So this disco thing was fading out. Baseball fans were rioting over it in Cleveland. Or maybe that was the 5 cent beer. In Manhattan a different kind of music was growing that soon spread to London and then back to other parts of the U.S.
Here are my favorites of the late 70s, very early 80s punk/new wave scene.
The bad boys of punk! Their first show included covers of songs by The Who, The Small Faces and The Monkees. Then, perhaps thinking past the example of the Who, they smashed up the equipment of the other group on the bill!
Ah, Blondie! Before they went disco. I was saddened when they did that and hated their explanation. "Secretaries deserve to have their music, too." They could have said they liked money. But here they are in what I think of as their prime!
I didn't get to see the Clash. Apparently I was rehearsing with my band the night the Clash played in Hollywood. Shaharazade went, though, and had her boots ruined when a punk girl got sick next to her.
We saw this group at the Whiskey. I've heard they often did 18 minute sets. Is it sacrilege to say that I wish they had done that when I saw them? An hour and a half is maybe too long but I think patrons would have protested if the show had been shorter. By the way, the Whiskey was/is a great place to see groups.
We went to Santa Monica Civic Auditorium to see the Buzzcocks. I'd first heard them while in a store on Melrose called Poseur. Funny name for a store, eh? They were playing this particular song while I looked at green pants and pink pants and orange pants, etc. We were excited about seeing them and the opening act, The Cramps. The punk kids either hated or loved the Cramps, I'm not sure which, spitting on the band members as they played. Then they jeered the Buzzcocks when the lead singer, Pete Shelley, asked them to calm down. What fun!
The Cars were a model for me because they did pop music and because one of the guys went to my college. I never met him, though. He's the goofy looking guy who sang most of their songs. This one was sung by Ben Orr, the bass player, and was their first big hit. Ben also sang the ballad "Drive"...you know, "who's gonna drive you home....tonight?"
And now, an English band with multiple personalities! Here they are as XTC. They also did stuff as Dukes of the Stratosphear.
Ok, Devo....what an odd group! Their show was definitely entertaining if you like your lead singers singing from within a playpen, wearing a rubber mask of a monkey or a baby. The drummer in my group eventually joined Devo, well after this, in the 90s, but this 70s stuff is where it's at!
From Northern Ireland, The Undertones. This is another group I'm really glad I had the opportunity to see. I love the simplicity of the instrumentation, the great rolling tom-tom beats, the spare lead guitar hooks. Ooooh. :-) Are they forgotten now? Probably pretty much.
This group might have liked the Who. You know how Oasis likes the Beatles? These guys might have liked the Who! :-) Paul Weller is still around in the English music scene, nicknamed The Modfather. Good for him!
