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Credit: Far Out \/ John Joe Coffey<\/p>\n
Sun 14 June 2026 16:45, UK <\/p>\n
Punk rock brought rock \u2018n\u2019 roll back to the people in the late 1970s<\/a>.<\/p>\n For most of that decade, the genre had been enjoying the opulent and ambitious realms of its own success. After The Beatles paved the way for experimentalism, the early part of the \u201870s saw their blueprint explode into new subgenres. Psychedelic rock, prog-rock and rock opera were but a few of the new sounds burgeoning from this culture of freedom.<\/p>\n Just look at The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin. While they were the two premier rock and roll bands at the time, delivering straight down the line powerhouse music that built on traditionalism, they were still enjoying the fruits of this newfound musical appetite. Fans were desperate for more, both recorded and live, and so these two showstoppers gave it to them.<\/p>\n While the music was complex and intellectual back then, the industry that followed it was much simpler to follow. If bands were successful, they made money<\/a>. Unlike today, it was straightforward, so both the Stones and Led Zeppelin were capitalising on that, stacking their cash piles high and putting good to the slogan of \u2018sex, drugs and rock and roll\u2019.<\/p>\n But come the late \u201870s, music became disillusioned with its own success. It was losing its grip on authenticity as it slid into this wild culture of opulence, and so punk rock came back to inject realism<\/a>. It wasn\u2019t about money; it was about the people and the important attitude of sticking it to the man. That\u2019s what The Clash made wholly clear in their music. But if the message wasn\u2019t loud enough, Joe Strummer was on hand to explain it literally, \u201cRock \u2018n\u2019 roll is a really good medium,\u201d he claimed.<\/p>\n Adding, \u201cIt has impact, and if we do our job properly, then we\u2019re making people aware of a situation they\u2019d otherwise tend to ignore. We can have a vast effect! But you learn by mistakes. The Rolling Stones made mistakes. But I want to do something useful. I\u2019m not going to spend all my money on drugs. I\u2019m going to start a radio station with my money. I want to be active. I don\u2019t want to end up in a villa in the South of France watching colour TV.\u201d<\/p>\n
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<\/a> The Far Out Punk Newsletter<\/p>\n