The original U.K. Punk scene, from 1976 to 1978, made up of acts from England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, was more than just "us against the man", but a whole culture that rejected the status quo in ways that one single idea could not encapsulate.

WARNING: There are no ballads in this program. Repeat, no ballads.

There's a line in a hit song by 60's band The Loving Spoonful's "Do You Believe In Magic" that says "it's like trying to tell a stranger 'bout Rock and Roll." Nowhere may this line be more appropriate than attempting to describe the original U.K. Punk scene from 1976 to 1978.

Punk Rock, just like Rock and Roll twenty years prior, started in America. Bands such as The MC5 and The Stooges, both out of Michigan in the late 1960's, were the first acts the press used the term Punk in order to try and describe this new type of loud, fast, speeded-up Garage Rock. From a historical standpoint, however, the true first wave of Punk started in the mid-1970's in and around New York City with the so-called CBGB's bands, a local club that booked acts that were far from mainstream tastes at the time, such as Blondie, The Talking Heads, Television, Patti Smith and most importantly, The Ramones.

Poly Styrene of X-Ray Spex, 1977. In addition to fronting one of the most important bands of the era, Polly was also a Black woman. Photo courtesy of Anorak London.

It was the Ramones visit to England in 1976, during the U.S. Bicentennial, opening for The Flamin' Groovies, that helped kick start the U.K. Punk movement. Here were four bruddahs, with cheap guitars and a no-nonsense style/attitude playing exciting new music. Stylistically, they were wearing ripped jeans, leather jackets and T-shirts. Lyrically, The Ramones were also singing about real issues and real people, often times comically.

At the time, this was also of the era of the last big British heavy rock acts like Led Zeppelin and progressive rock acts like Yes, both playing massive arenas or stadiums on stages far from the fans, with music that was often about fantasy life and 10 minute or longer songs that were built upon technical virtuosity.

The Sex Pistols, London, 1976. (l-r) Glen Matlock, Johnny Rotten and Steve Cook. They were the catalyst that started the U.K. Punk scene. Photo by Ian Dickson.

The U.K. in the 1970's was rife with massive unemployment, high inflation, riots, union strikes and in Northern Ireland, a violent and deadly period of civil unrest called The Troubles that started in 1969 and would last until 1998.

By and large, the kids stopped caring if a bustle in your hedgerow was just a spring clean for the May Queen. Most of them had little reason to even celebrate being young with so much economic strife, much like many young people today with COVID-19: unable to even travel, much less find employment. It's kinda hard to think about being a musician when you can't even afford guitar strings, much less a guitar.

Siouxsie Sioux of The Banshees, 1978. She had no formal musical training whatsoever but became one of the most influential musicians ever in the U.K. and a cult hero in the U.S. Photo by Fin Costello.

Many in the audience for that Ramones show also ended being immediately taken with the band, and the press went ape over the new act. Members of the Sex Pistols and The Clash were in the audience, and it seemed that almost overnight, anyone with any guts was forming a band and playing. Every Punk Rock show, much like the Pistols' own concerts in 1976, sometimes with The Damned opening for them, seemed to have the same effect on literally everyone in attendance: WE can do this.