0:00:02 > 0:00:06This programme contains some strong language
0:00:08 > 0:00:12Pop music is the thing we've used to tell everyone what we believe in,
0:00:12 > 0:00:14and who we are.
0:00:14 > 0:00:18This is its story, told by those who love it the most...
0:00:19 > 0:00:21The fans.
0:00:25 > 0:00:29Fans from all over the country have been digging out and sharing with us
0:00:29 > 0:00:33some of their most treasured, rare and personal memorabilia.
0:00:34 > 0:00:40A video of a first gig, a special ticket, a teenage diary -
0:00:40 > 0:00:44all precious and all with a wonderful story.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47Look at this girl with her hair flying
0:00:47 > 0:00:49and people with their fab clothes.
0:00:49 > 0:00:54It wasn't just about good dancers, it was about fashionable people.
0:00:54 > 0:00:57There were rich kids, there were poor kids, there were black kids,
0:00:57 > 0:01:00there were white kids, there was everything in between.
0:01:00 > 0:01:01And there was a truck outside
0:01:01 > 0:01:04on which naked men were playing rock music.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07And I thought, "Well, this is different."
0:01:09 > 0:01:12So whether you're a fan of indie or acid house,
0:01:12 > 0:01:15Northern Soul or hip-hop,
0:01:15 > 0:01:20punk, prog or bluebeat, this is about us,
0:01:20 > 0:01:23the people at the very heart of this thing called pop.
0:01:28 > 0:01:32Tonight we're in a time when Britain was restless and angry,
0:01:32 > 0:01:36when music got involved in passionate protest
0:01:36 > 0:01:40and the high street filled with colourful factions of music lovers.
0:01:40 > 0:01:46It says, "Off to Blitz Embassy Club, December 9th, 1981.
0:01:46 > 0:01:48"Approved by Steve Strange."
0:01:48 > 0:01:51'Everyone was forming bands. We made a band.'
0:01:51 > 0:01:53He couldn't sing, I couldn't play bass.
0:01:53 > 0:01:57Mods would never go to Grassroots - you would just be murdered.
0:01:59 > 0:02:02'It's the decade I became part of it all by singing in my own band,
0:02:02 > 0:02:03'The Selecter.'
0:02:05 > 0:02:08So let's talk about how we got lost in music.
0:02:10 > 0:02:11How we showed off our style.
0:02:13 > 0:02:15How we chose our musical tribes.
0:02:34 > 0:02:381976 was a memorable year.
0:02:38 > 0:02:42Like many of you, I expect, I remember the hot, hot summer.
0:02:48 > 0:02:52I remember graduating as a qualified radiographer, and I remember
0:02:52 > 0:02:57something else - an ever-changing soundtrack of great music.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02That was the year I started my singing career.
0:03:02 > 0:03:06I played folk hits by Bob Dylan and some Joan Armatrading,
0:03:06 > 0:03:08here in the back room of the Old Dyers Arms,
0:03:08 > 0:03:12dressed in a yellow linen shirt and brown dungarees.
0:03:17 > 0:03:21I was utterly smitten by playing the music I loved,
0:03:21 > 0:03:25and seduced by the stuff that spilled from my radio.
0:03:28 > 0:03:30If you were a kid listening to the charts that year,
0:03:30 > 0:03:33there was all sorts of new music to discover.
0:03:37 > 0:03:39A-ha, now there's a treat.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42For Kevin Sutherland, every day was a treat.
0:03:42 > 0:03:46He would hear the latest stuff on Radio 1 and fantasise
0:03:46 > 0:03:50about being a DJ in his own pop music world.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53It's all recorded in his incredible picture diary.
0:03:54 > 0:03:58I kept these from the age of 12 when I started it,
0:03:58 > 0:04:03and I'm not that obsessive now, but clearly I was then.
0:04:03 > 0:04:07There wasn't a day when I left the diary page incomplete.
0:04:07 > 0:04:12What I did was I ended up recording my RFTDs or Records For The Day.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15Radio 1 was where you heard everything and then
0:04:15 > 0:04:19you memorised it, or in my case, made it your Record For The Day.
0:04:19 > 0:04:21# I've got position, I've got the name
0:04:21 > 0:04:25# You've got the power to drive me insane
0:04:25 > 0:04:30# Let's get together, the two of us over a glass of champagne... #
0:04:30 > 0:04:32This is the soundtrack of my youth and the soundtrack
0:04:32 > 0:04:34of many people's youth.
0:04:34 > 0:04:35If I've got one thing,
0:04:35 > 0:04:39I've got populist tastes here that the teenage me
0:04:39 > 0:04:43is clearly representing, much of which went into the charts,
0:04:43 > 0:04:46all of which was played on Radio 1.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49MUSIC: Blinded By The Light by Manfred Mann's Earth Band
0:04:52 > 0:04:56Roughly eight million of us tuned in to Radio 1 every Sunday
0:04:56 > 0:05:01to hear what was a climber, dropping down, or a non-mover -
0:05:01 > 0:05:06everything from pop to disco, rock and novelty records.
0:05:09 > 0:05:13There you go, September 17th, 1976.
0:05:13 > 0:05:15My records for the day -
0:05:15 > 0:05:17Blinded By The Light by Manfred Mann's Earth Band.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20I've chosen that for the second time and I went on to buy
0:05:20 > 0:05:22Blinded By The Light by Manfred Mann.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26And Disco Duck by Rick Dees And His Cast Of Idiots.
0:05:26 > 0:05:33# Look at me, I'm the disco duck... #
0:05:33 > 0:05:36If you want to know what was happening in my world in 1976,
0:05:36 > 0:05:41I can tell you on 14 October I had English, I had chemistry,
0:05:41 > 0:05:43I had music, I had maths.
0:05:43 > 0:05:47Oh, record for the day for the third time...
0:05:47 > 0:05:49Couldn't Get It Right by the Climax Blues Band.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52Now we're talking. That's an absolute corker.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55Now there is me knowing a good bit of music,
0:05:55 > 0:05:59thinking I knew a good bit of music, and actually being right.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02# But I kept on looking for a sign in the middle of the night
0:06:02 > 0:06:05# But I couldn't see the light
0:06:05 > 0:06:08# No, I couldn't see the light
0:06:08 > 0:06:12# I kept on looking for a way to take me through the night
0:06:12 > 0:06:14# I couldn't get it right
0:06:14 > 0:06:17# I couldn't get it right. #
0:06:17 > 0:06:22Amongst this crazy variety of music, there were standout artists.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30These were the titans of British rock,
0:06:30 > 0:06:34but they were more Hollywood Hills than humdrum high street,
0:06:34 > 0:06:36their lives, miles away from our own.
0:06:39 > 0:06:41It seemed unlikely that any of them
0:06:41 > 0:06:44would deign to come down from on high.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50But, just occasionally, you'd get lucky.
0:06:53 > 0:06:57So this is the campus of what was Shoreditch College
0:06:57 > 0:07:02and I was a student here between 1974 and 1978.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07At the end of my third year, we were due to have a ball.
0:07:07 > 0:07:11Exams were over and it was time for us to let our hair down.
0:07:13 > 0:07:16But then, on the day, disaster struck -
0:07:16 > 0:07:19the headline act dropped out.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22One of Ian's fellow students had the crazy idea of asking
0:07:22 > 0:07:24their famous neighbour.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28There was no formal announcement.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31Nobody stood up and said there's been a change to the bill -
0:07:31 > 0:07:35people were told to assemble here for ten o'clock.
0:07:35 > 0:07:38MUSIC: Benny And The Jets by Elton John
0:07:42 > 0:07:45This was all one large open space.
0:07:45 > 0:07:50At that end there was a foot-high stage upon which stood
0:07:50 > 0:07:52the grand piano.
0:07:52 > 0:07:54And who was the piano for?
0:07:54 > 0:07:57None other than Elton John.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00Blimey. There was a sense of disbelief.
0:08:03 > 0:08:08Elton started to do his solo renditions of all the hits and more.
0:08:09 > 0:08:13We have photos from that evening.
0:08:13 > 0:08:18That's a photograph of Elton playing the gig.
0:08:18 > 0:08:22I think for that particular night, Elton had dressed down.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25And people just went bonkers.
0:08:26 > 0:08:28It was a very big moment.
0:08:31 > 0:08:35It was great that Elton did the gig because, at that time,
0:08:35 > 0:08:40the perception of rock stars was that they were aloof and elite.
0:08:41 > 0:08:45'But Elton said that he would do the gig if we could get him
0:08:45 > 0:08:48'two bottles of wine and a grand piano.'
0:08:48 > 0:08:52It was just fantastic and a great, generous gesture.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00What made Elton's guest appearance all the more amazing
0:09:00 > 0:09:04was that most of our superstar bands now played mega gigs,
0:09:04 > 0:09:07and kept a safe distance from the hordes who adored them.
0:09:11 > 0:09:15And it all might have gone on like that if it hadn't been for chance.
0:09:15 > 0:09:18On 1 December 1976,
0:09:18 > 0:09:21a new video by one of those mega bands, Queen,
0:09:21 > 0:09:25was due to be showcased on a London tea-time television show.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28But it was pulled,
0:09:28 > 0:09:30and a new band appeared instead.
0:09:32 > 0:09:37I was at the family dinner table and a TV show came on and it turned out
0:09:37 > 0:09:40it was the Bill Grundy show where the Sex Pistols were interviewed.
0:09:40 > 0:09:41We'll meet afterwards, shall we?
0:09:41 > 0:09:44You dirty bastard.
0:09:44 > 0:09:48'It's now very famous for the amount of swearing and uproar that caused.'
0:09:48 > 0:09:50- Go on, again. - You dirty fucker.
0:09:50 > 0:09:53- What a clever boy. - What a fucking rotter.
0:09:53 > 0:09:54Well, that's it for tonight.
0:09:54 > 0:09:58I was immediately seduced, which is kind of odd because I didn't
0:09:58 > 0:09:59even hear the music, I just saw
0:09:59 > 0:10:01these strange-looking people
0:10:01 > 0:10:03that looked a couple of years older
0:10:03 > 0:10:04than I was, I suppose,
0:10:04 > 0:10:06at the time, and I was just
0:10:06 > 0:10:07'blown away by it.
0:10:07 > 0:10:09'It just looked so fresh and exciting.'
0:10:09 > 0:10:14# I'm on a submarine mission for you, baby
0:10:14 > 0:10:18# I can't tell ya what I've found... #
0:10:18 > 0:10:22Up until that appearance on the Today show, punk was underground.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25Now, it was in your face.
0:10:26 > 0:10:30We just made our own clothes and we just used to impress each other
0:10:30 > 0:10:33every other day, "Look what I've just made."
0:10:33 > 0:10:36'These horrendous shirts with blood splats over it.'
0:10:38 > 0:10:40The sound, the look,
0:10:40 > 0:10:44the attitude - this tribe was a two fingers up to the norm.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48I remember seeing pictures of punks in newspapers
0:10:48 > 0:10:51and being blown away, thinking, "Who are these people?"
0:10:54 > 0:10:58I think the offensive gestures was basically causing a generation gap -
0:10:58 > 0:11:01rather than just adopt your parents' attitudes or
0:11:01 > 0:11:05your grandparents' attitudes, I did not want to carry over that old way.
0:11:05 > 0:11:07You know, this is the new way.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10I try so hard to be nice.
0:11:12 > 0:11:16'I'd certainly flirted with a swastika very early on, until my mum'
0:11:16 > 0:11:21actually burst into tears and we had a big talk afterwards.
0:11:21 > 0:11:23I never wore one ever again.
0:11:23 > 0:11:26# God save the Queen
0:11:26 > 0:11:28# The fascist regime... #
0:11:28 > 0:11:31The swastikas weren't that clever anyway.
0:11:31 > 0:11:36It was punk's original aesthetic that remains inspirational.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39# God save the Queen
0:11:39 > 0:11:42# She ain't no human being... #
0:11:42 > 0:11:45The huge fuss after the Today programme left
0:11:45 > 0:11:49the Sex Pistols' Anarchy In The UK tour in tatters.
0:11:49 > 0:11:53Nervous venues pulled the gigs and threw out the posters.
0:11:54 > 0:11:58So if you were a gig promoter who had something from that time,
0:11:58 > 0:12:02then you would have a rare piece of our musical history on your hands,
0:12:02 > 0:12:04sought after by collectors.
0:12:05 > 0:12:09Originally I ran the 400 club on a Tuesday night
0:12:09 > 0:12:13as a small club sort of venue, 400 or 500 people in Torquay
0:12:13 > 0:12:16and as you can see by that, the sort of bands we had on.
0:12:16 > 0:12:18The Sex Pistols were booked.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21And then of course that fateful television programme, Today,
0:12:21 > 0:12:22with Bill Grundy...
0:12:22 > 0:12:24Then it started to go wrong.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27The owners of the 400 Ballroom, which I rented,
0:12:27 > 0:12:31said, "We're afraid we're going to have to cancel that date
0:12:31 > 0:12:35"because we've been told that if we put them on, the local authorities
0:12:35 > 0:12:38"won't look favourably on the renewal of our entertainment licence."
0:12:38 > 0:12:41But you were canny enough to keep all the memorabilia.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44- Yeah.- Tickets and hand bills.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47And this is the contract,
0:12:47 > 0:12:52Signed by Malcolm for 22nd December, the final date on the tour.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55- So that's Malcolm McLaren's signature?- Yes.
0:12:56 > 0:12:58But this date never happened.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00No, the whole tour collapsed by then.
0:13:00 > 0:13:02But you have the posters.
0:13:02 > 0:13:03I kept everything, yeah.
0:13:11 > 0:13:13Look at that.
0:13:13 > 0:13:14So you were not only going to get the Sex Pistols,
0:13:14 > 0:13:17you were going to get the Dammed, you were going to get
0:13:17 > 0:13:20Johnny Thunders & the Heartbreakers and you were going to get The Clash.
0:13:20 > 0:13:24- Yeah.- I mean this is just an absolute snapshot, isn't it,
0:13:24 > 0:13:27of the bands that were around at that time
0:13:27 > 0:13:30that really, really meant something.
0:13:30 > 0:13:32# I got a feeling inside of me
0:13:32 > 0:13:34# It's kind of strange
0:13:34 > 0:13:35# Like a stormy sea
0:13:35 > 0:13:37# I don't know why, I don't know why
0:13:37 > 0:13:40# I guess these things have got to be... #
0:13:40 > 0:13:43It's much sought after by music memorabilia people
0:13:43 > 0:13:45because most people threw them away.
0:13:45 > 0:13:50And if I was to ask you how much I would have to pay
0:13:50 > 0:13:53for one of those posters, much would that cost?
0:13:53 > 0:13:56A lot of money.
0:13:56 > 0:13:58Spoken like a true promoter.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04A poster like this could fetch about two grand,
0:14:04 > 0:14:07because it comes from the very beginnings of punk.
0:14:11 > 0:14:13At venues like the 400, you weren't sitting up in the gods
0:14:13 > 0:14:15squinting to see your hero,
0:14:15 > 0:14:17you could be a part of the excitement.
0:14:20 > 0:14:24The first heady rush of punk kind of ended with the demise
0:14:24 > 0:14:26of the Sex Pistols in 1978.
0:14:26 > 0:14:30But Pistols fan Dene Stansall got a chance to be part of it
0:14:30 > 0:14:32before it all imploded.
0:14:34 > 0:14:38So what were you doing here with the Sex Pistols?
0:14:38 > 0:14:39I was actually auditioning
0:14:39 > 0:14:43to sing on their Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle album,
0:14:43 > 0:14:47along with loads of other guys and girls all crammed in
0:14:47 > 0:14:51to this theatre, all looking to have a part of the action.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55Dene saved some very special mementos from the day
0:14:55 > 0:14:58he spent singing with the Sex Pistols.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01We came across these.
0:15:01 > 0:15:05Steve Jones had a bit of passion for red jackets
0:15:05 > 0:15:10so we kindly took on a very permanent loan.
0:15:10 > 0:15:11These jackets -
0:15:11 > 0:15:14these are ushers' jackets from this very theatre and Steve can
0:15:14 > 0:15:18be seen wearing his in the film, The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle.
0:15:21 > 0:15:25This was an anarchic, slightly silly film being made at the same time
0:15:25 > 0:15:29as the album, and Dene's own audition appears in it too.
0:15:29 > 0:15:31# We couldn't play
0:15:31 > 0:15:34# They called us foul-mouthed yobs... #
0:15:34 > 0:15:38His movie stardom lasted all of two seconds.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43I know that you've got one more thing.
0:15:43 > 0:15:45And this is it.
0:15:46 > 0:15:48This tambourine.
0:15:49 > 0:15:54This was what I used when I sang with the Sex Pistols on stage.
0:15:54 > 0:15:57It says on here, "Won't stretch or shrink,"
0:15:57 > 0:15:59but Sid Vicious had different ideas,
0:15:59 > 0:16:02and he got hold of it and put his fist clean through it.
0:16:02 > 0:16:04That is absolutely amazing.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07So Sid actually punched your tambourine.
0:16:07 > 0:16:09- He did.- Brilliant.
0:16:11 > 0:16:16# And did it my way... #
0:16:16 > 0:16:17At the end of the film,
0:16:17 > 0:16:21Sid Vicious shoots at an audience of establishment figures.
0:16:22 > 0:16:26But while this image of punk as an anarchist rebellion was a bit
0:16:26 > 0:16:30over the top, there was a pop music protest under way that was getting
0:16:30 > 0:16:31properly political.
0:16:36 > 0:16:40By the late 1970s, right-wing groups were marching against immigration in
0:16:40 > 0:16:45the streets of British cities, often clashing with left-wing protesters.
0:16:47 > 0:16:51In 1976, I was shocked when it was reported that Eric Clapton,
0:16:51 > 0:16:56one of Britain's biggest rock stars, had given an extraordinary rant
0:16:56 > 0:17:00against immigrants at one of his gigs.
0:17:00 > 0:17:03A bunch of activists and musicians were similarly appalled
0:17:03 > 0:17:07at Clapton's comments and wrote a public letter.
0:17:07 > 0:17:11"Rock was and still can be a real progressive culture.
0:17:11 > 0:17:12"Keep the faith.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15"Black and white unite and fight.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18"We want to organise a rank and file movement against
0:17:18 > 0:17:21"the racist poison in rock music."
0:17:21 > 0:17:23Now that's what I call a manifesto.
0:17:27 > 0:17:32They formed Rock Against Racism, and in 1978 they put on 300 gigs
0:17:32 > 0:17:34and five carnivals across the country.
0:17:40 > 0:17:41The box is something...
0:17:43 > 0:17:47It's full of stuff that I collected 30-odd years ago.
0:17:52 > 0:17:56Pervez has saved gig posters and pamphlets from a time when
0:17:56 > 0:17:59he was inspired by music to get out on the street and shout
0:17:59 > 0:18:01for what he believed in.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04He went to Rock Against Racism's first carnival
0:18:04 > 0:18:06in London's Victoria Park.
0:18:08 > 0:18:11This is probably, as far as fandom is concerned...
0:18:11 > 0:18:15It encapsulates everything because we gathered at Trafalgar Square,
0:18:15 > 0:18:19we marched to Victoria Park, and you saw X-Ray Spex, Steel Pulse,
0:18:19 > 0:18:21Tom Robinson and The Clash.
0:18:21 > 0:18:23What more do you want?
0:18:23 > 0:18:26MUSIC: Ain't Gonna Take It by Tom Robinson Band
0:18:32 > 0:18:37'Growing up from the time I came in 1965 to the mid-'70s,
0:18:37 > 0:18:39'I think it was a pretty bleak time.'
0:18:39 > 0:18:43We were aliens here, and something had to change.
0:18:45 > 0:18:49So Pervez and his mates formed a band, Alien Kulture.
0:18:49 > 0:18:53INDISTINCT
0:18:56 > 0:18:59This was filmed by my brother Imran.
0:18:59 > 0:19:02He was quite into cameras at the time and he filmed this.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05The sound quality is poor, the picture is poor,
0:19:05 > 0:19:08the music is poor, nothing great about it.
0:19:10 > 0:19:12# Bullshit detector... #
0:19:13 > 0:19:15That's Garageland.
0:19:15 > 0:19:18We always did Garageland.
0:19:18 > 0:19:21That's the amazing thing - imagine that, a Pakistani punk band
0:19:21 > 0:19:25with a skinhead onstage singing along because he feels like it.
0:19:25 > 0:19:26He wasn't a proper skinhead.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29I know, but don't tell anybody that.
0:19:32 > 0:19:35Rock Against Racism, from our perspective with our interest
0:19:35 > 0:19:39in music and our interest in politics - it was a perfect fusion.
0:19:43 > 0:19:47The boys self-financed their own single and decided to sing
0:19:47 > 0:19:50about the things that mattered to them.
0:19:54 > 0:19:58'We did read the NME, we did go to gigs, we did go to the mosque,'
0:19:58 > 0:20:01we did read the Koran. Two cultures, you're stuck in the middle -
0:20:01 > 0:20:03which one do you turn to?
0:20:03 > 0:20:05At times you turn to one,
0:20:05 > 0:20:07at times you turn to the other,
0:20:07 > 0:20:09'and sometimes you turn to both.'
0:20:19 > 0:20:21For good lefties like me, did I want to be
0:20:21 > 0:20:24in a band doing left-wing protest songs with a punk bent?
0:20:24 > 0:20:26Oh, go on, then.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28I'll give it a whirl.
0:20:28 > 0:20:32But there was so much positivity around that whole time.
0:20:37 > 0:20:40This was a time when pop had the power to really get
0:20:40 > 0:20:43to the heart of the things that we felt strongly about.
0:20:47 > 0:20:51By the late 1970s, a generation of young black kids was growing up,
0:20:51 > 0:20:55feeling that they were being treated like outsiders in their own home.
0:20:55 > 0:20:57A new music made by,
0:20:57 > 0:21:02and for, this generation was expressing the frustration -
0:21:02 > 0:21:04British roots reggae.
0:21:07 > 0:21:09For DJ Empress growing up in Handsworth, Birmingham,
0:21:09 > 0:21:13one album by a local band was the most important she ever bought.
0:21:16 > 0:21:19I'm holding an album by Steel Pulse,
0:21:19 > 0:21:21it's called Handsworth Revolution.
0:21:21 > 0:21:23It's the first album I ever bought
0:21:23 > 0:21:25when I was back in my teens.
0:21:25 > 0:21:27We're inside Handsworth leisure centre.
0:21:27 > 0:21:31This is the room where we used to come in to have dances.
0:21:31 > 0:21:35'The bass boxes would be quite big, they'd be situated in the corners.
0:21:35 > 0:21:37'You just rocked to the music.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44'It would be dark in here, you'd just see the silhouettes of people.'
0:21:44 > 0:21:48But the atmosphere was great, there was never any trouble.
0:21:49 > 0:21:53Roots came out of Jamaica, and was a different sound for
0:21:53 > 0:21:56a different time, with a heavy drum and bass
0:21:56 > 0:21:58and lyrics about black heritage.
0:22:00 > 0:22:03'That is my passion, roots music.'
0:22:03 > 0:22:06The drums go back to slavery days and that's how people kept
0:22:06 > 0:22:08themselves entertained back then.
0:22:08 > 0:22:12So, yes, it's always the drum, the bass, is the music.
0:22:13 > 0:22:17'I am from Handsworth so this album was very significant to me.'
0:22:17 > 0:22:21My favourite track on the album is called Ku Klux Klan
0:22:21 > 0:22:24and for me that really draws out what was going on at the time.
0:22:26 > 0:22:30# Walking along just kicking stones
0:22:30 > 0:22:34# Minding my own business
0:22:34 > 0:22:38# I come face to face with my foe
0:22:38 > 0:22:41# Disguised in violence from head to toe
0:22:41 > 0:22:45- # I holla and I bawl - Ku Klux Klan
0:22:45 > 0:22:48- # But dem naw let me go now - The Ku Klux Klan... #
0:22:48 > 0:22:50'There were young black men,'
0:22:50 > 0:22:56they experienced the most racism, I would say, and it was the men
0:22:56 > 0:23:00that were always stopped on the street for no reason at all.
0:23:00 > 0:23:03'And so they sang about those experiences
0:23:03 > 0:23:06'and a lot of people would recognise what they were talking about
0:23:06 > 0:23:09'and had been through it, and so they would buy the music.
0:23:14 > 0:23:15'Growing up as a teenager,'
0:23:15 > 0:23:19your choice of music is very different from your parents.
0:23:19 > 0:23:20And it was a different thing, it was new.
0:23:20 > 0:23:24'My parents' generation didn't identify with that type of music
0:23:24 > 0:23:26'at the time. it was just too hard-core for them.'
0:23:26 > 0:23:28MUSIC: I A Rebel Soul by Aswad
0:23:33 > 0:23:36Hard-core and defiantly British.
0:23:40 > 0:23:43They're good cos they're different. Usually all of them
0:23:43 > 0:23:46come from Jamaica and stuff, this one is just local.
0:23:46 > 0:23:49And it would be nice if we could say they're our group in a way
0:23:49 > 0:23:51when all the rest are from Jamaica.
0:23:53 > 0:23:56The discontent in Britain's black communities had a big effect
0:23:56 > 0:24:00on a band I think were the best to come out of punk -
0:24:00 > 0:24:01The Clash.
0:24:03 > 0:24:06They fused the rawness of punk with reggae rhythms.
0:24:11 > 0:24:15# Midnight to six man
0:24:15 > 0:24:20# For the first time from Jamaica
0:24:20 > 0:24:24# Dillinger and Leroy Smart
0:24:24 > 0:24:28# Delroy Wilson, your cool operator... #
0:24:28 > 0:24:33Our band thought that The Clash was the bee's knees of all punk bands.
0:24:33 > 0:24:35We had their album, London Calling,
0:24:35 > 0:24:38on heavy rotation in our tour bus all the time.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41I'm about to meet somebody who has something special from
0:24:41 > 0:24:45The Clash's own tour just before London Calling was released.
0:24:47 > 0:24:52In 1979, the band went off on a breakthrough tour of America,
0:24:52 > 0:24:55and in the summer they took artist Ray Lowry with them
0:24:55 > 0:24:56to capture their performances.
0:24:58 > 0:25:03My father Ray Lowry was an absolutely huge fan of The Clash
0:25:03 > 0:25:05and he'd tell me little stories
0:25:05 > 0:25:07about being at the side of the stage
0:25:07 > 0:25:09doing these paintings,
0:25:09 > 0:25:12and these are his sketch books that he took with him.
0:25:12 > 0:25:14So he drew direct from life?
0:25:14 > 0:25:17He didn't take any photos, he'd just sketch them at the gig and then
0:25:17 > 0:25:21go back to his hotel room and put the colour in.
0:25:21 > 0:25:24And as you can see, he was asked by Joe Strummer
0:25:24 > 0:25:26to go as the war artist.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28Is that what he said, war artist?
0:25:28 > 0:25:29- Yes.- Who came up with that phrase?
0:25:29 > 0:25:32It was Joe Strummer's name for my father.
0:25:32 > 0:25:34War artist, yeah.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37I think he identified in what The Clash were doing,
0:25:37 > 0:25:41something that really made a connection with
0:25:41 > 0:25:44the early days of rock and roll that excited him.
0:25:47 > 0:25:51You can see his excitement in the drawings. You really get a sense
0:25:51 > 0:25:55of the pose and the action and the liveliness.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58MUSIC: Clampdown by The Clash
0:26:05 > 0:26:07They're full of energy, aren't they?
0:26:07 > 0:26:11Yes, and very identifiably members of The Clash - Joe Strummer there,
0:26:11 > 0:26:16you can see his trembling leg he always had when he was on stage.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25As I grew older, I then became myself
0:26:25 > 0:26:29a Clash fan and I'd sit there in the back room listening to my vinyl.
0:26:29 > 0:26:33On one side he was the artist and on the other side he was my father.
0:26:33 > 0:26:35So that makes me proud, very proud.
0:26:35 > 0:26:39# The sun is zooming in, meltdown expected,
0:26:39 > 0:26:42# The wheat is growing thin, a nuclear error
0:26:42 > 0:26:44# But I have no fear
0:26:44 > 0:26:51# London is drowning, and I live by the river... #
0:26:51 > 0:26:55There's actually a quote in here that I think just captures the whole
0:26:55 > 0:26:58moment and the whole movement of what The Clash was doing
0:26:58 > 0:27:00that my dad got down on paper.
0:27:00 > 0:27:04He says, "They look like the kind of awe-inspiring culture heroes
0:27:04 > 0:27:07"who haunted the troubled skies of my adolescence.
0:27:07 > 0:27:10"America is being reminded of how rock and roll looks
0:27:10 > 0:27:12"as well as how it should sound."
0:27:12 > 0:27:14That's wonderful.
0:27:26 > 0:27:30The Clash were mixing styles from all over, whether it was reggae or
0:27:30 > 0:27:34rock and roll, to forge an identity as the ultimate rebel rockers.
0:27:39 > 0:27:42They were soundtracking the Britain of 1979,
0:27:42 > 0:27:45and it was a nation divided,
0:27:45 > 0:27:50between left and right, workers and their bosses, rich and poor.
0:27:53 > 0:27:55And our music, too, was shattering
0:27:55 > 0:27:57into sometimes antagonistic factions.
0:28:00 > 0:28:03MUSIC: Do The Dog by The Specials
0:28:12 > 0:28:16Among them a gang reviving the spirit of the '60s originals.
0:28:17 > 0:28:20MUSIC: When You're Young by The Jam
0:28:31 > 0:28:35Friends Claire and Mike met on the Cardiff mod scene.
0:28:36 > 0:28:37'We'd meet in all these places'
0:28:37 > 0:28:39that culminate together -
0:28:39 > 0:28:41you had punks, you had skinheads,
0:28:41 > 0:28:43you had mods, all separate,
0:28:43 > 0:28:45all went to different places.
0:28:45 > 0:28:48These are some of my original patches that I used to wear
0:28:48 > 0:28:50on my jacket, on my parka.
0:28:50 > 0:28:54And this is the prize possession really, this is my collection of
0:28:54 > 0:28:59Jam singles which I have carefully listed in order of release
0:28:59 > 0:29:02up to Beat Surrender which was the last one.
0:29:02 > 0:29:05All this collecting of things and documenting things is quite
0:29:05 > 0:29:09normal for kind of mod people.
0:29:09 > 0:29:12It kind of appeals to our kind of OCD tendencies if you like.
0:29:12 > 0:29:14- We are a bit OCD.- Oh, yeah.
0:29:19 > 0:29:23It was our interpretation of what we thought had gone before -
0:29:23 > 0:29:26the clothes, the sharpness, the style,
0:29:26 > 0:29:29everything about it really, I think just really connected.
0:29:29 > 0:29:32If you saw someone dressed in a parka,
0:29:32 > 0:29:34or dressed as a mod walking down the road,
0:29:34 > 0:29:37you'd give them a nod, and as a teenager,
0:29:37 > 0:29:39as a mixed up 14-year-old, that was very,
0:29:39 > 0:29:43very reassuring to feel that you were part of something and belonged.
0:29:43 > 0:29:45An acknowledgement, isn't it?
0:29:48 > 0:29:51In their neat jackets and spotless shoes,
0:29:51 > 0:29:54these kids wouldn't have been seen dead next to a certain group
0:29:54 > 0:29:58of scruffy long-haired types, into altogether wilder music.
0:30:00 > 0:30:04Iron Maiden at Middlesbrough Town Hall, 1981,
0:30:04 > 0:30:07and some T-shirts as well.
0:30:07 > 0:30:10Satan from the Holland tour.
0:30:10 > 0:30:13The Anthem, Holocaust, Heavy Metal Mania.
0:30:13 > 0:30:17"I've got heavy metal music in my blood and I'd like to get it to you if I could."
0:30:24 > 0:30:27These groups were part of what was called the new wave
0:30:27 > 0:30:29of British heavy metal.
0:30:33 > 0:30:35I think in terms of the whole excitement of being part of
0:30:35 > 0:30:37that scene, particularly from a fashion point of view,
0:30:37 > 0:30:41there was a whole new dress code that seemed to emerge as well.
0:30:41 > 0:30:45People would spend evenings sewing dozens and dozens of patches
0:30:45 > 0:30:48on their jackets and whilst I never thought of myself as dressing
0:30:48 > 0:30:52as being part of a tribe, I suppose looking back now...
0:30:52 > 0:30:57500 or 1,000 young lads at a gig all dressed the same and all
0:30:57 > 0:31:02head-banging at the front of the stage, it was a very exciting time.
0:31:07 > 0:31:11Tribes got so specific that there was even a following
0:31:11 > 0:31:13for just one bloke.
0:31:13 > 0:31:15# Now the light fades out
0:31:18 > 0:31:20# And I wonder what I'm doing In a room like this
0:31:23 > 0:31:25# There's a knock on the door
0:31:28 > 0:31:31# And just for a second I thought I remembered you... #
0:31:33 > 0:31:37Here's is one of me, I think I was aged 16.
0:31:37 > 0:31:41It's your basic Numanoid look, haircut the same style
0:31:41 > 0:31:45as Gary Numan's, and dressed in black which is the uniform.
0:31:48 > 0:31:50# So now I'm alone
0:31:50 > 0:31:52# Now I can think for myself... #
0:31:52 > 0:31:56When Tubeway Army appeared on Top Of The Pops, I was like,
0:31:56 > 0:31:58"Wow, what is this?"
0:31:58 > 0:32:02It was kind of powerful but very cold, very alien,
0:32:02 > 0:32:05otherworldly and it was just so striking.
0:32:05 > 0:32:07I just thought, "This is for me, I like this."
0:32:12 > 0:32:16It turned out that there was kind of like this subculture in town
0:32:16 > 0:32:20that was developing and all these tribes were going to come together.
0:32:20 > 0:32:24So you had punks in there, skinheads, but it was good because
0:32:24 > 0:32:29you had like a big tribe with all these mini sub-tribes in.
0:32:31 > 0:32:33Punk probably brought the tribe thing out -
0:32:33 > 0:32:36I don't think there was ever anyone saying there was tribes
0:32:36 > 0:32:37of glam rockers.
0:32:39 > 0:32:41MUSIC: Emergency by 999
0:32:48 > 0:32:52But wearing your allegiances on your sleeve could be dangerous
0:32:52 > 0:32:54out on the street.
0:32:54 > 0:32:58Mods would never go to Grassroots down in Charles Street.
0:32:58 > 0:33:00You would just be murdered.
0:33:00 > 0:33:03I think mods are jolly silly people.
0:33:06 > 0:33:09I can't actually say I ever took any really bad beatings.
0:33:09 > 0:33:13A lot of it was comments. I had a few headbutts and stuff at school.
0:33:13 > 0:33:16But I went to school with red and black hair and eyeliner on
0:33:16 > 0:33:19and black nail varnish and fishnet socks.
0:33:19 > 0:33:21You don't come here to stir anything up?
0:33:21 > 0:33:24No, the Teddy boys always start on us and we steam into them.
0:33:27 > 0:33:29I think the interesting thing about heavy metal fans,
0:33:29 > 0:33:32and certainly the new wave of British heavy metal fans,
0:33:32 > 0:33:35'is that despite the sort of raucous and violent nature
0:33:35 > 0:33:36'of the music at times,'
0:33:36 > 0:33:39the people who listen to it and go and see it themselves
0:33:39 > 0:33:42are generally quite sort of gentle in nature.
0:33:42 > 0:33:46If it gets messy, someone throws a beer over you, you don't have an
0:33:46 > 0:33:49argument, you just say, "OK, sorry about that, I'll buy you a pint."
0:33:59 > 0:34:03Up in Coventry, a new musical movement burst onto the scene
0:34:03 > 0:34:05that was hoping to unite the kids
0:34:05 > 0:34:07and instead of fighting in the streets,
0:34:07 > 0:34:09get everyone dancing together.
0:34:09 > 0:34:12# Stop your messing around
0:34:14 > 0:34:16# Better think of your future... #
0:34:16 > 0:34:19The Specials fused ska from the '60s, punk rock
0:34:19 > 0:34:24and a mod look all into one genre named after their label, 2 Tone.
0:34:29 > 0:34:33The first album I bought was this one, The Specials' debut.
0:34:34 > 0:34:37I'd been saving up for weeks.
0:34:37 > 0:34:40Held together by Scotch tape now, you know.
0:34:43 > 0:34:46It struck a chord with me because the original ska,
0:34:46 > 0:34:51which I'd heard growing up also struck a chord with me but this was
0:34:51 > 0:34:55different, it was like the next thing was to emulate the look.
0:34:55 > 0:34:57MUSIC: Rude Boys Outta Jail by The Specials
0:35:00 > 0:35:04This is me at the age of 15,
0:35:04 > 0:35:08dressed in the style, my Crombie on.
0:35:08 > 0:35:12I used to sometimes carry the albums to school,
0:35:12 > 0:35:14they were like badges of honour.
0:35:16 > 0:35:20I'd been into punk but stopped short of adopting the look.
0:35:22 > 0:35:26I'd liked reggae but couldn't locks my hair up.
0:35:26 > 0:35:29'But this definitely felt like this was something
0:35:29 > 0:35:32'that I could relate to.'
0:35:32 > 0:35:35# I have to carry a knife
0:35:35 > 0:35:38# Because there's people threatening my life
0:35:38 > 0:35:41# I can't dress just the way I want
0:35:41 > 0:35:44# I'm being chased by the National Front
0:35:44 > 0:35:47# Concrete jungle... #
0:35:47 > 0:35:52'The funny thing with 2 Tone is that, as upbeat at as was,
0:35:52 > 0:35:54'when you actually read the lyrics,
0:35:54 > 0:35:57'they're talking about serious issues.
0:35:59 > 0:36:04'I zoned in on that but I liked the fact that they were a mixed band.'
0:36:04 > 0:36:08It just made it like this is something that your white mates
0:36:08 > 0:36:11as well as your black mates can relate to.
0:36:15 > 0:36:18The Specials were a bit special for me too - they put out
0:36:18 > 0:36:20our first record.
0:36:20 > 0:36:232 Tone was where I found my musical home.
0:36:23 > 0:36:25- # Too much pressure, - It's getting to my head
0:36:25 > 0:36:28- # Too much pressure, - They're giving me hard times
0:36:28 > 0:36:32- # Too much pressure, - The woman made me sad
0:36:32 > 0:36:33# Too much pressure... #
0:36:33 > 0:36:38When 2 Tone turned up in Coventry, I felt an instant connection.
0:36:38 > 0:36:41The mashup of black and white British cultures
0:36:41 > 0:36:45captured something that I felt inside.
0:36:45 > 0:36:48But back then there wasn't time to stop and reflect,
0:36:48 > 0:36:51it was a time of constant reinvention.
0:36:51 > 0:36:53In 1980 we went on tour to America.
0:36:53 > 0:36:57We were only gone for six weeks, but by the time we got back
0:36:57 > 0:36:59there was a whole new thing happening.
0:37:03 > 0:37:07To outsiders, or their more politically active contemporaries,
0:37:07 > 0:37:09this set, bent on enjoying themselves,
0:37:09 > 0:37:11seems scandalously decadent.
0:37:14 > 0:37:17I'd returned to find a colourful new tribe had sprung up
0:37:17 > 0:37:20accompanied by some extraordinary looks.
0:37:27 > 0:37:30This was being called New Romantic.
0:37:30 > 0:37:33It started in clubs in London and Birmingham,
0:37:33 > 0:37:35but the frilly shirts and flamboyance soon spread.
0:37:37 > 0:37:39I'm unemployed.
0:37:39 > 0:37:41How easy is that to carry on the look when you haven't got any money?
0:37:41 > 0:37:46Not very easy. I usually go around second-hand shops and pick up what I can.
0:37:46 > 0:37:50For the New Romantic, it was all about looking unique.
0:37:54 > 0:37:56Some were lucky enough to make the pilgrimage
0:37:56 > 0:38:02to the original clubs, to dance the night away to new synthy sounds.
0:38:08 > 0:38:10The most famous was the Blitz.
0:38:10 > 0:38:13Sorry, you're not blonde enough.
0:38:13 > 0:38:16Its door policy, enforced by Steve Strange,
0:38:16 > 0:38:20was so strict that most of us could only dream of getting inside.
0:38:23 > 0:38:25And there's one of me in all my glory.
0:38:25 > 0:38:31It says, "Off to Blitz Embassy Club, December 9th, 1981.
0:38:31 > 0:38:33"Approved by Steve Strange."
0:38:35 > 0:38:39Penny Pepper still has her diary entry from one magical night
0:38:39 > 0:38:40with Steve Strange
0:38:40 > 0:38:41and the Blitz Kids.
0:38:44 > 0:38:51"A dazzle of lights and blaring music hit our ears with beautiful assault.
0:38:51 > 0:38:52"I took in the decadent
0:38:52 > 0:38:55"appearance of all these young men
0:38:55 > 0:39:00"striding about with their lithe, quivering thighs
0:39:00 > 0:39:02"thrust through tight white shorts.
0:39:03 > 0:39:05"It was erotically weird,
0:39:05 > 0:39:07"but who's complaining?
0:39:10 > 0:39:15"I can't describe the clothes, they were just amazing.
0:39:15 > 0:39:18"There wasn't one singular theme at all, really.
0:39:18 > 0:39:20"It was brilliant."
0:39:23 > 0:39:25Back into the archive.
0:39:25 > 0:39:27This is quite funny.
0:39:27 > 0:39:28Look at that one.
0:39:28 > 0:39:32Penny had written to a teen magazine to ask for help to get
0:39:32 > 0:39:35all the way from her home in Buckinghamshire to glamorous London.
0:39:42 > 0:39:48I can't really express how much of a leap into the unknown it was.
0:39:48 > 0:39:54I was fighting against incredible barriers to just stand
0:39:54 > 0:39:56and participate in everyday life.
0:40:00 > 0:40:06It felt like a culmination of so much of what I'd missed.
0:40:08 > 0:40:11As it turned out, it was a highlight
0:40:11 > 0:40:15in quite a few years of dry boredom.
0:40:23 > 0:40:28To go out to see these people all dressed up like peacocks,
0:40:28 > 0:40:31it was fun, it was trashy.
0:40:31 > 0:40:35We didn't care that this didn't have any serious politics.
0:40:35 > 0:40:42It was all surface showing off and we were just in our element
0:40:42 > 0:40:44for that one shiny night.
0:40:45 > 0:40:48- ALL:- # Please, please tell me now... #
0:40:48 > 0:40:51- Are you all deaf?- No!
0:40:51 > 0:40:52You will be by the time you've finished.
0:40:52 > 0:40:54We don't care!
0:40:59 > 0:41:03Out of this club scene came a host of pop bands - Spandau Ballet,
0:41:03 > 0:41:06Culture Club and, from Birmingham, Duran Duran.
0:41:11 > 0:41:15If there was a message, it was pure pop escapism.
0:41:17 > 0:41:21# I made a break I run out yesterday
0:41:21 > 0:41:25# Tried to find my mountain hideaway
0:41:25 > 0:41:30# Maybe next year maybe no go... #
0:41:30 > 0:41:34Alex Mayes is reverend of the Kerry parish in mid Wales
0:41:34 > 0:41:36and still a die-hard Durannie.
0:41:38 > 0:41:42This is my sister, the one that you see mostly, and I'm the other one.
0:41:42 > 0:41:45I've got a pink Duran Duran T-shirt on,
0:41:45 > 0:41:48but we used to wear these constantly everywhere we'd go.
0:41:48 > 0:41:50I think Mum used to have to keep washing them and we'd have them
0:41:50 > 0:41:52back on again and stuff like that.
0:41:53 > 0:41:56Her fiance George wouldn't have been seen dead in such a thing.
0:41:58 > 0:42:01This is a Dammed badge, I'm a big Dammed fan.
0:42:01 > 0:42:05This is an original Public Image Ltd badge from 1979.
0:42:06 > 0:42:09This is when I was about 19, so you can see the start
0:42:09 > 0:42:12of the handsome beast you see before you.
0:42:13 > 0:42:15We hate each other's music taste.
0:42:15 > 0:42:18When I first found out that he'd been in punk bands
0:42:18 > 0:42:22then he played some of the vinyl, I was just like, "This isn't music,
0:42:22 > 0:42:24"there's not even a tune here."
0:42:31 > 0:42:35There's an almost religious divide in music tastes between these two.
0:42:35 > 0:42:39I know as well as them that whatever tribe you were into back then
0:42:39 > 0:42:42is something you carry with you all your life.
0:42:45 > 0:42:48Duran Duran was a proper band.
0:42:48 > 0:42:50The music was just so catchy.
0:42:50 > 0:42:51The lyrics were great.
0:42:51 > 0:42:53I think I've actually got here...
0:42:53 > 0:42:54Can you just pass me my Rio album?
0:42:54 > 0:42:55Oh, really?
0:42:57 > 0:42:59This is the original one I have.
0:42:59 > 0:43:03We used to listen to it so often that the words would actually overtake,
0:43:03 > 0:43:07then we'd kind of underline all the words that really
0:43:07 > 0:43:09meant something to us at the time.
0:43:09 > 0:43:11They probably don't mean anything now, do they?
0:43:11 > 0:43:13They didn't at the time.
0:43:19 > 0:43:22Bird of paradise - I love the fact that I underlined ice cream,
0:43:22 > 0:43:24cherry ice cream,
0:43:24 > 0:43:26it's one of the most famous lyrics they've got.
0:43:26 > 0:43:32# Cherry ice cream smile I suppose it's very nice... #
0:43:32 > 0:43:36So their lyrics I think were outstanding.
0:43:36 > 0:43:39Obviously the picture is the best part,
0:43:39 > 0:43:43because Duran Duran were all about style and all about looks.
0:43:43 > 0:43:46They generally had suits, Armani suits and things like that,
0:43:46 > 0:43:50so Roger looks amazing in this electric blue suit
0:43:50 > 0:43:52which I think really suits him. Yeah.
0:43:55 > 0:43:56SCREAMING
0:43:59 > 0:44:02The mayhem and the screams - it all brought back memories
0:44:02 > 0:44:05of the Bay City Rollers and the Beatles.
0:44:05 > 0:44:08Pop stars were once again the stuff of adolescent fantasy.
0:44:10 > 0:44:12What's so good about these guys?
0:44:12 > 0:44:14THEY SCREAM
0:44:17 > 0:44:20It wasn't just the band and the music that was attractive,
0:44:20 > 0:44:21it was the lifestyle.
0:44:25 > 0:44:28I was what you would think of as being middle class
0:44:28 > 0:44:30and we had everything.
0:44:30 > 0:44:34We were probably what the '80s aimed people to be.
0:44:34 > 0:44:37People do say about the flash videos and all the rest of it,
0:44:37 > 0:44:39but when you're very young,
0:44:39 > 0:44:45and you look at that and take it as, "I want to be able to go abroad,
0:44:45 > 0:44:49"I want to be able to have a lovely car and do everything they can do."
0:44:49 > 0:44:52And so for me, Duran Duran had that.
0:44:52 > 0:44:57That era really epitomised going out and grabbing life and doing
0:44:57 > 0:44:59whatever you want to do in life.
0:45:05 > 0:45:08But while Duran Duran captured the spirit of those who felt
0:45:08 > 0:45:10there was an opportunity to grab,
0:45:10 > 0:45:15there were other voices who didn't buy into that vision.
0:45:15 > 0:45:18We feel that the music should be used in order to make
0:45:18 > 0:45:20serious statements,
0:45:20 > 0:45:25because so many groups sell masses and masses of records
0:45:25 > 0:45:28and don't raise people's level of consciousness
0:45:28 > 0:45:29in any direction,
0:45:29 > 0:45:31and we find that quite sinful.
0:45:31 > 0:45:34MUSIC: This Charming Man by The Smiths
0:45:37 > 0:45:41The Smiths' thoughtful songs spoke to those teens who felt
0:45:41 > 0:45:43a bit out of step with the world.
0:45:43 > 0:45:47Being the strange one, being left out.
0:45:47 > 0:45:51I think this is one of my German covered vinyls.
0:45:51 > 0:45:53So that is a complete fluke.
0:45:53 > 0:45:57Angie Cooke got hooked on The Smiths while on a YTS scheme.
0:45:57 > 0:46:02She has amassed a huge collection of Smiths records and memorabilia.
0:46:02 > 0:46:03Delve in the pile.
0:46:05 > 0:46:08I bought this when I was 16, sat and listened to it
0:46:08 > 0:46:12at the dining room table with my headphones on,
0:46:12 > 0:46:17and basically changed as a person before my family's very eyes.
0:46:20 > 0:46:21# When you walk without ease
0:46:23 > 0:46:27# On these
0:46:27 > 0:46:31# Streets where you were raised... #
0:46:31 > 0:46:33They're just great lyrics, some of them are really funny,
0:46:33 > 0:46:35some of the songs are really poignant,
0:46:35 > 0:46:40some of them are daft and make you smile, some of them make me cry.
0:46:45 > 0:46:50I was a very unsure person when I got into The Smiths,
0:46:50 > 0:46:53but they helped me rediscover my confidence.
0:46:53 > 0:46:56It was quite unusual for someone like me, a black girl,
0:46:56 > 0:46:58to be into them,
0:46:58 > 0:46:59as far as I'm aware.
0:46:59 > 0:47:03Because I loved them that much, I was never going to back down
0:47:03 > 0:47:07from that and that made me far more assertive and confident in myself.
0:47:15 > 0:47:18That new-found confidence opened up a world of possibilities
0:47:18 > 0:47:20for Angie that changed her life.
0:47:22 > 0:47:25I just didn't think I was very intelligent at all.
0:47:25 > 0:47:28I didn't do that well at school, but once I got into The Smiths
0:47:28 > 0:47:32I thought, "I'm going to see if I can get in to further education,"
0:47:32 > 0:47:33which I did.
0:47:33 > 0:47:37And then I thought maybe I could go a bit further and that's when
0:47:37 > 0:47:40I applied to go to university.
0:47:40 > 0:47:43And obviously that worked out really well and I got to move
0:47:43 > 0:47:46to Manchester and that's all because of The Smiths.
0:47:52 > 0:47:54Morrissey's appeal was in the intimacy
0:47:54 > 0:47:57of the connection he generated.
0:47:57 > 0:47:58If you were at a gig,
0:47:58 > 0:48:00it wasn't unusual to rush up on stage to hug him.
0:48:07 > 0:48:12Friends Raju and Sultana jumped on to the stage at a memorable gig
0:48:12 > 0:48:15at Dingwall's in London.
0:48:15 > 0:48:19For Raju, getting this close to a star was more special than for most.
0:48:20 > 0:48:22For us, coming here was like
0:48:22 > 0:48:24crossing a threshold.
0:48:24 > 0:48:26In the Asian community, you grew up
0:48:26 > 0:48:30listening to Bollywood music or film music.
0:48:30 > 0:48:33And Top Of The Pops... My father never had a telly.
0:48:33 > 0:48:37My father was deaf and blind so never had a telly,
0:48:37 > 0:48:39and I used to go down Bethnal Green Road
0:48:39 > 0:48:43on a Thursday night, and they used to have the TV rental shops,
0:48:43 > 0:48:46and I used to stand outside looking at Top Of The Pops.
0:48:46 > 0:48:47I never heard it.
0:48:51 > 0:48:54And once there, he grabbed something he's treasured ever since,
0:48:54 > 0:48:57and, no, it's not Morrissey.
0:48:58 > 0:49:01I used to collect the set list.
0:49:01 > 0:49:02And this is it.
0:49:02 > 0:49:06This is the original Dingwalls set list for The Smiths,
0:49:06 > 0:49:08their last two gigs at Dingwalls.
0:49:08 > 0:49:10So I got them to autograph it.
0:49:10 > 0:49:16"Raju, stay handsome. Morrissey, The Smiths, '83."
0:49:16 > 0:49:19"For handsome Raju, Johnny Marr."
0:49:20 > 0:49:22- Blimey. - HE LAUGHS
0:49:25 > 0:49:28Raju and Sultana decided they had to meet them again,
0:49:28 > 0:49:31and went to see The Smiths at a festival in 1984.
0:49:33 > 0:49:38I somehow managed to sneak into their dressing room after the gig.
0:49:39 > 0:49:42Off the top of my head, I can't remember,
0:49:42 > 0:49:44but I must have blagged my way in and said, "I work here,"
0:49:44 > 0:49:45or something.
0:49:45 > 0:49:46HE LAUGHS
0:49:46 > 0:49:49There's Morrissey with his hearing aid.
0:49:49 > 0:49:51And I was too shocked, you know,
0:49:51 > 0:49:56at last, I'm having a picture taken with somebody famous.
0:49:56 > 0:49:59But I got Morrissey to, obviously, give me a signature,
0:49:59 > 0:50:02and then when I took a couple of pictures of Johnny Marr,
0:50:02 > 0:50:04he recognised me from Dingwalls.
0:50:04 > 0:50:07And my jaw just dropped, you know.
0:50:07 > 0:50:10I said, "Sultana! They remember us!"
0:50:10 > 0:50:13- Yeah!- And I was just so emotional.
0:50:14 > 0:50:16- It was...- It was just amazing, yeah.
0:50:17 > 0:50:19MUSIC: Rock the Casbah by The Clash
0:50:21 > 0:50:25The bands we loved in early '80s Britain gave us more than music.
0:50:25 > 0:50:29They give us a gang to belong to, and something to believe in.
0:50:31 > 0:50:35For me, the band that got me dancing and thinking were The Clash.
0:50:35 > 0:50:37# Rock the Casbah
0:50:37 > 0:50:39# Rock the Casbah
0:50:39 > 0:50:40# Shareef don't like it... #
0:50:40 > 0:50:42Us fans had listened to them evolve musically,
0:50:42 > 0:50:44but never lose their faith in rock 'n' roll's ability
0:50:44 > 0:50:47to capture hearts and change minds.
0:50:47 > 0:50:49# By order of the prophet... #
0:50:49 > 0:50:53The last great album, Combat Rock, fused the vitality
0:50:53 > 0:50:56of their punk roots with the new musical energy of the '80s.
0:50:58 > 0:51:01Fellow Clash fan, Robert Gordon McHarg,
0:51:01 > 0:51:04has a precious insight into how their legendary frontman,
0:51:04 > 0:51:07Joe Strummer, created their explosion of lyrics and music -
0:51:07 > 0:51:11Strummer's notebooks, from his personal archive.
0:51:11 > 0:51:16It really is a fascinating amount of...
0:51:16 > 0:51:18- history.- Yes.
0:51:18 > 0:51:23And so, as a fan myself, finding it was a bit like the Holy Grail.
0:51:23 > 0:51:27This is the notebook for the Combat Rock album.
0:51:27 > 0:51:31Just the cover gives such great insight into, actually,
0:51:31 > 0:51:35what the album is, with these things like "rap beat"...
0:51:35 > 0:51:36"Punk, burning bush"...
0:51:36 > 0:51:39So all of those influences, then, all coming together, then.
0:51:39 > 0:51:43- Even more so, like they've outgrown punk, almost.- Oh, yeah.
0:51:43 > 0:51:45This book in particular,
0:51:45 > 0:51:48it's just stunningly full.
0:51:48 > 0:51:52This is a public service announcement!
0:51:52 > 0:51:54This is Know Your Rights, I love this bit.
0:51:54 > 0:51:55"Voice effect like God talking."
0:51:55 > 0:51:57Yes, it's fantastic.
0:51:59 > 0:52:02# Know your rights
0:52:03 > 0:52:05# All three of them... #
0:52:05 > 0:52:08This is like the early workings of Know Your Rights.
0:52:08 > 0:52:12I find this very interesting, because it has so many lines
0:52:12 > 0:52:17that aren't in the version that they used on the final album.
0:52:19 > 0:52:21I also found this interesting,
0:52:21 > 0:52:25cos they were obviously working out what to put on the album.
0:52:25 > 0:52:27And there was five extra songs.
0:52:27 > 0:52:30So, all of this is just, like,
0:52:30 > 0:52:35- an insight into the inner workings of Joe Strummer's mind.- Oh, yeah.
0:52:35 > 0:52:38And then, Joe's also kept a timeline
0:52:38 > 0:52:42of when they've actually started off the recordings.
0:52:42 > 0:52:46You know, "Started at 3pm. Stopped at 11.30.
0:52:46 > 0:52:49"Started at 6pm. Quit at 7am."
0:52:49 > 0:52:53It just shows, like, a document seems to hold
0:52:53 > 0:52:56so much more than the actual writing of the songs.
0:52:56 > 0:52:57MUSIC: Overpowered By Funk by The Clash
0:52:57 > 0:52:59# If you ain't reggae for it
0:53:00 > 0:53:02# Funk out... #
0:53:02 > 0:53:04It's fascinating to see how The Clash worked,
0:53:04 > 0:53:07and how Joe got his message across in his lyrics and music.
0:53:09 > 0:53:11I share with Gordon a real admiration
0:53:11 > 0:53:12for what the band were doing.
0:53:15 > 0:53:19I think they were always, like, leading the way. They were that...
0:53:19 > 0:53:22"Let's have a better world, and we can do it through music,
0:53:22 > 0:53:25"or we can at least do it through action."
0:53:25 > 0:53:27# Asinine
0:53:27 > 0:53:29# Stupefying
0:53:29 > 0:53:32# Can the clone-line dry you out? #
0:53:32 > 0:53:36This had been at the heart of The Clash's ethos since '76.
0:53:36 > 0:53:39But the pop world had bloated since then.
0:53:41 > 0:53:44Mainstream music of the '80s seemed to be more focused on fashion
0:53:44 > 0:53:46and fun than on saving the world.
0:53:46 > 0:53:47# Funk out
0:53:49 > 0:53:51# Funk out! #
0:53:52 > 0:53:56In 1984, one tragedy and one inspired pop star
0:53:56 > 0:53:59would wake us up from our hedonistic haze.
0:53:59 > 0:54:04In Ethiopia, seven million people are threatened by starvation.
0:54:04 > 0:54:06Thousands have already died.
0:54:06 > 0:54:10Dawn, and as the sun breaks through the piercing chill of night
0:54:10 > 0:54:14on the plain outside Korem, it lights up a biblical famine,
0:54:14 > 0:54:16now, in the 20th century.
0:54:19 > 0:54:20I...
0:54:20 > 0:54:22I was just watching that Ethiopian thing, this...
0:54:22 > 0:54:25I think this is gross after coming out, after seeing that.
0:54:25 > 0:54:27- Oh, yeah.- I'm serious.
0:54:27 > 0:54:29MUSIC: Do They Know It's Christmas? by Band Aid
0:54:30 > 0:54:34# Feed the world... #
0:54:34 > 0:54:37Bob Geldof was serious, and he acted on it.
0:54:37 > 0:54:40He organised a charity single with big '80s pop stars
0:54:40 > 0:54:41to raise money for the famine.
0:54:41 > 0:54:43# Feed the world
0:54:43 > 0:54:46# Let them know it's Christmas time
0:54:46 > 0:54:51# Feed the world... #
0:54:51 > 0:54:55Then, in 1985, they put on the greatest show on Earth.
0:54:55 > 0:54:59# Feed the world. #
0:54:59 > 0:55:03When the acts started to come through, you know, The Who,
0:55:03 > 0:55:06Queen, Bowie, Paul McCartney, I thought, "I've got to go."
0:55:06 > 0:55:08MUSIC: We Will Rock You by Queen
0:55:09 > 0:55:13Lee was one of tens of thousands who queued up all night for a ticket.
0:55:15 > 0:55:19This is the famous ticket. It's got bits of Sellotape and stuff on it.
0:55:19 > 0:55:22It's over 30 years old now.
0:55:22 > 0:55:24But I've always had to get it out if people have asked,
0:55:24 > 0:55:26cos this is the ticket that they want to see.
0:55:29 > 0:55:32It was quite a lot of money, £25,
0:55:32 > 0:55:35that was probably three quarters of what I was earning a week, then.
0:55:35 > 0:55:38But then, when we bought the tickets,
0:55:38 > 0:55:42we knew that money will be going to help them as well, help the famine.
0:55:42 > 0:55:45So it was all good, in that respect.
0:55:45 > 0:55:48MUSIC: Dancing With Tears In My Eyes by Ultravox
0:55:48 > 0:55:52And it was just, like, sort of World Cup fever.
0:55:52 > 0:55:55The atmosphere just increased and intensified till we
0:55:55 > 0:55:58got through the gate, and then it was something else.
0:55:58 > 0:56:00# Drink to forget the coming storm
0:56:02 > 0:56:04# We love to the sound of our favourite song... #
0:56:04 > 0:56:06And this was programme that you bought.
0:56:06 > 0:56:08It was £5.
0:56:08 > 0:56:11So the cause was the underlying thing about it all.
0:56:14 > 0:56:16On the day, you did know you were doing good as well,
0:56:16 > 0:56:18and it did make you feel quite proud of yourself
0:56:18 > 0:56:21that you'd bought the ticket and made the effort and gone there,
0:56:21 > 0:56:24and hoping it was sort of escalating around the world.
0:56:24 > 0:56:27So, yeah, I think we were all involved in that.
0:56:30 > 0:56:34Lee was a 19-year-old Queen fan from Sussex.
0:56:34 > 0:56:37And at Live Aid, he joined Duran Duran fans,
0:56:37 > 0:56:40Bowie kids, U2 fans,
0:56:40 > 0:56:44and 72,000 other pop lovers who had perhaps never been that radical
0:56:44 > 0:56:46or political before.
0:56:46 > 0:56:50And yet, through music, had been united in a common cause.
0:56:50 > 0:56:52This was the power of pop.
0:56:54 > 0:56:56I find it incredible that the sort of...
0:56:56 > 0:56:58The mass of people probably feel that something should be done,
0:56:58 > 0:57:01yet their own governments just don't do anything.
0:57:03 > 0:57:07As time has gone on, people always ask me what it was like.
0:57:07 > 0:57:09We thought we could change the world, then.
0:57:09 > 0:57:14I think it was a part of history, music history especially.
0:57:17 > 0:57:20For one moment in 1985,
0:57:20 > 0:57:24it really did seem like music could make a difference.
0:57:24 > 0:57:27It wouldn't just shape our personal identities,
0:57:27 > 0:57:29it would change the lives of others.
0:57:33 > 0:57:35MUSIC: Dance Hall Days by Wang Chung
0:57:36 > 0:57:40Live Aid took the restless spirit of the late '70s,
0:57:40 > 0:57:44collided it with our worship of teen heroes...
0:57:45 > 0:57:50..and for a brief moment, made out of all of us pop revolutionaries.
0:57:52 > 0:57:56For us pop fans, it was liberating times.
0:57:56 > 0:57:59But it wasn't all sweetness and light.
0:57:59 > 0:58:03Sometimes, the politics and the punch-ups could get a bit heavy.
0:58:05 > 0:58:08But, without our passion and without our tribes,
0:58:08 > 0:58:12British culture wouldn't be what it is today.
0:58:12 > 0:58:15And we wouldn't be the people we are.
0:58:15 > 0:58:18# When I, you
0:58:18 > 0:58:20# And everyone we knew
0:58:20 > 0:58:22# Could believe, do
0:58:22 > 0:58:24# And share in what was true
0:58:24 > 0:58:25# I said
0:58:28 > 0:58:29# Dance hall days, love
0:58:37 > 0:58:39# Dance hall days, love. #