 > 0:13:43People looked on in horror, because they just didn't understand
0:13:43 > 0:13:47what we were, but what we really were was a by-product of what was happening
0:13:47 > 0:13:50and we threw it back at them, and actually, it was quite a laugh.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53I think punk was a time
0:13:53 > 0:13:54when all the freaks,
0:13:54 > 0:13:56misfits and outlaws,
0:13:56 > 0:14:00had their moment, their moment in the sun.
0:14:02 > 0:14:06As '76 gave way to '77,
0:14:06 > 0:14:09punk's clarion call had been sounded.
0:14:09 > 0:14:13A new generation was sick of waiting for its turn.
0:14:13 > 0:14:17There was still this whole idea
0:14:17 > 0:14:20you could only advance if you put in the years,
0:14:20 > 0:14:23and that was across the board -
0:14:23 > 0:14:25industry, art, commerce.
0:14:28 > 0:14:30# Paint by numbers. #
0:14:30 > 0:14:35A new do-it-yourself spirit was beginning to take root.
0:14:40 > 0:14:45# So break up, make up. #
0:14:45 > 0:14:48Punk was about being an active participant, rather than just
0:14:48 > 0:14:51a passive consumer.
0:14:51 > 0:14:53It made you think, "Well, I can do that,"
0:14:53 > 0:14:56so the next question is, why the hell don't you do it?
0:14:56 > 0:14:57# Make-up. #
0:14:59 > 0:15:02- Are you a singer?- Yeah. - Have you sung before?
0:15:02 > 0:15:04Not on stage, no.
0:15:04 > 0:15:08Suddenly the spotlight belonged to anybody who wanted it.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11With very little resources,
0:15:11 > 0:15:12we were very resourceful.
0:15:20 > 0:15:23- What did you sing?- The Lord's Prayer, via Twist & Shout,
0:15:23 > 0:15:25Knockin' On Heaven's Door,
0:15:25 > 0:15:27and a bit of Deutschland, Deutschland Uber Alles.
0:15:27 > 0:15:31There is a way, so long as you're persistent and aggressive
0:15:31 > 0:15:35and beat the hell out of them.
0:15:35 > 0:15:38MUSIC: "Make Up To Break Up" by Siouxsie & the Banshees
0:15:43 > 0:15:48The whole idea you needed someone's permission to do these things
0:15:48 > 0:15:52was destroyed. People were starting record labels and magazines.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55# Foundation starts to tremble... #
0:15:55 > 0:15:59We thought we had something to offer.
0:15:59 > 0:16:03There was a climate for things to be radically shaken up.
0:16:03 > 0:16:06# Cracking up - up, up
0:16:06 > 0:16:07# Face is cracking up. #
0:16:07 > 0:16:12We said, "We don't have to ask anyone else's permission".
0:16:14 > 0:16:16We can just go ahead and do it.
0:16:16 > 0:16:19MUSIC: "When I Need You" by Leo Sayer
0:16:24 > 0:16:26Everything old and established
0:16:26 > 0:16:29was now open to attack,
0:16:29 > 0:16:32and if the record industry didn't get it...
0:16:32 > 0:16:36MUSIC: "Breakdown" by The Buzzcocks
0:16:42 > 0:16:45In January 1977, a young band from Manchester called The Buzzcocks
0:16:45 > 0:16:47decided to release an EP...
0:16:47 > 0:16:49themselves.
0:16:56 > 0:16:59We worked out that for £500,
0:16:59 > 0:17:01we could press 1,000 singles,
0:17:01 > 0:17:04and a picture sleeve.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07We decided to do an EP cos people brought out EPs.
0:17:07 > 0:17:10The Beatles had loads of EPs and things.
0:17:10 > 0:17:12It was good cos it had four songs on.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15If you just have a single, you've just got two sides.
0:17:15 > 0:17:17We went in and we did four songs.
0:17:17 > 0:17:20# I'm going to breakdown Got to break it down, yes. #
0:17:20 > 0:17:23I suppose we released our own record
0:17:23 > 0:17:25because it was the easiest way of doing it.
0:17:26 > 0:17:28And went into the college and put it on,
0:17:28 > 0:17:32and watched people's expressions - "What the hell is this?"
0:17:32 > 0:17:38I still do think it's one of the most tremendous records ever made.
0:17:38 > 0:17:42Before that, it had been ageing hippies giving you the impression
0:17:42 > 0:17:45that you shouldn't go out and play a guitar,
0:17:45 > 0:17:48unless you'd been at it for 30 years.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53As far as punk was concerned,
0:17:53 > 0:17:55rock'n'roll had spent two decades
0:17:55 > 0:17:57growing ever more pompous.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04Punk's mission was to simply start all over again.
0:18:04 > 0:18:09We started referring to the bigger bands as the "dinosaurs",
0:18:09 > 0:18:10rejecting the past.
0:18:10 > 0:18:14MUSIC: "You're In My Heart" by Rod Stewart
0:18:14 > 0:18:17Rod Stewart and people like that were getting to look sillier
0:18:17 > 0:18:20as the years went on.
0:18:20 > 0:18:22They just looked like Louis XIV.
0:18:22 > 0:18:25And someone had to cut their head off.
0:18:25 > 0:18:27HE LAUGHS
0:18:29 > 0:18:34# You're in my heart You're in my soul
0:18:34 > 0:18:36# You'll be my breath Should I grow old. #
0:18:36 > 0:18:38It's got nothing to do with them any more.
0:18:38 > 0:18:41Rod Stewart starts going on with his string orchestra.
0:18:41 > 0:18:43It's not what you feel like,
0:18:43 > 0:18:45so you've got to have some music what you feel like.
0:18:45 > 0:18:46Otherwise you go barmy, don't you?
0:18:52 > 0:18:54MUSIC: "1977" by The Clash
0:18:54 > 0:18:57The Clash's song 1977
0:18:57 > 0:19:00captured this desire to wipe the slate clean.
0:19:02 > 0:19:04# Sten guns in Knightsbridge
0:19:04 > 0:19:07# Danger stranger
0:19:07 > 0:19:09# You better paint your face
0:19:09 > 0:19:13# No Elvis, Beatles or the Rolling Stones
0:19:13 > 0:19:14# 1977. #
0:19:14 > 0:19:17But the Year Zero mantra hid a contradiction.
0:19:17 > 0:19:20Punk defined itself as the future of music,
0:19:20 > 0:19:24but equally championed a return to rock'n'roll's past.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26Three chords. Three-minute songs
0:19:26 > 0:19:29played loud and fast.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32# No Elvis, Beatles
0:19:32 > 0:19:34# Or the Rolling Stones. #
0:19:37 > 0:19:39It was more about an ideal, 1977,
0:19:39 > 0:19:43rather than to be taken literally.
0:19:43 > 0:19:45I loved the Beatles,
0:19:45 > 0:19:49but I loved also the Rolling Stones and the Kinks.
0:19:49 > 0:19:52The line of rock'n'roll that goes right back to Elvis.
0:19:52 > 0:19:54When Elvis first came out,
0:19:54 > 0:19:57that was like nothing they'd seen before.
0:19:57 > 0:19:59When the Pistols came out, it was like nothing you'd seen before,
0:19:59 > 0:20:01in the same way.
0:20:05 > 0:20:09A lot of us... I still had Deep Purple albums.
0:20:09 > 0:20:11People do forget, when they look back,
0:20:11 > 0:20:13we weren't from outer space!
0:20:17 > 0:20:20Everybody liked these people, really.
0:20:20 > 0:20:23I never met anybody that didn't like the Stones.
0:20:23 > 0:20:27If you don't like the Stones, what are you doing in rock?
0:20:27 > 0:20:30What are you doing in a rock'n'roll band?
0:20:35 > 0:20:38We weren't consciously lying about the rejections part,
0:20:38 > 0:20:41but it was important to define what punk was about.
0:20:41 > 0:20:44To actually start differentiating,
0:20:44 > 0:20:46in a way that gave punk its identity
0:20:46 > 0:20:50to the wider public.
0:20:50 > 0:20:52To be a punk in 1977
0:20:52 > 0:20:54was to set yourself in opposition
0:20:54 > 0:20:57to society in any way possible.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02MUSIC: "Identity" by X-Ray Spex
0:21:02 > 0:21:05# Identity is the crisis - can't you see?
0:21:05 > 0:21:08# Identity
0:21:08 > 0:21:11# Identity
0:21:11 > 0:21:13# When you look in the mirror Can you see? #
0:21:13 > 0:21:15One of the things I had made for me at the time
0:21:15 > 0:21:18was this rapist mask.
0:21:18 > 0:21:22I used to wear this out in clubs. It was a great look.
0:21:26 > 0:21:28I got a pair of leather trousers,
0:21:28 > 0:21:31and I wore them for six months without taking them off.
0:21:31 > 0:21:33I'd end up dyeing things in bathtubs.
0:21:33 > 0:21:35I'd dye one side of a shirt pink -
0:21:35 > 0:21:38it was supposed to be red but came out pink,
0:21:38 > 0:21:39and the other side yellow, and wear it.
0:21:42 > 0:21:45It was wearing stuff that used to arrive in brown paper envelopes
0:21:45 > 0:21:46on the street.
0:21:46 > 0:21:49Not just wearing it in the privacy of your bedroom or dungeon.
0:21:49 > 0:21:55The effect was fabulous, and the girls looked great in it.
0:21:55 > 0:21:57The dog collar - what an amazing accessory.
0:21:57 > 0:21:59"OK, you give us nothing.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02"We've got no jobs, nowhere to go, we can't afford to buy clothes.
0:22:02 > 0:22:04"We'll wear these fucked-up old tights.
0:22:04 > 0:22:07"And, what's more, we'll look great while we do it."
0:22:09 > 0:22:13It was like, "Fuck you. We can wear what we like.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16"I know this might upset you. Who gives a damn?"
0:22:18 > 0:22:21But notoriety came at a price.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24Now that punk was a matter of national controversy,
0:22:24 > 0:22:26many of the pubs that had nurtured the pub rock scene
0:22:26 > 0:22:28only a year earlier,
0:22:28 > 0:22:31had shut their doors.
0:22:31 > 0:22:33In those days you couldn't go in the pubs, man.
0:22:33 > 0:22:35You couldn't go in clubs.
0:22:35 > 0:22:38They were reluctant to put punk bands on,
0:22:38 > 0:22:40because they didn't want that type in there.
0:22:43 > 0:22:45Punk needed a home.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48A place where it could truly express itself.
0:22:54 > 0:22:57It was in the middle of Covent Garden.
0:22:57 > 0:22:59It was like the surface of the moon.
0:22:59 > 0:23:01The only people that you saw
0:23:01 > 0:23:03were punks and opera-goers.
0:23:06 > 0:23:10To me, it's central - the Roxy was the heart of it.
0:23:10 > 0:23:14The Roxy, in all ways,
0:23:14 > 0:23:19was the most important pilgrimage you could make.
0:23:19 > 0:23:22The whole essence to the place was punk.
0:23:22 > 0:23:28# We're talking into corners Finding ways to fill the vacuum
0:23:28 > 0:23:30# And though our mouths are dry
0:23:30 > 0:23:33# We talk in hope to hear something new. #
0:23:33 > 0:23:37The place held, officially, 160. We had maybe 360 in there.
0:23:37 > 0:23:39So it was mayhem, but fun.
0:23:39 > 0:23:42We were getting phone calls from bands.
0:23:42 > 0:23:43"Are you a punk band?" "Yeah."
0:23:43 > 0:23:46Where are you from?" "Sheffield." "You're playing next Thursday."
0:23:46 > 0:23:48Simple as that.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51# Bored teenagers Seeing ourselves as strangers... #
0:23:55 > 0:23:57When you'd see those kids jumping up and down,
0:23:57 > 0:23:59it wasn't about getting hurt or having fights.
0:23:59 > 0:24:03No-one had done that before. There had never been that seething mass
0:24:03 > 0:24:04of frustration and anger.
0:24:07 > 0:24:10The Roxy was where many of punk's new set of manners
0:24:10 > 0:24:11were given space to evolve.
0:24:11 > 0:24:13Why nod, when you could pogo?
0:24:13 > 0:24:18Why cheer, when you could hurl an arc of phlegm?
0:24:18 > 0:24:21There's no option but to accept the fact
0:24:21 > 0:24:22people will gob on you.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25It almost became the defining sign
0:24:25 > 0:24:28that this isn't the way things were before.
0:24:30 > 0:24:34It all began with The Damned's Rat Scabies.
0:24:34 > 0:24:36I was watching the Pistols.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39Jonesy was gobbing all over the stage and he fucking gobbed at me.
0:24:39 > 0:24:41And I gobbed back.
0:24:41 > 0:24:44The audience just saw it as a great leveller.
0:24:44 > 0:24:47What would have been unthinkable a year earlier
0:24:47 > 0:24:49was now the norm.
0:24:49 > 0:24:52Gobbing was the new applause.
0:24:53 > 0:24:55I remember one night I was singing,
0:24:55 > 0:24:57and there was this double-headed spit coming at me.
0:24:57 > 0:25:00I was trying to get out of the way. This way -
0:25:00 > 0:25:02and I could still see it.
0:25:02 > 0:25:04I was trying to go that way. I didn't know which way to go,
0:25:04 > 0:25:06and "Boosh!"
0:25:06 > 0:25:08It was the most revolting thing.
0:25:08 > 0:25:13If they didn't spit at you, it means they didn't like you.
0:25:13 > 0:25:18# Bored out of our heads Bored out of our minds. #
0:25:19 > 0:25:23Every new movement needs somewhere you can all gather.
0:25:23 > 0:25:26The Roxy was that place.
0:25:26 > 0:25:29The place where it all fomented, and started happening.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32But despite having found a common cause,
0:25:32 > 0:25:34and a place to call home,
0:25:34 > 0:25:36the punk scene in '77
0:25:36 > 0:25:40was far from being a happy family.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43Within the movement, there was lots of different tribes,
0:25:43 > 0:25:46but that made for healthy competition.
0:25:46 > 0:25:48That's what was special about the scene.
0:25:48 > 0:25:50You had these different camps trying to one-up each other.
0:25:50 > 0:25:52MUSIC: "Ambition" by the Subway Sect
0:25:52 > 0:25:56"My band's better than your band. You're shit. We're the business."
0:25:56 > 0:26:00It wasn't like some big commune of people working together
0:26:00 > 0:26:02for the greater good.
0:26:02 > 0:26:04God forbid.
0:26:04 > 0:26:08Punks didn't like each other. No camaraderie whatsoever.
0:26:08 > 0:26:10At all. None.
0:26:10 > 0:26:12It was all competitive.
0:26:14 > 0:26:17All these bands of people I'd known - mates,
0:26:17 > 0:26:19were all incredibly oppositional.
0:26:19 > 0:26:23It was really jealousy that was driving it.
0:26:23 > 0:26:25They wanted to outdo the Pistols.
0:26:25 > 0:26:27So, constantly fighting that.
0:26:27 > 0:26:29Punk wasn't a unified movement.
0:26:29 > 0:26:33It was a bunch of really jealous people
0:26:33 > 0:26:35trying to outdo each other.
0:26:40 > 0:26:43But although the scene appeared fearless and free,
0:26:43 > 0:26:47a young band from Woking would show that punk was already becoming
0:26:47 > 0:26:48something of an exclusive club.
0:26:52 > 0:26:56The Jam were a band playing the same gigs as punk bands,
0:26:56 > 0:26:58and had the same energy in their music.
0:26:58 > 0:27:02Turning up in suits and all that was seen as a bit silly.
0:27:02 > 0:27:06I don't know why, but we'd always dressed the same onstage.
0:27:06 > 0:27:09I'd made everyone go to Burton's and get suits.
0:27:09 > 0:27:12I'm only laughing cos some of them were atrocious!
0:27:12 > 0:27:14HE LAUGHS
0:27:14 > 0:27:17Like split-level loons and satin jackets,
0:27:17 > 0:27:19but that's another story, folks.
0:27:19 > 0:27:23Yeah, it was to stand out. To be different from everyone else.
0:27:23 > 0:27:26When everyone else was covered in safety pins and all that shite.
0:27:26 > 0:27:28MUSIC: "In The City" by The Jam
0:27:31 > 0:27:35# In the city there's a thousand things I want to say to you
0:27:37 > 0:27:41# But whenever I approach you You make me look a fool
0:27:41 > 0:27:43# I want to say
0:27:43 > 0:27:46# I want to tell you
0:27:46 > 0:27:49# About the young ideas
0:27:49 > 0:27:52# You better listen now You've said your bit. #
0:27:52 > 0:27:56We used to take the piss out of them for tuning up,
0:27:56 > 0:27:58which Paul Weller hated.
0:27:58 > 0:28:00I used to get a lot of flak for that.
0:28:00 > 0:28:02They thought it was kind of too "muso".
0:28:04 > 0:28:06# We want to say
0:28:06 > 0:28:08# We're going to tell you
0:28:08 > 0:28:11# About the young ideas
0:28:11 > 0:28:14# You better listen now You've said your bit. #
0:28:14 > 0:28:20The Clash and the Pistols seemed to me like an upper-middle-class
0:28:20 > 0:28:24kind of Kensington Market kind of thing.
0:28:24 > 0:28:27With the Jam, you knew exactly where they were coming from.
0:28:29 > 0:28:32I think we appealed to people who were like us.
0:28:32 > 0:28:34I think we appealed to a lot of people from the suburbs.
0:28:34 > 0:28:38We weren't really part of a hip London niche.
0:28:38 > 0:28:40That was the same all over the country, really.
0:28:40 > 0:28:42I think the songs I was writing,
0:28:42 > 0:28:47people understood, cos they saw themselves in those songs.
0:28:47 > 0:28:49Despite appearing as outsiders to the punk scene,
0:28:49 > 0:28:52The Jam were most definitely inspired by it.
0:28:52 > 0:28:55The Pistols played short, spiky songs.
0:28:55 > 0:28:58I think from that experience,
0:28:58 > 0:29:01I went back and started writing in that style a little bit.
0:29:01 > 0:29:04It was only really listening to The Clash, and reading their lyrics,
0:29:04 > 0:29:07that I started to think about what's going on around me.
0:29:07 > 0:29:11Prior to that, I'd just written about, you know, girls.
0:29:15 > 0:29:18In May 1977, The Jam appeared on Top of the Pops.
0:29:20 > 0:29:24# In the city there's a thousand things I want to say to you. #
0:29:26 > 0:29:28APPLAUSE
0:29:28 > 0:29:30At the forefront of a new rock phenomenon known as "New Wave",
0:29:30 > 0:29:32there go The Jam and In The City.
0:29:32 > 0:29:35But as the record industry slowly woke up
0:29:35 > 0:29:38to punk's commercial potential,
0:29:38 > 0:29:40a tension at its heart
0:29:40 > 0:29:41began to emerge,
0:29:41 > 0:29:44between staying independent and gaining mass exposure.
0:29:46 > 0:29:48Any record deal we signed in those days,
0:29:48 > 0:29:50I'd seen them straightaway as the enemy.
0:29:50 > 0:29:53They'd sign us. They'd give you the right smiles.
0:29:53 > 0:29:55They'd go, "Oh yeah, we love what you're doing.
0:29:55 > 0:30:01"Sign on the contract", and two days later, it's a list of demands.
0:30:01 > 0:30:03The Pistols' attitude
0:30:03 > 0:30:06had ensured they had already been dropped by two labels
0:30:06 > 0:30:10by mid-1977. Punk and the record industry
0:30:10 > 0:30:11were not the easiest of bedfellows.
0:30:11 > 0:30:14MUSIC: "EMI" by the Sex Pistols
0:30:14 > 0:30:17"Wouldn't it be nice if you wrote a song about this, that or the other?"
0:30:17 > 0:30:19"Would it be?
0:30:19 > 0:30:20"Yeah, it might be nice.
0:30:20 > 0:30:22"But this is what I'm doing.
0:30:22 > 0:30:24"This is what I was paid to do."
0:30:24 > 0:30:27# A&M. #
0:30:27 > 0:30:29MUSIC: "Complete Control" by The Clash
0:30:29 > 0:30:31When The Clash signed to CBS,
0:30:31 > 0:30:34punk found itself at a crossroads.
0:30:34 > 0:30:36Could they have their cake and eat it too?
0:30:36 > 0:30:40I can remember a serious debate within The Clash
0:30:40 > 0:30:42about whether they should sign to CBS.
0:30:42 > 0:30:44If it was important to get the message out
0:30:44 > 0:30:47to as wide an audience as possible,
0:30:47 > 0:30:49or if you should do it on an independent label,
0:30:49 > 0:30:54and risk that 14-year-old in Newcastle or Glasgow
0:30:54 > 0:30:56never getting the message.
0:31:01 > 0:31:04I said punk died the day The Clash signed to CBS.
0:31:04 > 0:31:09I felt they would have made such a massive statement
0:31:09 > 0:31:11if they had made their own records,
0:31:11 > 0:31:14through their own independent record label.
0:31:14 > 0:31:16Yeah, it's all a business.
0:31:16 > 0:31:19Does it shock you that you wanted to destroy it
0:31:19 > 0:31:22- and it still is a business? - Well, we signed up with them.
0:31:22 > 0:31:24We weren't going to go into a hippy thing,
0:31:24 > 0:31:26and stay in one corner of the world and no-one hears about you.
0:31:26 > 0:31:29If you want to come out of that corner,
0:31:29 > 0:31:31you have to deal with the real world, and that's business.
0:31:31 > 0:31:34MUSIC: "White Riot" by The Clash
0:31:38 > 0:31:40In May '77, The Clash embarked
0:31:40 > 0:31:42upon the White Riot tour,
0:31:42 > 0:31:45with the Buzzcocks, Subway Sect, and the Slits.
0:31:45 > 0:31:47The tour would quickly cement them
0:31:47 > 0:31:49as the new voice of Britain's dole-bound generation.
0:31:51 > 0:31:54# White riot - I want a riot
0:31:54 > 0:31:56# White riot - a riot of my own
0:31:56 > 0:31:59# White riot - I want a riot
0:31:59 > 0:32:01# White riot - a riot of my own
0:32:01 > 0:32:03# Black man got a lot of problems
0:32:03 > 0:32:05# But they don't mind throwing a brick... #
0:32:05 > 0:32:07Mainly it's remembered for the fact
0:32:07 > 0:32:12it was the first time that punk had played in a big place.
0:32:12 > 0:32:16It was like a bunch of crazy kids,
0:32:16 > 0:32:20all on holiday together - like on a Butlin's.
0:32:20 > 0:32:23It was like, "We're all going on a summer holiday" type thing.
0:32:23 > 0:32:25Me and Mick Jones were going out together,
0:32:25 > 0:32:26and breaking up on-and-off
0:32:26 > 0:32:28throughout the tour, so it was all very dramatic!
0:32:28 > 0:32:31The first night of the White Riot tour,
0:32:31 > 0:32:34at the Rainbow in Finsbury Park,
0:32:34 > 0:32:35was just chaos.
0:32:35 > 0:32:40The most scary-looking mean guys walking round,
0:32:40 > 0:32:42in nothing else other than DMs,
0:32:42 > 0:32:44Y-fronts
0:32:44 > 0:32:46and an old overcoat.
0:32:46 > 0:32:49At the bus stop. They didn't even wait till they got in the gig!
0:32:52 > 0:32:572,000 uninitiated people turned up that night.
0:32:57 > 0:33:02It was the most incendiary and scary gig I've ever been to.
0:33:02 > 0:33:05There was a few chairs smashed.
0:33:06 > 0:33:08Like with the Teddy Boys,
0:33:08 > 0:33:11when they ripped up the seats at Bill Haley.
0:33:11 > 0:33:13So that was like the same thing.
0:33:13 > 0:33:15It was fairly harmless.
0:33:15 > 0:33:17Disengage the seat in front and throw it into the orchestra pit.
0:33:17 > 0:33:19And we had to pay for it.
0:33:19 > 0:33:21HE LAUGHS
0:33:21 > 0:33:25# White riot - I want a riot White riot - a riot of my own! #
0:33:25 > 0:33:29APPLAUSE AND CHEERING
0:33:29 > 0:33:33DUB REGGAE PLAYS
0:33:43 > 0:33:47While The Clash were inciting white riots all over the UK,
0:33:47 > 0:33:48punk and reggae
0:33:48 > 0:33:51were beginning to find common cause.
0:33:56 > 0:33:59It was interesting to see how my culture
0:33:59 > 0:34:01was turning on my white contemporaries.
0:34:01 > 0:34:03They dug the bass lines.
0:34:03 > 0:34:07They dug the musical reportage aspect of the lyrics.
0:34:07 > 0:34:09They dug the anti-establishment vibe.
0:34:09 > 0:34:10Didn't mind the weed, either.
0:34:10 > 0:34:15At punk gigs, the only thing that made it bearable for me
0:34:15 > 0:34:18was that DJs would play quite a lot of reggae
0:34:18 > 0:34:21and roots reggae and dub, which was the golden period.
0:34:21 > 0:34:25Phenomenal music that is just earth-shattering.
0:34:30 > 0:34:33One of the key tracks played on The Clash's White Riot tour
0:34:33 > 0:34:35was White Man In Hammersmith Palais.
0:34:35 > 0:34:38By assimilating reggae into their songwriting,
0:34:38 > 0:34:40The Clash were beginning to reach out
0:34:40 > 0:34:43and expand punk's musical borders.
0:34:43 > 0:34:47# Midnight to six man
0:34:47 > 0:34:50# For the first time from Jamaica... #
0:34:51 > 0:34:54We couldn't do it just straight.
0:34:54 > 0:34:56It was cos we didn't understand it.
0:34:56 > 0:34:59It was like we sort of understand it differently.
0:34:59 > 0:35:02We had to put ourselves into it.
0:35:02 > 0:35:04# Ken Boothe, UK pop reggae
0:35:04 > 0:35:09# With backing band sound system... #
0:35:09 > 0:35:12I actually took Strummer to Hammersmith Palais
0:35:12 > 0:35:15the night he was inspired to write White Man In Hammersmith.
0:35:15 > 0:35:19Reggae lyrics was like the currency of street speak.
0:35:19 > 0:35:21It was like slogans. Under Heavy Manners.
0:35:21 > 0:35:24"Cramp and paralyze them and those that worship Babylon."
0:35:24 > 0:35:27Punks really dug that kind of lyricism.
0:35:27 > 0:35:29There was a great similarity,
0:35:29 > 0:35:32in terms of they were both rebel musics.
0:35:34 > 0:35:38# They ain't got no roots rock rhythm. #
0:35:41 > 0:35:45MUSIC: "God Save The Queen" (National Anthem)
0:35:45 > 0:35:50As Britain prepared itself for the Queen's Silver Jubilee celebrations
0:35:50 > 0:35:52that summer,
0:35:52 > 0:35:55the Sex Pistols prepared to release their second single.
0:36:03 > 0:36:06Of course I wrote God Save The Queen. I wrote the rewrite!
0:36:06 > 0:36:12# God save our gracious Queen
0:36:12 > 0:36:19# Long live our noble Queen. #
0:36:19 > 0:36:22The original lyrics were unacceptable.
0:36:22 > 0:36:24# God save the Queen
0:36:25 > 0:36:29# The fascist regime
0:36:29 > 0:36:32# They made you a moron
0:36:32 > 0:36:35# Potential H-bomb
0:36:35 > 0:36:37# God save the Queen
0:36:37 > 0:36:41# She ain't no human being
0:36:41 > 0:36:45# There is no future
0:36:45 > 0:36:48# In England's dreaming. #
0:36:48 > 0:36:50It came about quite easy.
0:36:50 > 0:36:53It was just an ongoing thought process.
0:36:53 > 0:36:56Finally, I decided to put pen to paper.
0:36:56 > 0:37:00Ran to the rehearsal studio, really proud of it.
0:37:00 > 0:37:03Knew the band wouldn't catch on what I was saying.
0:37:03 > 0:37:06And somehow managed to squeak it onto vinyl.
0:37:07 > 0:37:09# We love our Queen
0:37:09 > 0:37:12# God saves. #
0:37:12 > 0:37:15It was the poetry of the street.
0:37:15 > 0:37:17The poetry of new England.
0:37:17 > 0:37:21The poetry against the Silver Jubilee.
0:37:21 > 0:37:26It was a great challenge to that ghastly kind of arse licking
0:37:26 > 0:37:27of the monarchy that was going on.
0:37:27 > 0:37:29# We love our Queen
0:37:29 > 0:37:32# God saves. #
0:37:35 > 0:37:37To promote the single,
0:37:37 > 0:37:39manager Malcolm McLaren arranged for the Pistols
0:37:39 > 0:37:42to perform a gig on the Thames,
0:37:42 > 0:37:45to coincide with the Queen's own river procession.
0:37:45 > 0:37:47Punk had its perfect stage.
0:37:47 > 0:37:52But the band were getting sick of McLaren's art school pranks.
0:37:52 > 0:37:54# We mean it, man. #
0:37:54 > 0:37:59By that time, the band were on full collision course
0:37:59 > 0:38:01with Malcolm - particularly John.
0:38:01 > 0:38:03John had a lot of power over Malcolm,
0:38:03 > 0:38:06but Malcolm controlled the purse strings.
0:38:06 > 0:38:08There were a lot of conflicts.
0:38:08 > 0:38:11Ever get the feeling you've been trapped?
0:38:11 > 0:38:15I was woken up that morning, told there was a boat trip.
0:38:15 > 0:38:18I didn't really want to go, but went anyway.
0:38:18 > 0:38:21Sid felt the same.
0:38:21 > 0:38:22'Steve and Paul felt the same.'
0:38:22 > 0:38:25I've had enough of your bullshit.
0:38:27 > 0:38:30They weren't talking to each other.
0:38:30 > 0:38:33They weren't happy. They didn't just have contempt for the audience -
0:38:33 > 0:38:34they had total contempt for themselves.
0:38:34 > 0:38:36It was a very unhappy little trip.
0:38:36 > 0:38:39MUSIC: "Problems" by the Sex Pistols
0:38:39 > 0:38:41# Problems. #
0:38:43 > 0:38:45The public outrage that the Pistols' appearance
0:38:45 > 0:38:47with Bill Grundy had unleashed
0:38:47 > 0:38:48was insatiable.
0:38:51 > 0:38:55So there we were. Before we knew it,
0:38:55 > 0:38:58the police boats were all around us saying, "Stop, desist, come in."
0:39:01 > 0:39:05The police go, "Which one's Johnny Rotten?"
0:39:05 > 0:39:07"Oh, I cannot tell a lie, 'occifer',
0:39:07 > 0:39:09"it's him down there, innit?"
0:39:09 > 0:39:11HE LAUGHS
0:39:11 > 0:39:14The ultimate reward.
0:39:14 > 0:39:18They don't even know the demon that they're chasing.
0:39:20 > 0:39:23Malcolm McLaren was coming down the gangplank,
0:39:23 > 0:39:25and shouting out
0:39:25 > 0:39:28the kind of stuff that Malcolm would shout.
0:39:28 > 0:39:31"Fascist pigs" and "bully boys", and all that.
0:39:31 > 0:39:34I just heard a copper say, "Where's McLaren?"
0:39:34 > 0:39:36And they gave Malcolm a hammering.
0:39:36 > 0:39:38They spun him round like a top and smashed him.
0:39:38 > 0:39:40# Problem
0:39:40 > 0:39:42#Problem
0:39:42 > 0:39:44# Problem
0:39:44 > 0:39:48# Problem. #
0:39:48 > 0:39:51It reflected what had happened to the whole scene.
0:39:51 > 0:39:52It had got really nasty and violent.
0:39:52 > 0:39:55Played out. Too much, too soon.
0:39:55 > 0:39:57But that was the time when I thought,
0:39:57 > 0:40:00"Hang on a minute. This isn't actually fun any more.
0:40:00 > 0:40:02"This is a turning point."
0:40:02 > 0:40:06The real topper was the Pistols had reached number one
0:40:06 > 0:40:08with this alternative national anthem,
0:40:08 > 0:40:11and it had been erased from the charts,
0:40:11 > 0:40:14which is a wonderful situationist,
0:40:14 > 0:40:16and kind of surrealist achievement.
0:40:16 > 0:40:18To have a number one that didn't exist.
0:40:18 > 0:40:21For many, the God Save The Queen boat trip
0:40:21 > 0:40:25had been a stunt too far.
0:40:25 > 0:40:27The moral provocation that the Pistols had revelled in
0:40:27 > 0:40:29was turning ugly.
0:40:29 > 0:40:33Round about the summer of '77,
0:40:33 > 0:40:35Johnny Lydon was attacked,
0:40:35 > 0:40:37and it got nasty.
0:40:37 > 0:40:39There's always outside infiltrators
0:40:39 > 0:40:42that want to do you harm late at night.
0:40:48 > 0:40:50We used to walk down the King's Road.
0:40:50 > 0:40:53Someone would say, "There's 40 Teds coming from Sloane Square."
0:40:53 > 0:40:56And it was a regular thing
0:40:56 > 0:40:58on a Saturday afternoon
0:40:58 > 0:41:00that kids were being beaten to a pulp.
0:41:05 > 0:41:08There were all these different factions. Tribes everywhere.
0:41:08 > 0:41:11It was always some sort of war going on against someone.
0:41:11 > 0:41:13MUSIC: "A-Bomb In Wardour Street" by The Jam
0:41:16 > 0:41:18# Where the streets are paved with blood... #
0:41:18 > 0:41:21But there was more than youthful pride at stake.
0:41:21 > 0:41:23Racial tension in the UK
0:41:23 > 0:41:25was coming to a head.
0:41:25 > 0:41:27Two months after the Jubilee,
0:41:27 > 0:41:29in Lewisham, south London,
0:41:29 > 0:41:33the Anti-Nazi League would clash violently with the National Front.
0:41:33 > 0:41:37# It's not my scene at all There's an A-bomb in Wardour Street
0:41:37 > 0:41:42# They're calling in the army They're calling the policemen... #
0:41:44 > 0:41:47Politics, particularly with young people, were coming to the fore,
0:41:47 > 0:41:50because of the rise of the National Front.
0:41:50 > 0:41:53Unthinkable as it is now, at the time it was broadly believed
0:41:53 > 0:41:56that people of colour could be rounded up and "sent back".
0:41:56 > 0:41:58That's what we were fighting against.
0:41:58 > 0:42:01We weren't fighting to defend our multi-cultural society,
0:42:01 > 0:42:03they were building the boats.
0:42:06 > 0:42:09# A-bomb in Wardour Street
0:42:10 > 0:42:12# It's blown up the West End
0:42:12 > 0:42:14# Now it's spreading through the city. #
0:42:14 > 0:42:16Though the gigs were exciting
0:42:16 > 0:42:19- not just ours, but all the gigs around that time -
0:42:19 > 0:42:22they were also fucking very scary.
0:42:28 > 0:42:30It was a very, very violent time,
0:42:30 > 0:42:33but our music reflected that as well, I think.
0:42:33 > 0:42:34Set against this backdrop,
0:42:34 > 0:42:38a new generation of punk bands were emerging,
0:42:38 > 0:42:41which were all about their working-class audience.
0:42:44 > 0:42:46MUSIC: "CID" by the UK Subs
0:42:46 > 0:42:48# One false move, you could be dead
0:42:48 > 0:42:52# Cos he's an underground undercover agent for the CID
0:42:52 > 0:42:53# CID, CID
0:42:53 > 0:42:56# Got a loaded .44 Walking armoury store. #
0:42:56 > 0:42:58The earlier punk scene,
0:42:58 > 0:43:00we was almost like ponces.
0:43:00 > 0:43:02We were into fashion,
0:43:02 > 0:43:04and into that sort of aesthetic.
0:43:04 > 0:43:07There was two waves which came along.
0:43:07 > 0:43:09The Sex Pistols' audience
0:43:09 > 0:43:11were art school and very snobby.
0:43:11 > 0:43:14Very middle class.
0:43:14 > 0:43:16And we were working class.
0:43:16 > 0:43:19If the first wave of punk was the theory,
0:43:19 > 0:43:23the second wave was the reality of council estate Britain.
0:43:27 > 0:43:29For many, the godfathers of this second wave
0:43:29 > 0:43:32were a band called Sham 69.
0:43:32 > 0:43:35MUSIC: "Borstal Breakout" by Sham 69
0:43:35 > 0:43:40# And all I can think of is baby I think of you
0:43:40 > 0:43:43# Don't worry, baby I'm coming back for you
0:43:44 > 0:43:47# There's going to be a borstal breakout
0:43:47 > 0:43:50# Going to be a borstal breakout
0:43:50 > 0:43:52# Going to be a borstal breakout
0:43:52 > 0:43:55# Going to be a borstal breakout. #
0:43:57 > 0:44:00Sham 69 was, I think, incredibly important.
0:44:01 > 0:44:04Jimmy Pursey was a very complex character,
0:44:04 > 0:44:08who had this understanding of the white
0:44:08 > 0:44:11council house kid.
0:44:13 > 0:44:18When I heard Sham 69, I thought, "These are the real punks.
0:44:18 > 0:44:20"Cos they're real working-class kids
0:44:20 > 0:44:24"from horrible areas.
0:44:24 > 0:44:26"And they've got nothing else."
0:44:26 > 0:44:29I mean, that's punk.
0:44:32 > 0:44:35Probably more pikey than fucking working class.
0:44:42 > 0:44:43I had that observational way of saying,
0:44:43 > 0:44:46"He's the kid that's going to get the sack.
0:44:46 > 0:44:48"He's the kid that's this character."
0:44:48 > 0:44:53Of course, those working-class kids are 70% of our country.
0:44:55 > 0:44:57The one thing I gave them was that belief -
0:44:57 > 0:45:00if I believed in me, they could believe in themselves.
0:45:00 > 0:45:03But Sham 69's raw street appeal
0:45:03 > 0:45:05was beginning to attract certain unwanted elements
0:45:05 > 0:45:07to the punk scene.
0:45:07 > 0:45:10The National Front, or the British Movement.
0:45:10 > 0:45:14They saw a recruitment drive being able to take place,
0:45:14 > 0:45:16because of the working class kids coming to our gigs.
0:45:16 > 0:45:19# There's going to be a borstal breakout. #
0:45:19 > 0:45:21- Thank you. - APPLAUSE AND CHEERING
0:45:23 > 0:45:25Jimmy Pursey quickly found himself
0:45:25 > 0:45:28being the unwilling icon of a resurgent right wing.
0:45:42 > 0:45:44Once the press had said,
0:45:44 > 0:45:47"National Front, British Movement, skinheads
0:45:47 > 0:45:48"at this gig",
0:45:48 > 0:45:52it invited them all to come.
0:45:52 > 0:45:54So, of course, it's catch-22.
0:45:54 > 0:45:57I was damned if I did, or damned if I didn't.
0:46:01 > 0:46:04Jimmy Pursey was trying to lessen the angst
0:46:04 > 0:46:08of what was happening to the white council house estate.
0:46:08 > 0:46:11Leaning out into the audience and talking to these kids.
0:46:11 > 0:46:15And saying you don't have to become racist
0:46:15 > 0:46:18to handle what's going on.
0:46:18 > 0:46:21There's another voice, another way of articulating this.
0:46:21 > 0:46:25MUSIC: "If The Kids Are United" by Sham 69
0:46:34 > 0:46:37It was the most emotional period.
0:46:37 > 0:46:39Hell's Angels, punks, whatever.
0:46:39 > 0:46:42Every different tribe was around me,
0:46:42 > 0:46:43saying, "Jimmy,
0:46:43 > 0:46:45"where are we going?"
0:46:59 > 0:47:01# United! United! #
0:47:01 > 0:47:03CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:47:05 > 0:47:08I'd never seen anything like it in my life before.
0:47:08 > 0:47:10I'd never felt that emotion.
0:47:15 > 0:47:18Harder, rougher and less art-school than the first wave,
0:47:18 > 0:47:21it was arguably the second wave of punk bands
0:47:21 > 0:47:24that truly reflected the sound of Britain's troubled streets
0:47:24 > 0:47:27in '78.
0:47:27 > 0:47:31In Northern Ireland, groups like Stiff Little Fingers
0:47:31 > 0:47:34were tapping back into punk's revolutionary rhetoric.
0:47:34 > 0:47:36# An alternative Ulster
0:47:36 > 0:47:38# Grab it, change it, it's yours
0:47:38 > 0:47:40# Get an alternative Ulster
0:47:40 > 0:47:42# Ignore the bores and their laws
0:47:42 > 0:47:44# Get an alternative Ulster
0:47:44 > 0:47:46# Be an anti-security force
0:47:46 > 0:47:47# Alter your native Ulster
0:47:47 > 0:47:49# Alter your native land. #
0:47:54 > 0:47:56The reality of life, it was just boring.
0:47:56 > 0:47:58Bands wouldn't come and play.
0:47:58 > 0:48:03They were either frightened to, or nobody thought to invite them.
0:48:03 > 0:48:05The security forces at the time
0:48:05 > 0:48:08had a ring of gates and fences round the city centre,
0:48:08 > 0:48:10which were locked from about six-thirty, seven on
0:48:10 > 0:48:12in the evening.
0:48:15 > 0:48:18A world away from the increasingly trendy London scene.
0:48:18 > 0:48:20This wasn't rebellion for its own sake.
0:48:20 > 0:48:23Punk in Northern Ireland made sense,
0:48:23 > 0:48:27because kids had something very real to rebel against.
0:48:27 > 0:48:30# They say you will never be free. #
0:48:30 > 0:48:32It was all the kids
0:48:32 > 0:48:34were going to concerts together, and clubs.
0:48:34 > 0:48:37There was some meeting together.
0:48:37 > 0:48:42A good excuse for Catholics and Protestants to get together.
0:48:46 > 0:48:48It was a huge explosion,
0:48:48 > 0:48:50and everybody was playing at the same time.
0:48:50 > 0:48:52From that point of view,
0:48:52 > 0:48:55it probably did bring the communities together.
0:48:55 > 0:48:57But it wasn't a conscious thing.
0:48:57 > 0:49:00It was just simply that people wanted to go see those bands.
0:49:00 > 0:49:03# Alternative Ulster
0:49:03 > 0:49:05# Go and get it now! #
0:49:05 > 0:49:08APPLAUSE AND CHEERING
0:49:11 > 0:49:14But there was a growing sense by 1978
0:49:14 > 0:49:17that punk's nihilism and attitude
0:49:17 > 0:49:19was becoming nothing more than a costume.
0:49:20 > 0:49:23# Walking down the King's Road
0:49:23 > 0:49:26# I see so many faces
0:49:26 > 0:49:28# They come from many places
0:49:28 > 0:49:31# They come down for the day
0:49:31 > 0:49:35# They walk around together
0:49:35 > 0:49:37# And try and look trendy
0:49:37 > 0:49:41# I think it's a shame
0:49:41 > 0:49:43# That they all look the same. #
0:49:43 > 0:49:45Is imitation the greatest form of flattery?
0:49:45 > 0:49:47Is it?
0:49:47 > 0:49:49It ain't.
0:49:56 > 0:50:00Punk had sort of outgrown itself, within a year, I thought.
0:50:00 > 0:50:03I remember walking down the King's Road
0:50:03 > 0:50:05and seeing all these stereotype punks
0:50:05 > 0:50:07with their mad Mohicans and tartan kilts
0:50:07 > 0:50:09and all that caper.
0:50:09 > 0:50:11Doing photos with the American tourists.
0:50:11 > 0:50:14I thought, "This ain't what it's supposed to be about."
0:50:14 > 0:50:18# They heard John Peel play it Just the other night
0:50:18 > 0:50:21# They'd like to buy the O Level single... #
0:50:21 > 0:50:25The idea that you had to wear your Nazi armbands,
0:50:25 > 0:50:27and follow the fashion.
0:50:27 > 0:50:29To me, punk was about rejecting fashion.
0:50:29 > 0:50:33You told me to go and look at the punk rock scene,
0:50:33 > 0:50:36which I'm afraid I didn't know very much about.
0:50:36 > 0:50:40There's a great piece of film of Derek Nimmo going into Seditionaries
0:50:40 > 0:50:43to be kitted out as a punk rocker,
0:50:43 > 0:50:46which I think sums it up a little bit.
0:50:46 > 0:50:48LAUGHTER
0:50:50 > 0:50:52There was no escaping it.
0:50:52 > 0:50:54Punk was becoming as orthodox
0:50:54 > 0:50:57as the world it had set out to destroy.
0:50:57 > 0:50:59MUSIC: "Babylon's Burning" by The Ruts
0:50:59 > 0:51:02# With anxiety
0:51:02 > 0:51:05# Babylon's burning Babylon's burning
0:51:05 > 0:51:07# With anxiety
0:51:07 > 0:51:10# Babylon's burning Babylon's burning... #
0:51:10 > 0:51:15You wear those clothes, and you drink snakebites,
0:51:15 > 0:51:17and you vomit all over the place,
0:51:17 > 0:51:18and you gob.
0:51:18 > 0:51:23It was like, "Oh God, don't bring it down to this - to these rules."
0:51:23 > 0:51:25I found it very disturbing, really,
0:51:25 > 0:51:29because the whole ethos of punk was you did what you want.
0:51:29 > 0:51:32The media cliche became an accepted cliche.
0:51:32 > 0:51:35You forget that this isn't what we were doing.
0:51:35 > 0:51:37We were trying to get rid of all that.
0:51:37 > 0:51:41# Babylon's burning Babylon's burning
0:51:41 > 0:51:42# Babylon's burning. #
0:51:44 > 0:51:48Once something becomes easy to copy,
0:51:48 > 0:51:52then it loses its power.
0:51:56 > 0:51:59In January of 1978,
0:51:59 > 0:52:01at the height of their popularity,
0:52:01 > 0:52:04the Sex Pistols pushed the self-destruct button.
0:52:04 > 0:52:09Oh yes, the last Sex Pistols gig in San Francisco.
0:52:09 > 0:52:11Yeah.
0:52:11 > 0:52:13Funny how these things just...
0:52:13 > 0:52:15trip off the end of your tongue.
0:52:15 > 0:52:17Ever get the feeling you've been cheated?
0:52:17 > 0:52:19Good night.
0:52:19 > 0:52:22CHEERING AND WHISTLING
0:52:22 > 0:52:24I meant it.
0:52:24 > 0:52:27I was so fed up with the idiocy of the management,
0:52:27 > 0:52:30and the dissipation of the band.
0:52:33 > 0:52:36For many, punk died the day the Pistols split up.
0:52:36 > 0:52:40But, by pulling the plug, they neatly sidestepped a problem.
0:52:40 > 0:52:44Punk was everywhere. It had taken centre stage,
0:52:44 > 0:52:48and its oppositional stance was now unsustainable.
0:52:48 > 0:52:51One of the great achievements of the punk movement
0:52:51 > 0:52:54was to blow away some cobwebs.
0:52:54 > 0:52:56It was a great kind of full stop.
0:52:56 > 0:52:59But you can't look at punk unless you understand
0:52:59 > 0:53:03that its nihilism and its anarchy
0:53:03 > 0:53:05was the seeds of its own destruction.
0:53:08 > 0:53:12There was a feeling in the air of, "This is all going downhill."
0:53:12 > 0:53:15By the end of '79, it wasn't fun.
0:53:18 > 0:53:21I think if you're not having fun, you should stop.
0:53:21 > 0:53:25The bands that remained faced a dilemma.
0:53:25 > 0:53:29If punk was no longer rallying against the status quo,
0:53:29 > 0:53:31then what should it do?
0:53:31 > 0:53:34You only began to see light at the end of the tunnel
0:53:34 > 0:53:36when The Clash brought out London Calling,
0:53:36 > 0:53:38and it's like, "Ah! We're free."
0:53:38 > 0:53:40You can actually embrace all the world is offering.
0:53:40 > 0:53:42That was a milestone record.
0:53:42 > 0:53:46Because it broke the shackles of punk rock.
0:53:46 > 0:53:49# London calling
0:53:49 > 0:53:51# To the faraway towns
0:53:51 > 0:53:54# Now war is declared And battle come down
0:53:54 > 0:53:56# London calling
0:53:56 > 0:53:58# To the underworld
0:53:58 > 0:54:01# Come out of the cupboard You boys and girls... #
0:54:01 > 0:54:05There was a feeling that punk music
0:54:05 > 0:54:07had really painted itself into this corner.
0:54:07 > 0:54:10We were thinking along the lines of,
0:54:10 > 0:54:12"It's about all music."
0:54:12 > 0:54:14We were just playing all the music that we liked.
0:54:14 > 0:54:16# Of that truncheon thing
0:54:16 > 0:54:20# The ice age is coming The sun's zooming in
0:54:20 > 0:54:23# Meltdown expected The wheat is growing thin
0:54:23 > 0:54:26# Engines stopped running but I have no fear
0:54:26 > 0:54:28# Cos London is drowning
0:54:28 > 0:54:32# I live by the river. #
0:54:32 > 0:54:34The Clash survived,
0:54:34 > 0:54:37because within the language of The Clash
0:54:37 > 0:54:40is this desire for change.
0:54:43 > 0:54:45But it wasn't just The Clash learning how to leave punk behind.
0:54:45 > 0:54:50# I'm down in the tube station at midnight
0:54:50 > 0:54:53# Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
0:54:59 > 0:55:01# I first felt a fist
0:55:02 > 0:55:05# And then a kick I could now smell their breath... #
0:55:05 > 0:55:09Things outstayed their welcome, didn't they?
0:55:09 > 0:55:11We took what we wanted, and what we thought we could use.
0:55:11 > 0:55:14And we did our own thing with it.
0:55:14 > 0:55:18# An amateur band rehearse in a nearby yard
0:55:18 > 0:55:21# Watching the telly and thinking 'bout your holidays
0:55:21 > 0:55:24# That's entertainment
0:55:24 > 0:55:27# That's entertainment
0:55:27 > 0:55:29# Ah... #
0:55:29 > 0:55:31We learned to develop, really.
0:55:31 > 0:55:34It took us a couple of albums to do that.
0:55:34 > 0:55:40# Let's get together Before it's too late... #
0:55:40 > 0:55:42Some of punk's original class of '76
0:55:42 > 0:55:47were even beginning to carve out careers as bona fide pop stars.
0:55:47 > 0:55:51A lot of people that had served their apprenticeship
0:55:51 > 0:55:52in the punk rock era
0:55:52 > 0:55:54had learned a thing or two.
0:55:54 > 0:55:56I certainly did.
0:55:56 > 0:56:02# So unlock the jukebox And do yourself a favour
0:56:02 > 0:56:05# That music's lost its taste
0:56:05 > 0:56:07# So try another flavour
0:56:07 > 0:56:09# Ant music... #
0:56:10 > 0:56:12I certainly became a pop singer.
0:56:12 > 0:56:15Punk was over.
0:56:15 > 0:56:18My intention was to just to get this thing sounding,
0:56:18 > 0:56:21looking, different from everything else around me.
0:56:21 > 0:56:24MUSIC: "Hong Kong Garden" by Siouxsie & the Banshees
0:56:24 > 0:56:26# Harmful elements in the air
0:56:26 > 0:56:29# Cymbals crashing everywhere
0:56:29 > 0:56:31# Reaps the fields of rice and reeds... #
0:56:31 > 0:56:35It's weird. My first reaction
0:56:35 > 0:56:37to Hong Kong Garden -
0:56:37 > 0:56:38when we first wrote it -
0:56:38 > 0:56:40I just thought, "Ooh, it's too poppy."
0:56:43 > 0:56:46When I thought about it, I thought,
0:56:46 > 0:56:47"I love pop music."
0:56:47 > 0:56:51MUSIC: "Arabian Nights" by Siouxsie & the Banshees
0:56:51 > 0:56:53# They said I'd be impressed.
0:56:55 > 0:56:57# Arabian nights
0:56:59 > 0:57:01# At your primitive best. #
0:57:03 > 0:57:05There are some curveballs
0:57:05 > 0:57:08within the realm of pop.
0:57:08 > 0:57:10So really, it's a perfect
0:57:10 > 0:57:13platform for anything, really.
0:57:13 > 0:57:16MUSIC: "Your Generation" by Generation X
0:57:16 > 0:57:19# Well, that's your generation
0:57:19 > 0:57:20# Oh yeah.
0:57:21 > 0:57:24# Time for generation... #
0:57:24 > 0:57:27We thought, "Let's use the radio.
0:57:27 > 0:57:30"Let's use the TV. Let's use the newspapers."
0:57:30 > 0:57:32# Bring hell from above
0:57:32 > 0:57:35# Because in the midnight hour
0:57:35 > 0:57:38# She cried, "More, more, more!"
0:57:38 > 0:57:41# With a rebel yell
0:57:41 > 0:57:45# She cried, "More, more, more!" #
0:57:45 > 0:57:46It certainly gave me a future.
0:57:48 > 0:57:52MUSIC: "Public Image" by Public Image Limited
0:57:52 > 0:57:54# Hello. Hello... #
0:57:54 > 0:57:56In a little over two years,
0:57:56 > 0:57:59punk had both torn down the walls of the establishment,
0:57:59 > 0:58:03and imploded. But how would the generation of bands that followed
0:58:03 > 0:58:08face the questions that had been thrown up post-punk?
0:58:12 > 0:58:15# You never listen to a word that I say
0:58:15 > 0:58:18# You only see me for the clothes that I wear
0:58:18 > 0:58:22# Or did the interest go so much deeper?
0:58:22 > 0:58:25# It must have been the colour of my hair
0:58:25 > 0:58:29# The public image. #
0:58:37 > 0:58:39# What you wanted was never made clear
0:58:39 > 0:58:43# Behind the image was ignorance and fear
0:58:43 > 0:58:46# You hide behind this public machine
0:58:46 > 0:58:49# You still follow the same old scheme
0:58:51 > 0:58:53# Public image. #
0:58:53 > 0:58:56Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd