Sex Pistols - Anarchy in the UK -- 26th November 1976

On the 26th of November 1976 the Sex Pistols released their debut single, Anarchy in the UK, on EMI.

Although there would be all sorts of picture sleeves later, it was originally released with a plain paper sleeve, as seen here.

At the time the band line-up was Johnny Rotten on vocals, Steve Jones on guitar, Glen Matlock on bass, and Paul Cook on drums, a line-up many think was their best, myself included.

Although the Pistols had been around since 1975, building a reputation for themselves through live appearances, it's fair to say that nobody was prepared for what happened when they finally committed themselves to vinyl. It's impossible to imagine Punk Rock without the Pistols, although it was probably going to happen anyway. It just would have been different.

The barbarians were at the gate, and nothing would ever be the same again.

The Damned - New Rose -- 22nd October 1976

The title of the first UK punk single goes to The Damned's first single, New Rose, released on the 22nd of October 1976 by Stiff Records. Several of the band member had the kind of names that would become familiar to us all soon enough, names like Captain Sensible and Rat Scabies.

Finally, things were starting to hot up.

The Damned have an official website here, and there's always the good old Wikipedia page, as well. 

So it Goes - Nick Lowe -- 14th August 1976

It struck me that this year, and particularly next year, mark the thirty-fifth anniversary of Punk Rock, and what came after. I turned seventeen towards the end of 1976, and am fifty-one now, and it's not overstating the case to say that the music of 1976 and 1977 changed my life. So, I decided to try to mirror the events of that time by posting YouTube videos of the songs that meant so much to me, as much as possible posted thirty-five years to the day after they were originally released.

This blog will not be confined to just Punk, though, or it would be a very short blog - even if I could decide on a practical definition of Punk, which I can't. There was Punk, New Wave, Power Pop, Ska, Post-Punk, and any number of other things that made up the soundscape of my life back then, and it'll probably all get a look in at some point.

There's any number of dates I could choose to start what is going to be a very personal view of Punk and its times. I could have started with the first single by The Ramones, Blitzkrieg Bop, released on the 9th of July 1976 -







You can buy Ramones musichere.


However, this is not actually the point I'm going to choose. Instead, my beginning is going to be with the release of Nick Lowe's So it Goes, not only his debut single, but the first single to be released on the recently-formed Stiff Records. My view of Punk Rock is predominantly from my side of the great Atlantic divide, although this is not to say the Americans won't get a look in, of course. But first listen to this:






You can buy Nick Lowe musichere.


And remember: