why rock aristocrats are dead as the romanovs
as a kid i got into punk because hearing the sex pistols, the jam, the clash and the damned for the first time made most of my record collection sound dull
I’m of an age (50s) where I first listened to Led Zeppelin in the 1970s, as well as other ‘classic rock acts’. As a 15-year-old I was also big on Deep Purple, Kiss, Black Sabbath, Rush and Motorhead. But the seismic event that revolutionised my musical tastes between 1976 and 1979 was punk – an adrenaline rush of musical chaos that briefly, and quite rightly, consigned the concept of ‘rock stars’ to the bin. Punk was an instantaneous reaction that quickly burnt out. Nevertheless it left a potent legacy and is essentially the reason why there are no rock aristocrats any more, no one comparable to Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Yes or Genesis. Led Zeppelin certainly forged many classic albums (Physical Graffiti is a personal favourite of mine.) But they had a dark side – especially a fascination for the occult and a penchant for Nazi regalia.
One of the reasons why youngsters in the late 70s (myself included) latched onto punk was because the ‘old wave’ of rock bands had become so overblown and self-indulgent. The guitar and drum solos meandered endlessly and the lyrics were sub-Tolkien gibberish. But the attitude of bands like Zeppelin and their roadies towards female fans was positively Stone Age. Post-gig shenanigans might’ve been seen to epitomise ‘rock and roll’ but there were was nothing glamorous about often underage girls being coerced into sordid sex acts (occasionally involving seafood) with drug-addled men old enough to be their fathers.
One of the reasons why youngsters in the late 70s (myself included) latched onto punk was because the ‘old wave’ of rock bands had become so overblown and self-indulgent. The guitar and drum solos meandered endlessly and the lyrics were sub-Tolkien gibberish. But the attitude of bands like Zeppelin and their roadies towards female fans was positively Stone Age. Post-gig shenanigans might’ve been seen to epitomise ‘rock and roll’ but there were was nothing glamorous about often underage girls being coerced into sordid sex acts (occasionally involving seafood) with drug-addled men old enough to be their fathers.
One of the reasons why youngsters in the late 70s latched onto punk was because a lot of rock had become so overblown and self-indulgent.
When I got into punk it was because I couldn’t connect with bands who dismissed females as 'chicks,' when I was busy listening to Siouxsie Sioux or Poly Styrene making a mockery of misogyny. I also wanted to hear Strummer, Weller or Lydon singing about life as it was lived in modern Britain – in the late 70s that meant real relationship issues, unemployment, the rise of violent neo-fascists like the National Front, the start of Thatcher’s regime. Punk represented an ‘Emperor’s new clothes’ moment. We began to see ‘rock stars’ for what they really were – pompous bores who peddled albums of soulless drivel that paid for private jets and mansions.
Of course, punk was just as paradoxical as anything else in rock. The young upstarts like the Pistols and Clash may have poured scorn on ‘rock aristocracy’ and sang “No Elvis, Beatles or the Rolling Stones in 1977” but the Clash became, for a short while, the biggest rock band on the planet themselves. As a music fan who still loves checking out new bands, as well as spinning my vinyl classics (everything from Houses of the Holy to Never Mind the Bollocks to Nevermind). I’m just glad that punk opened my mind to the possibilities of music as a teenager. Because of that I’m also totally relieved there are no longer any Led Zeppelins.
Of course, punk was just as paradoxical as anything else in rock. The young upstarts like the Pistols and Clash may have poured scorn on ‘rock aristocracy’ and sang “No Elvis, Beatles or the Rolling Stones in 1977” but the Clash became, for a short while, the biggest rock band on the planet themselves. As a music fan who still loves checking out new bands, as well as spinning my vinyl classics (everything from Houses of the Holy to Never Mind the Bollocks to Nevermind). I’m just glad that punk opened my mind to the possibilities of music as a teenager. Because of that I’m also totally relieved there are no longer any Led Zeppelins.
