Weekend Rewind: When the punks came marching in

Chris Knox circa 1997. Photo / NZ Herald archives

Opinion

NZ On Screen's Zara Potts has been looking through the back catalogues of music trends that have hit our shores. This week, she turns up the volume (and puts in the earplugs) to look at Punk Rock.

Forty years ago, Punk was in its heyday.

Mohawks reigned supreme. Pogo, anarchy signs and safety pins through the nose were de rigueur. It was easy to spot the fashion, but what about the ethos that underpinned the subculture – what was that all about?

In 1978, journalist Neil Roberts decided to find out – he scoured the streets and the clubs for some local punks to find out what attracted them to this so-called nihilistic craze and to find out what being a punk meant to them.

In this excerpt, some local punks tell him that to be a "good punk" – the "glazed look" is optional, being bored and unemployed is the norm, but rule number one is that you must listen to the Sex Pistols at least twice a day.

While hippies and pensioners were left scratching their heads, Punk really did sweep the nation – from Invercargill to Kaitaia you could find tartan-clad punks on every street.

In Auckland, punk pioneers The Suburban Reptiles were a crowd favourite.

Even forty years on, the trademark heavy guitars and lead singer Zero give a convincing performance of the genre.

Saturday Night was penned by the late Buster Stiggs and produced by ex-Split Enzer, Phil Judd, who can be seen here on guitar. In fact, this single recently had the honour of selling on Trade Me for $1180 and setting an all-time record (no pun intended).

But in 1979, it was Toy Love, fronted by the anarchic Chris Knox, who were really making headlines.

In this clip from regional show The South Tonight, frontman Chris Knox explains what he's rebelling against and just why he thinks pub rock music is boring.

Touring punk bands were also given a great reception. In this classic clip, Dylan Taite interviews punk rock legends The Clash at the Auckland Railway Station during their 1982 tour. Somewhat unusually, the band treat him to an acoustic version of the folk standard Shenandoah.

True punks might bristle at the inclusion of pretty boy punk Billy Idol, but for many, he epitomised the style and fashion of punk rock. From his leather pants to his trademark sneer, Billy Idol became the acceptable face of punk.

Here, Karyn Hay interviews the young Billy and asks him whether he's a bit more like Elvis than Sid Vicious.

One punk who doesn't need to prove his credentials is Iggy Pop. He managed to dodge the punk credo of "live fast, die young" and is, in fact, still going strong at 71.

Here he is in 1979, acting out his song I'm Bored in front of the Beehive and performing in front of a slightly bewildered crowd at a reception held in a local pub.

And proof that punk never dies – even though The Rabble formed over twenty years after Punk stormed the scene – they managed to export their high energy music to the world. The perfectly named debut album, No Clue, No Future in 2006 delivered The Rabble a cult following and they undertook a gruelling international touring schedule.

Some pretty impressive mohawks and a rousing "Oi Oi Oi" feature in their 2007 video, The Coast Song.