160-462: " White Riot " is a song by English punk rock band the Clash , released as the band's first single in March 1977 and also included on their self-titled debut album . There are two versions of the song: the single version (also appearing on the US version of the album released in 1979), was one of the first songs they recorded at CBS Studio 3 on Whitfield Street in Central London , after signing with CBS Records . However, when they were recording
320-480: A DIY ethic ; many bands self-produce recordings and distribute them through independent labels . The term "punk rock" was previously used by American rock critics in the early 1970s to describe the mid-1960s garage bands. Certain late 1960s and early 1970s Detroit acts, such as MC5 and Iggy and the Stooges , and other bands from elsewhere created out-of-the-mainstream music that became highly influential on what
480-703: A "dirty bastard", a "dirty fucker", and a "fucking rotter", triggering a media controversy. The episode had a major impact on the history of the scene and the punk term became a household name in 24 hours thanks to the press coverage, and several front covers of newspapers. Two days later, the Sex Pistols, the Clash, the Damned, and the Heartbreakers set out on the Anarchy Tour, a series of gigs throughout
640-473: A "national scandal". Jamie Reid 's "anarchy flag" poster and his other design work for the Sex Pistols helped establish a distinctive punk visual aesthetic . On December 1, 1976, an incident took place that sealed punk rock's notorious reputation, when the Sex Pistols and several members of the Bromley Contingent , including Siouxsie Sioux and Steven Severin , filled a vacancy for Queen on
800-610: A "punk mass" for the next couple of years. In the March 1971 issue of Creem, critic Greg Shaw wrote about the Shadows of Knight 's "hard-edge punk sound". In an April 1971 issue of Rolling Stone , he referred to a track by the Guess Who as "good, not too imaginative, punk rock and roll". The same month John Medelsohn described Alice Cooper 's album Love It to Death as "nicely wrought mainstream punk raunch". Dave Marsh used
960-421: A "rock inkie", NME was the first British newspaper to include a singles chart , adding that feature in the edition of 14 November 1952. In the 1970s, it became the best-selling British music newspaper. From 1972 to 1976, it was particularly associated with gonzo journalism then became closely associated with punk rock through the writings of Julie Burchill , Paul Morley , and Tony Parsons . It started as
1120-409: A "style of adornment calculated to disturb and outrage". Among the other facets of the punk rock scene, a punk's hair is an important way of showing their freedom of expression. The typical male punk haircut was originally short and choppy; the mohawk later emerged as a characteristic style. Along with the mohawk, long spikes have been associated with the punk rock genre. Between the late 16th and
1280-546: A 1974 interview for his fanzine Heavy Metal Digest , Danny Sugerman told Iggy Pop "You went on record as saying you never were a punk" and Iggy replied "...well I ain't. I never was a punk." By 1975, punk was being used to describe acts as diverse as the Patti Smith Group , the Bay City Rollers , and Bruce Springsteen . As the scene at New York's CBGB club attracted notice, a name was sought for
1440-545: A band who can lay claim to influencing the movement, "the seeds of punk remain blatant in the howling ultimatum Erickson transferred from his previous teen combo to the Elevators" as well as describing other bands in the Houston , Texas psychedelic rock scene as "a prime example of the opaque proto-punk undertow at the heart of the best psychedelia ". Hippie proto-punk David Peel of New York City 's Lower East Side
1600-546: A bimonthly release. NME was acquired in 2019 by Singaporean music company BandLab Technologies , which put all of its music publications under the NME Networks brand in December 2021, when the company was restructured. The paper was established in 1952. The Accordion Times and Musical Express was bought by London music promoter Maurice Kinn for £1,000, just 15 minutes before it was due to be officially closed. It
1760-458: A canon of work. We wanted to see where we'd got to, sort out this huge amount of stuff that had poured out since the mid '60s. Everyone on the paper was into this. Led Zeppelin topped the " NME Pop Poll" for three consecutive years (1974–76) under the category of the best "Vocal Group". In 1976, NME lambasted German pioneer electronic band Kraftwerk with this title: "This is what your fathers fought to save you from ..." The article said that
SECTION 10
#17327976676481920-532: A characteristic sound described by Christgau as a "buzzsaw drone". Some punk rock bands take a surf rock approach with a lighter, twangier guitar tone. Others, such as Robert Quine , lead guitarist of the Voidoids , have employed a wild, " gonzo " attack, a style that stretches back through the Velvet Underground to the 1950s recordings of Ike Turner . Bass guitar lines are often uncomplicated;
2080-464: A concert at Finsbury Park where Morrissey was seen to drape himself in a Union Jack . The series of articles (starting with Fadele's one) which followed in the next edition of NME (featuring the story on the front cover) soured Morrissey's relationship with the paper, and this led to Morrissey not speaking to the paper again for the next 12 years (i.e., until 2004). Later in 1992, Steve Sutherland, previously an assistant editor of Melody Maker ,
2240-631: A decade and a half before. Some commented at this time that the NME had become less intellectual in its writing style and less inventive musically. Initially, NME writers themselves were ill at ease with the new regime, with most signing a letter of no confidence in Lewis shortly after he took over. However, this new direction for the NME proved to be a commercial success and the paper brought in new writers such as Andrew Collins , Andrew Harrison , Stuart Maconie , Mary Anne Hobbs and Steve Lamacq to give it
2400-618: A distinct musical style. Even where they diverged most clearly, in lyrical approach – the Ramones' apparent guilelessness at one extreme, Hell's conscious craft at the other – there was an abrasive attitude in common. Their shared attributes of minimalism and speed, however, had not yet come to define punk rock. After a brief period unofficially managing the New York Dolls, Briton Malcolm McLaren returned to London in May 1975, inspired by
2560-426: A few weeks after they had taken place. In the mid-1960s, the NME was primarily dedicated to pop while its older rival, Melody Maker , was known for its more serious coverage of music. Other competing titles included Record Mirror , which led the way in championing American rhythm and blues , and Disc , which focused on chart news. The latter part of the decade the paper charted the rise of psychedelia and
2720-670: A figure of 306,881 for the period from January to June 1964. The Beatles and the Rolling Stones were frequently featured on the front cover. These and other artists also appeared at the NME Poll Winners' Concert, an awards event that featured artists voted as most popular by the paper's readers. The concert also featured a ceremony where the poll winners would collect their awards. The NME Poll Winners' Concerts took place between 1959 and 1972. From 1964 onwards, they were filmed, edited, and transmitted on British television
2880-564: A former member of New York's experimental rock group the Velvet Underground , who inspired many of those involved in the creation of punk rock. The New York Dolls updated 1950s' rock 'n' roll in a fashion that later became known as glam punk . The New York duo Suicide played spare, experimental music with a confrontational stage act inspired by that of the Stooges. In Boston, the Modern Lovers , led by Jonathan Richman , gained attention for their minimalistic style. In 1974, as well,
3040-718: A free title, featuring Rihanna. Editor in Chief Mike Williams received the Editor Of The Year Award at the BSME Awards 2016, the judges stating that under Williams' leadership, NME had "bounced back from an uncertain future and established itself confidently and creatively in a new market." In March 2018, The Guardian reported that the NME was to cease publication in print after 66 years. The online publication would continue. In 2019, TI Media,
3200-422: A lot of 1960s stuff was innovative and exciting. Unfortunately, what happens is that people who could not hold a candle to the likes of Hendrix started noodling away. Soon you had endless solos that went nowhere. By 1973, I knew that what was needed was some pure, stripped down, no bullshit rock 'n' roll." John Holmstrom , founding editor of Punk magazine, recalls feeling "punk rock had to come along because
3360-506: A major cultural phenomenon in the UK. It gave rise to a punk subculture that expressed youthful rebellion through distinctive styles of clothing , such as T-shirts with deliberately offensive graphics, leather jackets, studded or spiked bands and jewelry, safety pins, and bondage and S&M clothes. In 1977, the influence of the music and subculture spread worldwide. It took root in a wide range of local scenes that often rejected affiliation with
SECTION 20
#17327976676483520-644: A more authoritative tone. The first issue of the redesign featured a free seven-inch Coldplay vinyl single. Krissi Murison was appointed editor in June 2009, launching a new redesigned NME in April 2010. The issue had 10 different covers, highlighting the broader range of music the magazine would cover, and featured Jack White , Florence and the Machine , LCD Soundsystem , Rihanna , Kasabian , Laura Marling , Foals , M.I.A. , Biffy Clyro and Magnetic Man . Murison
3680-473: A more straightforward and populist style. The paper also became more openly political during the time of punk. Its cover would sometimes feature youth-orientated issues rather than a musical act. It took an editorial stance against political parties like the National Front . With the election of Margaret Thatcher in 1979, the paper took a broadly socialist stance for much of the following decade. In
3840-421: A music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s and 1990s, changing from newsprint in 1998. The magazine's website NME.com was launched in 1996, and became the world's biggest standalone music site, with over sixteen million users per month. With newsstand sales falling across the UK magazine sector in the early 21st century, the magazine's paid circulation in the first half of 2014
4000-530: A number of high-profile international pop stars on the cover such as Coldplay , Taylor Swift , Lana Del Rey , Kanye West and Green Day alongside emerging talent like Zara Larsson , Years & Years , Lady Leshurr and Christine and the Queens . The free, pop-oriented NME magazine was praised for reconnecting NME with its target audience, and was awarded a silver at the 2016 Professional Publishers Association Awards for its historic first-ever cover as
4160-419: A political symbol. The NME was generally thought to be rudderless at this time, with staff pulling simultaneously in a number of directions in what came to be known as the "hip-hop wars". It was haemorrhaging readers who were deserting NME in favour of Nick Logan 's two creations The Face and Smash Hits . This was brought to a head when the paper was about to publish a poster of an insert contained in
4320-584: A requisite item for punk fans. The BBC banned "Oh Bondage Up Yours!" due to its controversial lyrics. In October, the Sex Pistols hit number eight with " Holidays in the Sun ", followed by the release of their first and only "official" album, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols . Inspiring yet another round of controversy, it topped the British charts. In December, one of the first books about punk rock
4480-401: A single, "Little Johnny Jewel". In the words of John Walker, the record was "a turning point for the whole New York scene" if not quite for the punk rock sound itself – Hell's departure had left the band "significantly reduced in fringe aggression". Early in 1976, Hell left the Heartbreakers to form the Voidoids , described as "one of the most harshly uncompromising [punk] bands". That April,
4640-440: A strand embodied by the [Arctic] Monkeys, Babyshambles and Muse – bands who you don't need specialist knowledge to write about and who are just "indie" enough to make readers feel they're part of a club. Like everything else in publishing, this particular direction must be in response to reader demand, but it doesn't half make for a self-limiting magazine. In May 2008, the magazine received a redesign aimed at an older readership with
4800-472: A stronger identity and sense of direction. Lewis prioritised readership over editorial independence, and Mark Sinker left in 1988 after Lewis refused to print his unfavourable review of U2 's Rattle and Hum ("the worst album by a major band in years"), replacing it with a glowing Stuart Baillie review intended to be more acceptable to readers. Initially many of the bands on the C86 tape were championed as well as
4960-620: A traditional rock 'n' roll verse-chorus form and 4/4 time signature . However, later bands often broke from this format. Punk music was not a standalone movement in the 70’s and 80’s. Major punk communities gather across the globe as punk perseveres among contemporary musicians and listeners today. The vocals are sometimes nasal, and the lyrics often shouted in an "arrogant snarl", rather than conventionally sung. Complicated guitar solos were considered self-indulgent, although basic guitar breaks were common. Guitar parts tend to include highly distorted power chords or barre chords , creating
White Riot - Misplaced Pages Continue
5120-405: A two-month-long weekend residency at CBGB that significantly raised the club's profile. The Television sets included Richard Hell's "Blank Generation", which became the scene's emblematic anthem. Soon after, Hell left Television and founded a band featuring a more stripped-down sound, the Heartbreakers , with former New York Dolls Johnny Thunders and Jerry Nolan . In August, Television recorded
5280-527: A vehement, straight-ahead punk rock style with a committed anarchist mission, and played a major role in the emerging anarcho-punk movement. Sham 69, London's Menace, and the Angelic Upstarts from South Shields in the Northeast combined a similarly stripped-down sound with populist lyrics, a style that became known as street punk . These expressly working-class bands contrasted with others in
5440-412: A week, although its then-publisher Time Inc. UK claimed to have more than 13 million global unique users per month, including 3 million in the UK. In March 2018, the publisher announced that the print edition of NME would cease publication after 66 years and become an online-only publication. However, this decision was reversed in 2023, with NME announcing that it would revive its print magazine as
5600-421: Is a music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock , punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced short, fast-paced songs with hard-edged melodies and singing styles with stripped-down instrumentation. Lyricism in punk typically revolves around anti-establishment and anti-authoritarian themes. Punk embraces
5760-412: Is meant to be our freedom. We're meant to be able to do what we want to do." Authenticity has always been important in the punk subculture—the pejorative term " poseur " is applied to those who adopt its stylistic attributes but do not actually share or understand its underlying values and philosophy. Scholar Daniel S. Traber argues that "attaining authenticity in the punk identity can be difficult"; as
5920-481: Is much less the rule. Hardcore drumming tends to be especially fast. Production tends to be minimalistic, with tracks sometimes laid down on home tape recorders or four-track portastudios. Punk rock lyrics are typically blunt and confrontational; compared to the lyrics of other popular music genres, they often focus on social and political issues. Trend-setting songs such as the Clash's " Career Opportunities " and Chelsea 's "Right to Work" deal with unemployment and
6080-486: Is our condition. As symbols of protest, swastikas are no less fatuous than flowers. — Robert Christgau in Christgau's Record Guide (1981) Technical accessibility and a do it yourself (DIY) spirit are prized in punk rock. UK pub rock from 1972 to 1975 contributed to the emergence of punk rock by developing a network of small venues, such as pubs, where non-mainstream bands could play. Pub rock also introduced
6240-598: The Los Angeles Times , reviewing the debut album by a hard rock band, Aerosmith , declared that it "achieves all that punk-rock bands strive for but most miss." A March 1973 review of an Iggy and the Stooges show in the Detroit Free Press dismissively referred to Pop as "the apotheosis of Detroit punk music". In May 1973, Billy Altman launched the short-lived punk magazine in Buffalo, NY which
6400-605: The Buzzcocks and Ian Dury . A second tape titled C86 was released in 1986. From 1981 to 1988 the magazine released 36 cassette compilations. The NME responded to the Thatcher era by espousing socialism through movements such as Red Wedge . In the week of the 1987 election , the paper featured an interview with the leader of the Labour Party , Neil Kinnock , who appeared on the paper's cover. He had appeared on
6560-528: The CBGB club, also in Lower Manhattan . At its core was Television , described by critic John Walker as "the ultimate garage band with pretensions". Their influences ranged from The Velvet Underground to the staccato guitar work of Dr. Feelgood 's Wilko Johnson . The band's bassist/singer, Richard Hell , created a look with cropped, ragged hair, ripped T-shirts, and black leather jackets credited as
White Riot - Misplaced Pages Continue
6720-524: The Dead Kennedys ' album Frankenchrist , consisting of a painting by H.R. Giger called Penis Landscape , then a subject of an obscenity lawsuit in the US. In the summer and autumn of 1987, three senior editorial staff were sacked, including Pye, media editor Stuart Cosgrove , and art editor Joe Ewart. Former Sounds editor Alan Lewis was brought in to rescue the paper, mirroring Alan Smith's revival
6880-538: The Krautrock tradition of groups such as Can . In Japan, the anti-establishment Zunō Keisatsu (Brain Police) mixed garage-psych and folk . The combo regularly faced censorship challenges, their live act at least once including onstage masturbation. A new generation of Australian garage rock bands, inspired mainly by the Stooges and MC5 , was coming closer to the sound that would soon be called "punk": In Brisbane ,
7040-460: The NME , and was replaced as editor by 26-year-old Melody Maker writer Ben Knowles. In the same year, Melody Maker officially merged with the NME , and many speculated the NME would be next to close, as the weekly music-magazine market was shrinking - the monthly magazine Select , which had thrived especially during the Britpop era, was closed down within a week of Melody Maker . In
7200-588: The New Musical Express "started to champion underground, up-and-coming music....NME became the gateway to a more rebellious world. First came glamrock , and bands such as T. Rex , and then came punk ....by 1977 it had become the place to keep in touch with a cultural revolution that was enthralling the nation's listless youth. Bands such as Sex Pistols , X-Ray Spex and Generation X were regular cover stars, eulogised by writers such as Julie Burchill and Tony Parsons , whose nihilistic tone narrated
7360-428: The safety-pin aesthetic —was a major influence on Sex Pistols impresario Malcolm McLaren and, in turn, British punk style. ( John D Morton of Cleveland's Electric Eels may have been the first rock musician to wear a safety-pin-covered jacket.) McLaren's partner, fashion designer Vivienne Westwood , credits Johnny Rotten as the first British punk musician to rip his shirt, and Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious as
7520-723: The "White Riot" lyrics as racist, saying, "They're not racist! They're not racist at all!" Strummer pointed out that inner-city black youth were now fighting back against poverty and heavy-handed policing. "White Riot" was a call to arms to white youth to fight back in the same way and have, in the words of the song, "a riot of my own". When The Clash played the Rock Against Racism Carnival in Victoria Park, London on 30 April 1978 they finished their set with "White Riot", accompanied by Jimmy Pursey (Sham 69) on vocals. Footage of this performance can be seen in
7680-662: The "electronic melodies flowed as slowly as a piece of garbage floating down the polluted Rhine ". The same year also saw punk rock arrive on what some people perceived to be a stagnant music scene. The NME gave the Sex Pistols their first music press coverage in a live review of their performance at the Marquee in February that year, but overall it was slow to cover this new phenomenon in comparison to Sounds and Melody Maker , where Jonh Ingham and Caroline Coon respectively were early champions of punk. Although articles by
7840-468: The 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks. All tracks written by Joe Strummer / Mick Jones . The song was covered by Clash contemporaries Sham 69 . The punk rock/Oi! band Cock Sparrer also did a live cover version of the song, which even appeared on their The Best of Cock Sparrer and England Belongs to Me albums. The Mekons ' first single, "Never Been in a Riot", was a response to "White Riot". The song has been covered by, among others, hip-hop/punk rock band
8000-592: The 18th centuries, punk was a common, coarse synonym for prostitute; William Shakespeare used it with that meaning in The Merry Wives of Windsor (1602) and Measure for Measure (1603–4). The term eventually came to describe "a young male hustler, a gangster, a hoodlum, or a ruffian". The first known use of the phrase "punk rock" appeared in the Chicago Tribune on March 22, 1970, when Ed Sanders , co-founder of New York's anarcho-prankster band
8160-443: The 1980s, the NME became the most important music paper in the country. It released the influential C81 in 1981, in conjunction with Rough Trade Records , available to readers by mail order at a low price. The tape featured a number of then up-and-coming bands, including Duran Duran , Aztec Camera , Orange Juice , Linx , and Scritti Politti , as well as a number of more established artists such as Robert Wyatt , Pere Ubu ,
SECTION 50
#17327976676488320-441: The 2008 NME Award nominations, Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian criticised the magazine's lack of diversity, saying: "NME bands" fall within very narrow parameters. In the 80s, the paper prided itself on its coverage of hip hop, R&B and the emerging dance scene which it took seriously and featured prominently – alongside the usual Peel-endorsed indie fare. Now, though, its range of approved bands has dramatically shrunk to
8480-484: The Alex Harvey Band — their influence was enormous. And they try to write that all off and wrap it around Patti Smith. It's so wrong!". In October 1976, the Damned released the first UK punk rock band single, " New Rose ". The Vibrators followed the next month with "We Vibrate". On November 26, 1976, the Sex Pistols' released their debut single " Anarchy in the U.K. ", which succeeded in its goal of becoming
8640-599: The Asian music scene and acts such as The Itchyworms, SEVENTEEN, Voice Of Baceprot, Sponge Cola and I Belong To The Zoo from countries such as South Korea, the Philippines and Indonesia. On 20 July 2023, NME announced that it would be relaunching its print magazine that summer. Starting with a July/August issue featuring D4vd , each bimonthly issue will showcase a rising musical talent. NME Networks' chief operating and commercial officer Holly Bishop explained that
8800-594: The Canadian post-rock band Godspeed You! Black Emperor saw the paper dip to a sales low, and Sutherland later stated in his weekly editorial that he regretted putting them on the cover. For many, this was seen as an affront to the principles of the paper, and sales reached a low point at the turn of the millennium. From the issue of 21 March 1999, the paper was no longer printed on newsprint, and more recently, it has shifted to tabloid size with glossy colour covers. In 2000, Steve Sutherland left to become brand director of
8960-403: The Clash , which was joined by Joe Strummer . On June 4, 1976, the Sex Pistols played Manchester's Lesser Free Trade Hall in what became one of the most influential rock shows ever. Among the approximately forty audience members were the two locals who organised the gig—they had formed Buzzcocks after seeing the Sex Pistols in February. Others in the small crowd went on to form Joy Division ,
9120-581: The Clash's debut had included a cover of the recent Jamaican reggae hit " Police and Thieves ". Other first wave bands such as the Slits and new entrants to the scene like the Ruts and the Police interacted with the reggae and ska subcultures, incorporating their rhythms and production styles. The punk rock phenomenon helped spark a full-fledged ska revival movement known as 2 Tone , centered on bands such as
9280-458: The Dead Boys. They were soon playing regularly at Max's Kansas City and CBGB. At this early stage, the term punk applied to the scene in general, not necessarily a particular stylistic approach as it would later—the early New York punk bands represented a broad variety of influences. Among them, the Ramones, the Heartbreakers, Richard Hell and the Voidoids, and the Dead Boys were establishing
9440-658: The Detroit band Death —made up of three African-American brothers—recorded "scorching blasts of feral ur-punk", but could not arrange a release deal. In Ohio, a small but influential underground rock scene emerged, led by Devo in Akron and Kent and by Cleveland's Electric Eels , Mirrors and Rocket from the Tombs . Bands anticipating the forthcoming movement were appearing as far afield as Düsseldorf , West Germany, where "punk before punk" band Neu! formed in 1971, building on
9600-541: The Electric Lady in New York City. Underground and pub rock scenes became filled with cacophonous sounds, haziness brought by drugs and alcohol, and unassuming fashion. American punk represented a new generation that combined bohemian atmosphere with an aggressive guitar distortion. The Dead Boys' debut LP, Young, Loud and Snotty , was released at the end of August. October saw two more debut albums from
9760-559: The Fall , and – in the 1980s — the Smiths . In July, the Ramones played two London shows that helped spark the nascent UK punk scene. Over the next several months, many new punk rock bands formed, often directly inspired by the Sex Pistols. In London, women were near the center of the scene—among the initial wave of bands were the female-fronted Siouxsie and the Banshees , X-Ray Spex , and
SECTION 60
#17327976676489920-490: The Fugs described his first solo album as "punk rock – redneck sentimentality". In 1969 Sanders recorded a song for an album called "Street Punk" but it was only released in 2008. In the December 1970 issue of Creem , Lester Bangs , mocking more mainstream rock musicians, ironically referred to Iggy Pop as "that Stooge punk". Suicide 's Alan Vega credits this usage with inspiring his duo to bill its gigs as "punk music" or
10080-532: The Heartbreakers' 1976 and 1977 tours of Britain, Thunders played a central role in popularizing heroin among the punk crowd there, as well.) The Ramones' third album, Rocket to Russia , appeared in November 1977. The Sex Pistols ' live TV skirmish with Bill Grundy on December 1, 1976, was the signal moment in British punk 's transformation into a major media phenomenon, even as some stores refused to stock
10240-471: The Jerks led what became known as no wave . The Misfits formed in nearby New Jersey. Still developing what would become their signature B movie –inspired style, later dubbed horror punk , they made their first appearance at CBGB in April 1977. The American youth were searching for authenticity and newcomers like The Ramone, The Clash and The Stooges. They brought their unique sound to venues like CBGB and
10400-599: The Machine at their free concert in Finsbury Park and at Download Festival in June 2010. Punk rock band Rise Against covered the song during their shows at the Reading and Leeds Festivals in 2011 after vocalist Tim McIlrath made a speech about the London riots of 2011 . The song is featured in the soundtrack for the game Tony Hawk's Underground . Punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk )
10560-586: The Manics, some new British bands were beginning to appear. Suede were quickly hailed by the paper as an alternative to the heavy grunge sound and hailed as the start of a new British music scene. Grunge, however, was still the dominant force, but the rise of new British bands would become something the paper would focus on more and more. In 1992, the NME also had a very public dispute with Morrissey due to allegations by NME ' s Dele Fadele that Morrissey had used racist lyrics and imagery. This erupted after
10720-754: The Ramones", when nothing could have been further from the truth. In Perth , the Cheap Nasties formed in August. In September 1976, the Saints became the first punk rock band outside the U.S. to release a recording, the single " (I'm) Stranded ". The band self-financed, packaged, and distributed the single. "(I'm) Stranded" had limited impact at home, but the British music press recognized it as groundbreaking. A second wave of punk rock emerged in 1977. These bands often sounded very different from each other. While punk remained largely an underground phenomenon in
10880-460: The Ramones' debut album was released by Sire Records ; the first single was " Blitzkrieg Bop ", opening with the rallying cry "Hey! Ho! Let's go!" According to a later description, "Like all cultural watersheds, Ramones was embraced by a discerning few and slagged off as a bad joke by the uncomprehending majority." The Cramps , whose core members were from Sacramento, California and Akron, Ohio , had debuted at CBGB in November 1976, opening for
11040-698: The Saints evoked the live sound of the British Pretty Things , who had toured Australia and New Zealand in 1975. The origins of New York's punk rock scene can be traced back to such sources as the late 1960s trash culture and an early 1970s underground rock movement centered on the Mercer Arts Center in Greenwich Village , where the New York Dolls performed. In early 1974, a new scene began to develop around
11200-405: The Sex Pistols as central players in a new youth movement, "hard and tough". As described by critic Jon Savage , the band members "embodied an attitude into which McLaren fed a new set of references: late-sixties radical politics, sexual fetish material, pop history, [...] youth sociology". Bernard Rhodes , an associate of McLaren, similarly aimed to make stars of the band London SS , who became
11360-570: The Specials , the Beat , Madness , and the Selecter . In July, the Sex Pistols' third single, " Pretty Vacant ", reached number six and Australia's the Saints had a top-forty hit with " This Perfect Day ". In September, Generation X and the Clash reached the top forty with, respectively, "Your Generation" and " Complete Control ". X-Ray Spex's " Oh Bondage Up Yours! " did not chart, but it became
11520-766: The Strokes , the Vines , and the White Stripes . In 2002, Conor McNicholas was appointed editor, with a new wave of photographers including Dean Chalkley , Andrew Kendall, James Looker, and Pieter Van Hattem, and a high turnover of young writers. It focused on new British bands such as the Libertines , Franz Ferdinand , Bloc Party , and the Kaiser Chiefs , which had emerged as indie music continued to grow in commercial success. Later, Arctic Monkeys became
11680-454: The T-shirt, motorcycle jacket, and jeans ensemble favored by American greasers of the 1950s associated with the rockabilly scene and by British rockers of the 1960s. In addition to the T-shirt, and leather jackets they wore ripped jeans and boots, typically Doc Martens . The punk look was inspired to shock people. Richard Hell 's more androgynous, ragamuffin look—and reputed invention of
11840-693: The Teenage Wasteland" in his review of the Stooges July 1972 performance at King's Cross Cinema in London for a British magazine called Cream (no relation to the more famous US publication). In the January 1973 Rolling Stone review of Nuggets , Greg Shaw commented "Punk rock is a fascinating genre... Punk rock at its best is the closest we came in the '60s to the original rockabilly spirit of Rock 'n Roll." In February 1973, Terry Atkinson of
12000-522: The Transplants , rock/folk/carnival band Camper Van Beethoven , punk rock band Anti-Flag , Rise Against , Cracker , the Bad Shepherds alternative rock band Audioslave , and the Angelic Upstarts . The American Celtic punk band Dropkick Murphys have covered the song live, one recording of which is on their The Singles Collection: Volume One album. It was also performed by Rage Against
12160-745: The UK. Many of the shows were cancelled by venue owners in response to the media outrage following the Grundy interview. A punk subculture began in Australia around the same time, centered around Radio Birdman and the Oxford Tavern in Sydney's Darlinghurst suburb. By 1976, the Saints were hiring Brisbane local halls to use as venues, or playing in "Club 76", their shared house in the inner suburb of Petrie Terrace . The band soon discovered that musicians were exploring similar paths in other parts of
12320-790: The US, in the UK it had become a major sensation. During this period punk music also spread beyond the English speaking world, inspiring local scenes in other countries. The California punk scene was fully developed by early 1977. In Los Angeles, there were: the Weirdos , The Dils , the Zeros , the Bags , Black Randy and the Metrosquad , the Germs , Fear , The Go-Go's , X , the Dickies , and
12480-445: The US, mainly from Seattle . These bands would form a new movement called grunge , and by far the most popular bands were Nirvana and Pearl Jam . The NME took to grunge very slowly ("Sounds" was the first British music paper to write about grunge with John Robb being the first to interview Nirvana. Melody Maker was more enthusiastic early on, largely through the efforts of Everett True , who had previously written for NME under
12640-576: The album Radios Appear on its own Trafalgar label. By 1979, the hardcore punk movement was emerging in Southern California . A rivalry developed between adherents of the new sound and the older punk rock crowd. Hardcore, appealing to a younger, more suburban audience, was perceived by some as anti-intellectual, overly violent, and musically limited. In Los Angeles, the opposing factions were often described as "Hollywood punks" and "beach punks", referring to Hollywood's central position in
12800-647: The all-female the Slits . There were female bassists Gaye Advert in the Adverts and Shanne Bradley in the Nipple Erectors , while Sex store frontwoman Jordan not only managed Adam and the Ants but also performed screaming vocals on their song "Lou". Other groups included Subway Sect , Alternative TV , Wire , the Stranglers , Eater and Generation X . Farther afield, Sham 69 began practicing in
12960-598: The band matured, Mick Jones would at times refuse to play it, considering it crude and musically inept. Over two decades later, Joe Strummer would perform it with his band the Mescaleros . The B-side of the single was "1977", a non-album track. This song was along similar lines to "White Riot", suggesting that the music of Elvis Presley , the Beatles , and the Rolling Stones was no longer relevant. Writing for Melody Maker in November 1976, Caroline Coon described
13120-415: The basis for punk rock visual style. In April 1974, Patti Smith came to CBGB for the first time to see the band perform. A veteran of independent theater and performance poetry, Smith was developing an intellectual, feminist take on rock 'n' roll. On June 5, she recorded the single " Hey Joe "/" Piss Factory ", featuring Television guitarist Tom Verlaine ; released on her own Mer Records label, it heralded
13280-443: The best layouts, that sense of style of humour and a feeling of real adventure. We also set out to beat Melody Maker on its strong suit: being the serious, responsible journal of record. We did Looking Back and Consumer Guide features that beat the competition out of sight, and we did this not just to surpass our rivals but because we reckoned that rock had finished its first wind around 1969/70 and deserved to be treated as history, as
13440-540: The broader culture it represented, and their musical predecessors: "No Elvis , Beatles or the Rolling Stones in 1977", declared the Clash song "1977". 1976, when the punk revolution began in Britain, became a musical and a cultural "Year Zero". As nostalgia was discarded, many in the scene adopted a nihilistic attitude summed up by the Sex Pistols ' slogan "No Future"; in the later words of one observer, amid
13600-483: The company was "inspired by the resurgence we've seen in vinyl and cassette tapes" to bring a physical edition back for music fans. In December 2018, BandLab Technologies announced the launch of NME Australia . Initially a website only, new interviews were given covers and numbered as issues, with Amyl & The Sniffers on the inaugural cover. At the time BandLab announced the Australian edition would not have
13760-473: The continued dominance of British groups of the time. During this period some sections of pop music began to be designated as rock. The paper became engaged in a sometimes tense rivalry with Melody Maker ; however, NME sales were healthy, with the paper selling as many as 200,000 issues per week, making it one of the UK's biggest sellers at the time. By the early 1970s, NME had lost ground to Melody Maker , as its coverage of music had failed to keep pace with
13920-427: The cover once two years before, in April 1985. Writers at this time included Mat Snow , Chris Bohn (known in his later years at the paper as ' Biba Kopf '), Antonella Gambotto-Burke (known by her pseudonyms Antonella Black and, because of her then-dyed orange hair, Ginger Meggs ), Barney Hoskyns , Paolo Hewitt, Don Watson, Danny Kelly , Steven Wells , and David Quantick . However, sales were dropping, and by
14080-459: The cover price and becoming a free publication. This was confirmed in July 2015. The free NME launched on 18 September 2015, with Rihanna on the cover. Distributed nationwide via universities, retail stores and the transport network, the first circulation numbers published in February 2016 of 307, 217 copies per week were the highest in the brand's history. Since relaunch the magazine has featured
14240-526: The debut album, they decided to use a demo version of the song that they had recorded earlier in 1976 at Beaconsfield Studios in Buckinghamshire with Julien Temple . The rest of the demo tracks would eventually be released on the Sound System compilation album. The album version has a running time of 1:58 and starts with Mick Jones counting off "1-2-3-4". The single version begins with
14400-435: The developing sound. Club owner Hilly Kristal called the movement "Street rock" ; John Holmstrom credits Aquarian magazine with using punk "to describe what was going on at CBGBs". Holmstrom, Legs McNeil , and Ged Dunn's magazine Punk , which debuted at the end of 1975, was crucial in codifying the term. "It was pretty obvious that the word was getting very popular", Holmstrom later remarked. "We figured we'd take
14560-431: The development of rock music, particularly during the early years of psychedelia and progressive rock . In early 1972, the paper was on the verge of closure by its owner IPC (which had bought the paper from Kinn in 1963). According to Nick Kent (soon to play a prominent part in the paper's revival): After sales had plummeted to 60,000 and a review of guitar instrumentalist Duane Eddy had been printed which began with
14720-486: The early Who , the British punks also reflected the influence of glam rock and related artists and bands such as David Bowie , Slade , T.Rex , and Roxy Music . However, Sex Pistols frontman Johnny Rotten (real name John Lydon) insisted that the influences of the UK punk scene were not from the US and NY. "I've heard an awful lot of American journalists pretending that the whole punk influence came out of New York." He argued: "T. Rex, David Bowie, Slade, Mott The Hoople ,
14880-527: The early 1970s to refer to mid-1960s garage acts. In the liner notes of the 1972 anthology LP, Nuggets , musician and rock journalist Lenny Kaye , later a member of the Patti Smith Group, used the term "punk rock" to describe the genre of 1960s garage bands and "garage-punk", to describe a song recorded in 1966 by the Shadows of Knight. Nick Kent referred to Iggy Pop as the "Punk Messiah of
15040-491: The early 2000s, the NME also attempted somewhat to broaden its coverage again, running cover stories on hip-hop acts such as Jay-Z and Missy Elliott , electronic musician Aphex Twin , Popstars winners Hear'say , and R&B groups such as Destiny's Child . However, as in the 1980s, these proved unpopular with much of the paper's readership, and were soon dropped. In 2001, the NME reasserted its position as an influence in new music, and helped to introduce bands including
15200-483: The early evening Thames Television London television show Today to be interviewed by host Bill Grundy . When Grundy asked Siouxsie how she was doing, she made fun of him saying, "I've always wanted to meet you, Bill". Grundy who was drunk, told her on the air; "we shall meet afterwards then". This instantly generated a reaction from Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones who pronounced a series of terms inappropriate for prime-time television. Jones proceeded to call Grundy
15360-537: The film Rude Boy . The single's cover photograph was taken by Caroline Coon on 5 November 1976 at the band's rehearsal studio in Camden Town . The photo was inspired by real-life events where youths were randomly stopped and searched by police in the street. The original shot featured the phrase "Hate and War" on the back of Strummer's boiler suit, which was airbrushed for the released version and replaced with "1977". The only person who played 'White Riot' on
15520-817: The first to use safety pins, although few of those following punk could afford to buy McLaren and Westwood's designs so famously worn by the Pistols, so they made their own, diversifying the 'look' with various different styles based on these designs. Young women in punk demolished the typical female types in rock of either "coy sex kittens or wronged blues belters" in their fashion. Early female punk musicians displayed styles ranging from Siouxsie Sioux 's bondage gear to Patti Smith 's "straight-from-the-gutter androgyny". The former proved much more influential on female fan styles. Over time, tattoos, piercings , and metal-studded and -spiked accessories became increasingly common elements of punk fashion among both musicians and fans,
15680-477: The first wave (e.g., X , the Adicts ) also flourished. Many musicians who identified with punk or were inspired by it went on to pursue other musical directions, giving rise to movements such as post-punk , new wave , thrash metal , and alternative rock . Following alternative rock's mainstream breakthrough in the 1990s with Nirvana , punk rock saw renewed major-label interest and mainstream appeal exemplified by
15840-606: The garage phenomenon gathered momentum around the US. By 1965, the harder-edged sound of British acts, such as the Rolling Stones , the Kinks , and the Who , became increasingly influential with American garage bands. The raw sound of U.S. groups such as the Sonics and the Seeds predicted the style of later acts. In the early 1970s some rock critics used the term "punk rock" to refer to
16000-574: The grim realities of urban life. Especially in early British punk, a central goal was to outrage and shock the mainstream. The Sex Pistols' " Anarchy in the U.K. " and " God Save the Queen " openly disparaged the British political system and social mores. Anti-sentimental depictions of relationships and sex are common, as in "Love Comes in Spurts", recorded by the Voidoids . Anomie , variously expressed in
16160-425: The idea of independent record labels , such as Stiff Records , which put out basic, low-cost records. Pub rock bands organized their own small venue tours and put out small pressings of their records. In the early days of punk rock, this DIY ethic stood in marked contrast to what those in the scene regarded as the ostentatious musical effects and technological demands of many mainstream rock bands. Musical virtuosity
16320-523: The job. Adopting a new name, the group played its first gig as the Sex Pistols on November 6, 1975, at Saint Martin's School of Art , and soon attracted a small but dedicated following. In February 1976, the band received its first significant press coverage; guitarist Steve Jones declared that the Sex Pistols were not so much into music as they were "chaos". The band often provoked its crowds into near-riots. Rotten announced to one audience, "Bet you don't hate us as much as we hate you!" McLaren envisioned
16480-467: The kind of "cerebral mix of musical ferocity and rebellious posture" that would characterize much of the later British punk rock of the 1970s. The garage/beat phenomenon extended beyond North America and Britain. In America, the psychedelic rock movement birthed an array of garage bands that would later become influences on punk, the Austin Chronicle described the 13th Floor Elevators as
16640-475: The likes of Mick Farren (whose article "The Titanic Sails at Dawn" called for a new street-led rock movement in response to stadium rock) were published by the NME that summer, it was felt that younger writing was needed to credibly cover the emerging punk movement, and the paper advertised for a pair of "hip young gunslingers" to join their editorial staff. This resulted in the recruitment of Tony Parsons and Julie Burchill . The pair rapidly became champions of
16800-404: The logo still used on the paper's masthead today (albeit in a modified form) – this made its first appearance towards the end of 1978. Spencer's time as editor also coincided with the emergence of post-punk acts such as Joy Division and Gang of Four . This development was reflected in the writing of Ian Penman and Paul Morley . Danny Baker , who began as an NME writer around this time, had
16960-464: The magazine jumped by 50%. The first of these singles charts was, in contrast to more recent charts, a top twelve sourced by the magazine itself from sales in regional stores around the UK. The first number one was " Here in My Heart " by Al Martino . During the 1960s, the paper championed the new British groups emerging at the time. The NME circulation peaked under Andy Gray (editor 1957–1972) with
17120-501: The mainstream. In the late 1970s, punk experienced a second wave, when new acts that had not been active during its formative years adopted the style. By the early 1980s, faster and more aggressive subgenres, such as hardcore punk (e.g., Minor Threat ), Oi! (e.g., Sham 69 ), street punk (e.g., the Exploited ), and anarcho-punk (e.g., Crass ), became some of the predominant modes of punk rock, while bands more similar in form to
17280-493: The mid-1960s garage genre, as well as for subsequent acts perceived to be in that stylistic tradition, such as the Stooges. In Britain, largely under the influence of the mod movement and beat groups, the Kinks' 1964 hit singles " You Really Got Me " and " All Day and All of the Night ", were both influenced by "Louie, Louie". In 1965, the Who released the mod anthem " My Generation ", which according to John Reed, anticipated
17440-418: The mid-1980s, NME had hit a rough patch and was in danger of closing. During this period (now under the editorship of Ian Pye, who replaced Neil Spencer in 1985), they were split between those who wanted to write about hip hop , a genre that was relatively new to the UK, and those who wanted to stick to rock music. Sales were apparently lower when photos of hip hop artists appeared on the front and this led to
17600-584: The movement: the Vibrators , formed as a pub rock–style act in February 1976, soon adopted a punk look and sound. A few even longer-active bands including Surrey neo-mods the Jam and pub rockers Eddie and the Hot Rods , the Stranglers , and Cock Sparrer also became associated with the punk rock scene. Alongside the musical roots shared with their American counterparts and the calculated confrontationalism of
17760-405: The name "The Legend!"). For the most part, NME only became interested in grunge after Nevermind became popular. Although it still supported new British bands, the paper was dominated by American bands, as was the music scene in general. Although the period from 1991 to 1993 was dominated by American bands like Nirvana, British bands were not ignored. The NME still covered the indie scene and
17920-595: The name before anyone else claimed it. We wanted to get rid of the bullshit, strip it down to rock 'n' roll. We wanted the fun and liveliness back." The early to mid-1960s garage rock bands in the United States and elsewhere are often recognized as punk rock's progenitors. the Kingsmen 's " Louie, Louie " is often cited as punk rock's defining " ur-text ". After the success of the British Invasion ,
18080-454: The new scene he had witnessed at CBGB. The King's Road clothing store he co-owned, recently renamed Sex , was building a reputation with its outrageous "anti-fashion". Among those who frequented the shop were members of a band called the Strand, which McLaren had also been managing. In August, the group was seeking a new lead singer. Another Sex habitué, Johnny Rotten , auditioned for and won
18240-494: The original L.A. punk rock scene and to hardcore's popularity in the shoreline communities of South Bay and Orange County . NME New Musical Express ( NME ) is a British music , film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "rock inkie", the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a free publication, before becoming an online brand which includes its website and radio stations. As
18400-421: The paper being criticised for not supporting rock or indie music. The paper did attempt to return to its highly politicised 1980s incarnation by running a cover story in March 1998 condemning Tony Blair , who had previously associated himself with Britpop bands such as Oasis, and this received a certain level of attention in the wider media. Sutherland did attempt to cover newer bands, but a 1998 cover feature on
18560-420: The paper suffering as the lack of direction became even more apparent to readers. A number of features entirely unrelated to music appeared on the cover in this era, including a piece by William Leith on computer crime and articles by Stuart Cosgrove on such subjects as the politics of sport and the presence of American troops in Britain, with Elvis Presley appearing on the cover not for musical reasons but as
18720-490: The poetic terms of Richard Hell's " Blank Generation " and the bluntness of the Ramones' " Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue ", is a common theme. The controversial content of punk lyrics has frequently led to certain punk records being banned by radio stations and refused shelf space in major chain stores. Christgau said that "Punk is so tied up with the disillusions of growing up that punks do often age poorly." The classic punk rock look among male American musicians harkens back to
18880-461: The poll. In October 2006, NME launched an Irish version of the magazine called NME Ireland . This coincided with the launch of Club NME in Dublin . Dublin-based band Humanzi was first to appear on the cover of NME Ireland. The Irish edition of the magazine could not compete with local competitors such as Hot Press therefore it was discontinued after its fourth issue in February 2007. After
19040-432: The punk scene and created a new tone for the paper. Parsons' time at NME is reflected in his 2005 novel Stories We Could Tell , about the misadventures of three young music-paper journalists on the night of 16 August 1977 – the night Elvis Presley died. In 1978, Logan moved on, and his deputy Neil Spencer was made editor. One of his earliest tasks was to oversee a redesign of the paper by Barney Bubbles , which included
19200-551: The punk scene matured, he observes, eventually "everyone got called a poseur". Cultural scholars and music journalists have often attributed ‘true’ punk rock as a movement and cultural fad confined to western world in the 1970’s and 1980’s. The early punk bands emulated the minimal musical arrangements of 1960s garage rock . Typical punk rock instrumentation is stripped down to one or two guitars, bass, drums and vocals. Songs tend to be shorter than those of other rock genres and played at fast tempos. Most early punk rock songs retained
19360-401: The punk years perfectly." By the time Smith handed the editor's chair to Logan in mid-1973, the paper was selling nearly 300,000 copies per week and was outstripping Melody Maker , Disc , Record Mirror and Sounds . According to MacDonald: I think all the other papers knew by 1974 that NME had become the best music paper in Britain. We had most of the best writers and photographers,
19520-476: The quintessential approach is a relentless, repetitive "forced rhythm", although some punk rock bass players—such as Mike Watt of the Minutemen and Firehose —emphasize more technical bass lines. Bassists often use a pick due to the rapid succession of notes, making fingerpicking impractical. Drums typically sound heavy and dry, and often have a minimal set-up. Compared to other forms of rock, syncopation
19680-421: The radio was John Peel – and he's gone on holiday. You play our record against any of the other stuff and it just knocks spots off them left, right and centre. They must be cunts for not playing it. —Joe Strummer The Clash performed "White Riot" in public for the first time when they played the 100 Club Punk Festival on 20 September 1976. "White Riot" is considered a classic in the Clash canon, although as
19840-525: The records and radio airplay was hard to come by. Press coverage of punk misbehavior grew intense: On January 4, 1977, The Evening News of London ran a front-page story on how the Sex Pistols "vomited and spat their way to an Amsterdam flight". In February 1977, the first album by a British punk band appeared: Damned Damned Damned (by the Damned) reached number thirty-six on the UK chart. The EP Spiral Scratch , self-released by Manchester's Buzzcocks ,
20000-787: The relocated Tupperwares, now dubbed the Screamers . Black Flag formed in Hermosa Beach in 1976 under the name Panic. They developed a hardcore punk sound and played their debut public performance in a garage in Redondo Beach in December 1977. San Francisco's second wave included the Avengers , The Nuns , Negative Trend , the Mutants , and the Sleepers. By mid-1977 in downtown New York, bands such as Teenage Jesus and
20160-618: The rise of gothic rock bands but new bands such as the Happy Mondays and the Stone Roses were coming out of Manchester . One scene over these years was Acid House which spawned " Madchester " which helped give the paper a new lease of life. By the end of the decade, Danny Kelly had replaced Lewis as editor. By the end of 1990, the Madchester scene was dying off, and NME had started to report on new bands coming from
20320-462: The rise of a new group from Manchester called Oasis , Britpop would continue its rise for the rest of 1994. By the end of the year, Blur and Oasis were the two biggest bands in the UK, and sales of the NME were increasing thanks to the Britpop effect. In 1995, NME covered these new bands, many of whom played the NME Stage at that year's Glastonbury Festival , where the paper had been sponsoring
20480-690: The rise of the California bands Green Day , Social Distortion , Rancid , the Offspring , Bad Religion , and NOFX . The anti-government stance and nihilistic impression of the future provided by capitalism united the punk scene in the 1970’s in the United Kingdom as other bands emerged in the 70’s and 80’s like X-Ray Spex and Steel Pulse. The first wave of punk rock was "aggressively modern" and differed from what came before. According to Ramones drummer Tommy Ramone , "In its initial form,
20640-539: The rock scene had become so tame that [acts] like Billy Joel and Simon and Garfunkel were being called rock and roll, when to me and other fans, rock and roll meant this wild and rebellious music." According to Robert Christgau , punk "scornfully rejected the political idealism and Californian flower-power silliness of hippie myth." Hippies were rainbow extremists; punks are romantics of black-and-white. Hippies forced warmth; punks cultivate cool . Hippies kidded themselves about free love ; punks pretend that s&m
20800-540: The scene's DIY ethic and has often been cited as the first punk rock record. By August, Smith and Television were gigging together at Max's Kansas City . In Forest Hills, Queens , the Ramones drew on sources ranging from the Stooges to the Beatles and the Beach Boys to Herman's Hermits and 1960s girl groups, and condensed rock 'n' roll to its primal level: " '1–2–3–4!' bass-player Dee Dee Ramone shouted at
20960-409: The scene: Richard Hell and the Voidoids' first full-length, Blank Generation , and the Heartbreakers' L.A.M.F. One track on the latter exemplified both the scene's close-knit character and the popularity of heroin within it: " Chinese Rocks " — the title refers to a strong form of the drug – was written by Dee Dee Ramone and Hell, both users, as were the Heartbreakers' Thunders and Nolan. (During
21120-410: The second stage at the festival since 1993. This would be its last year sponsoring the stage; subsequently, the stage would be known as the 'Other Stage'. In August 1995, Blur and Oasis planned to release singles on the same day in a mass of media publicity. Steve Sutherland put the story on the front page of the paper, and was criticised for playing up the duel between the bands. Blur won the "race" for
21280-471: The second wave that presaged the post-punk phenomenon. Liverpool's first punk group, Big in Japan , moved in a glam, theatrical direction. The band did not survive long, but it spun off several well-known post-punk acts. The songs of London's Wire were characterized by sophisticated lyrics, minimalist arrangements, and extreme brevity. Alongside thirteen original songs that would define classic punk rock,
21440-564: The song as "played with the force of an acetylene torch". On its release in March 1977, the New Musical Express declared, "'White Riot' isn't a poxy Single of the Week, it's the first meaningful event all year … The Clash aren't just a band, and this is more than just a single." Billboard described it as "the most controversial song the Clash ever did". In March 2005, Q magazine placed "White Riot" at number 34 in its list of
21600-562: The song is about class economics and race and thus proved controversial; some people thought it was advocating a kind of race war . The song was written after Joe Strummer and bassist Paul Simonon were involved in the riots at the Notting Hill Carnival of 1976. In an interview with the New Musical Express in December 1976, Joe Strummer responded angrily to the suggestion that some people misinterpreted
21760-403: The sound of a police siren and has a running time of 1:55. The only thing we're saying about the blacks is that they've got their problems and they're prepared to deal with them. But white men, they just ain't prepared to deal with them – everything's too cozy. They've got stereos, drugs, hi-fis, cars. The poor blacks and the poor whites are in the same boat. — Joe Strummer Lyrically,
21920-411: The southeastern town of Hersham . In Durham , there was Penetration , with lead singer Pauline Murray . On September 20–21, the 100 Club Punk Festival in London featured the Sex Pistols, Clash, Damned, and Buzzcocks, as well as Paris's female-lead Stinky Toys . Siouxsie and the Banshees and Subway Sect debuted on the festival's first night. On the festival's second night, audience member Sid Vicious
22080-418: The standard-bearers of the post-Libertines crop of indie bands, being both successfully championed by the NME and receiving widespread commercial and critical success. In December 2005, accusations were made that the NME end-of-year poll had been edited for commercial and political reasons. These criticisms were rebutted by McNicholas, who claimed that webzine Londonist.com had got hold of an early draft of
22240-429: The start of every song as if the group could barely master the rudiments of rhythm." The band played its first show at CBGB in August 1974. By the end of the year, the Ramones had performed seventy-four shows, each about seventeen minutes long. "When I first saw the Ramones", critic Mary Harron later remembered, "I couldn't believe people were doing this. The dumb brattiness." That spring, Smith and Television shared
22400-452: The successor to IPC, sold NME and Uncut to Singaporean company BandLab Technologies . In 2021, the NME became the main brand for the music publishing division of Caldecott Music Group, when BandLab Technologies was reorganised. As well as publishing print magazines in the United Kingdom and Australia, NME Networks is responsible for a trio of online music publications and the main NME.com website, which now also has an area devoted to
22560-527: The term in the May 1971 issue of Creem , where he described ? and the Mysterians as giving a "landmark exposition of punk rock". Later in 1971, in his fanzine Who Put the Bomp , Greg Shaw wrote about "what I have chosen to call "punkrock" bands—white teenage hard rock of '64–66 ( Standells , Kingsmen, Shadows of Knight , etc.)". Lester Bangs used the term "punk rock" in several articles written in
22720-405: The top of the charts, and the resulting fallout from the publicity led to the paper enjoying increased sales during the 1990s as Britpop became the dominant genre. After this peak, the paper experienced a slow decline as Britpop burned itself out fairly rapidly over the next few years. This left the paper directionless again, and attempts to embrace the rise of DJ culture in the late 1990s only led to
22880-508: The unemployment and social unrest in 1977, "punk's nihilistic swagger was the most thrilling thing in England." While "self-imposed alienation " was common among "drunk punks" and "gutter punks", there was always a tension between their nihilistic outlook and the "radical leftist utopianism" of bands such as Crass , who found positive, liberating meaning in the movement. As a Clash associate describes singer Joe Strummer 's outlook, "Punk rock
23040-533: The words "On this, his 35th album, we find Duane in as good voice as ever," the NME had been told to rethink its policies or die on the vine. Alan Smith was made editor in 1972, and was told by IPC to turn things around quickly or face closure. To achieve this, Smith and his assistant editor Nick Logan raided the underground press for writers such as Charles Shaar Murray and Nick Kent, and recruited other writers such as Tony Tyler , Ian MacDonald and Californian Danny Holloway . According to The Economist ,
23200-435: The world. Ed Kuepper , co-founder of the Saints, later recalled: One thing I remember having had a really depressing effect on me was the first Ramones album. When I heard it [in 1976], I mean it was a great record [...] but I hated it because I knew we'd been doing this sort of stuff for years. There was even a chord progression on that album that we used [...] and I thought, "Fuck. We're going to be labeled as influenced by
23360-523: Was 15,830. In September 2015, the NME magazine was relaunched to be distributed nationally as a free publication. The first average circulation published in February 2016 of 307,217 copies per week was the highest in the brand's history, beating the previous best of 306,881, recorded in 1964 at the height of the Beatles ' fame. By December 2017, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations , average distribution of NME had fallen to 289,432 copies
23520-470: Was a benchmark for both the DIY ethic and regionalism in the country's punk movement. The Clash 's self-titled debut album came out two months later and rose to number twelve; the single " White Riot " entered the top forty. In May, the Sex Pistols achieved new heights of controversy (and number two on the singles chart) with " God Save the Queen ". The band had recently acquired a new bassist, Sid Vicious , who
23680-508: Was arrested for having thrown a glass at the Damned that shattered and destroyed a girl's eye. Press coverage of the incident reinforced punk's reputation as a social menace. Some new bands, such as London's Ultravox !, Edinburgh's Rezillos , Manchester's the Fall, and Leamington 's the Shapes , identified with the scene even as they pursued more experimental music. Others of a comparatively traditional rock 'n' roll bent were also swept up by
23840-576: Was brought in as the NME ' s editor to replace Danny Kelly . Andrew Collins, Stuart Maconie , Steve Lamacq , and Mary Anne Hobbs all left the NME in protest, and moved to Select ; Collins, Maconie and Lamacq would all also write for Q , while Lamacq would join Melody Maker in 1997. Kelly, Collins, Maconie, Lamacq and Hobbs would all subsequently become prominent broadcasters with BBC Radio 1 as it reinvented itself under Matthew Bannister . In April 1994, Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain
24000-415: Was criticized by the media. The Guardian pointed out that Features Editor Laura Snapes included, in her top 5 "greatest albums of all time", four albums from the same band which was The National . Consequence of Sound similarly observed that "if Laura Snapes had her wish, the top four would all be The National albums". In February 2015, it was reported that the NME was in discussions about removing
24160-463: Was found dead, a story which affected not only his fans and readers of the NME , but would see a massive change in British music. Grunge was about to be replaced by Britpop , a new genre influenced by 1960s British music and culture. The term was coined by NME after the band Blur released their album Parklife in the month of Cobain's death. Britpop began to fill the musical and cultural void left after Cobain's demise, and with Blur's success and
24320-414: Was involved with a war of words with a new band called Manic Street Preachers , who were criticising the NME for what they saw as an elitist view of bands they would champion. This came to a head in 1991, when, during an interview with Steve Lamacq , Richey Edwards would confirm the band's position by carving "4real" into his arm with a razor blade. By 1992, the Madchester scene had died and along with
24480-467: Was largely devoted to discussion of 1960s garage and psychedelic acts. In May 1974, Los Angeles Times critic Robert Hilburn reviewed the second New York Dolls album, Too Much Too Soon . "I told ya the New York Dolls were the real thing," he wrote, describing the album as "perhaps the best example of raw, thumb-your-nose-at-the-world, punk rock since the Rolling Stones ' Exile on Main Street ." In
24640-447: Was often looked on with suspicion. According to Holmstrom, punk rock was "rock and roll by people who didn't have very many skills as musicians but still felt the need to express themselves through music". In December 1976, the English fanzine Sideburns published a now-famous illustration of three chords, captioned "This is a chord, this is another, this is a third. Now form a band". British punk rejected contemporary mainstream rock,
24800-464: Was published: The Boy Looked at Johnny , by Julie Burchill and Tony Parsons . In February 1977, EMI released the Saints ' debut album, (I'm) Stranded , which the band recorded in two days. The Saints had relocated to Sydney; in April, they and Radio Birdman united for a major gig at Paddington Town Hall . Last Words had also formed in the city. The following month, the Saints relocated again, to Great Britain. In June, Radio Birdman released
24960-463: Was relaunched as the New Musical Express , and was initially published in a non-glossy tabloid format on standard newsprint . Under the editorship of Ray Sonin , the paper began publishing artist interviews, industry gossip and, on 14 November 1952, taking its cue from the US magazine Billboard , it created the first UK Singles Chart , a list of the Top Twelve best-selling singles. Sales of
25120-536: Was replaced as editor in July 2012 by Mike Williams, who had previously been the magazine's deputy. Williams is now Editor in Chief, with full responsibility for NME's cross platform output. Under Williams, NME has launched the NME Daily app, a new career focussed event called Lifehacks, and successfully relaunched both the NME magazine and NME's website, NME.com. In 2013, NME's The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
25280-509: Was seen as exemplifying the punk persona. The swearing during the Grundy interview and the controversy over "God Save the Queen" led to a moral panic . Scores of new punk groups formed around the United Kingdom, as far from London as Belfast 's Stiff Little Fingers and Dunfermline , Scotland's the Skids . Though most survived only briefly, perhaps recording a small-label single or two, others set off new trends. Crass , from Essex , merged
25440-401: Was the first person to use the word " motherfucker " in a song title and also directly influenced the Clash . In August 1969, the Stooges , from Ann Arbor , premiered with a self-titled album . According to critic Greil Marcus , the band, led by singer Iggy Pop , created "the sound of Chuck Berry 's Airmobile —after thieves stripped it for parts". The album was produced by John Cale ,
25600-549: Was to come. Glam rock in the UK and the New York Dolls from New York have also been cited as key influences. Between 1974 and 1976, when the genre that became known as punk was developing, prominent acts included Television , Patti Smith , and the Ramones in New York City; the Saints in Brisbane ; the Sex Pistols , the Clash , and the Damned in London, and the Buzzcocks in Manchester. By late 1976, punk had become
#647352