The Punk Movement - America

"The punk movement has been around for decades, influencing generations and setting trends for both art and fashion." Harriet Coombs.

Flourishing in the 1970s, punk was an expression of youthful rebellion an

d anti-authoritarian.

The term Punk was used to describe unruly youths throughout American history. Therefore, due to the fact that every generation has created a sub-culture of shock and scandal, there is no limit to how far back we can trace the punk culture. Some even say that Elvis Presley was a punk.

The term ‘Punk Rock’ was used to describe rock and roll garage musicians in the 60s who broke the rules of rock due to the fact that they did not know the rules of music, examples of which include The Sonics and The Seeds.

 The first band however to distinguish the punk conventions and the culture connected to it were the New York Dolls.

Their manager Malcom McLaren encourage controversial public actions such as public emesis which began the outspoken and challenging attitudes of American Punk culture.

McLaren went on to discover the Punk scene in Britain with his then girlfriend Vivian Westwood, a pioneer of the punk fashion.

American punk represented the ability to achieve dreams. Technical skill was not a requirement making the music universal and available to any who desired to play. The CBGB music club became the birth place of the punk movement, causing punk to emerge from the underground scene into mainstream.

The performer-audience relationship became the main focus of Punk making punk for America what Tricia Henry deemed an, "underground rock movement consisted primarily of middle-class youths rejecting middle-class values." This was to have a profound effect on UK punk as it moved into Britain with McLaren and Westwood.