Origins (late 1970s and early 1980s) Street punk grew out of
working class young people who disliked the first wave of punk's more artistic nature. The
AllMusic guide credits
Sham 69 as the band which brought street punk to prominence around 1978–1979, while an article by the
i hailed the
U.K. Subs and their 1979 debut album
Another Kind of Blues as one of the first examples of street punk. Writer Ian Glasper credited the
Cockney Rejects 1980 single "Bad Man" as setting a "new standards for what was to become known as street punk" due to its "melodic lead guitar, belligerent vocal delivery and gang backup chants". However, as the sound began to form, it was quickly split between two separate punk scenes: the
anarcho-punk scene, which saw the sound as inherently political due to its working class ties; and the
oi! scene, which was largely apolitical.
UK 82 UK 82 (or
UK hardcore) is a style of street punk which pushed the genre's tempos faster and embraced the influence of
heavy metal music, particularly
new wave of British heavy metal bands like
Motörhead and
Iron Maiden. The three most prominent UK82 acts were the Exploited,
Discharge and
GBH. The Exploited were
controversial due to their aggressive lyrics and rowdy concerts, and were considered by Glasper to be "cartoon punks". Glasper wrote: "For many, The Exploited were the quintessential second wave punk band with their senses-searing high-speed outbursts against the system, and wild-eyed
frontman Walter 'Wattie' Buchan's archetypal orange mohican." The lyrics of UK 82 bands tended to be much darker and more violent than the lyrics of earlier punk bands. They tended to focus on the possibilities of a
nuclear holocaust, and other
apocalyptic themes, partially due to the military tension of the
Cold War atmosphere. The other mainstay of the lyrics of the era was
unemployment, and the policies of the
Conservative Party government. Lyrics frequently denounced the Conservative leader
Margaret Thatcher.
D-beat D-beat (also known as
Discore) was developed in the early 1980s by imitators of the band
Discharge, for whom the genre is named. The first such group was
the Varukers. The vocal content of D-beat tends towards shouted slogans. The style is distinct from its predecessors by its minimal lyrical content and greater proximity to
heavy metal. It is closely associated with
crust punk, which is a heavier, more complex variation. and
Mob 47.
Revival (1990s and 2000s) In the 1990s, a new era of street punk began with emerging street punk bands like
the Casualties and
Rancid, The Casualties became one of the most well-known street punk bands and achieved underground success. Their 2004 album
On the Front Line peaked at number 8 on the
Independent Albums chart.
On the Front Line and the Casualties' 2006 album
Under Attack peaked at numbers 7 and 9 on the
Heatseekers Albums chart, respectively. The 1990s also saw the spread of street punk to other countries, particularly
Eastern European states that were previously behind the
Iron Curtain.
The Analogs, a group from
Szczecin formed in 1995, gradually became one of the most active punk bands in
Poland; with roots in the antifascist Oi! scene, The Analogs are widely considered to be precursors of street punk in the country and are credited with popularising the genre there. Their influence has spread to other countries in the region, as
Mister X (started in 2003) – leaders of the street punk scene in
Belarus – have often cited The Analogs as one of their main inspirations. International outfit
Booze & Glory, originating from the Polish migrant punk scene in
London, was formed in 2009. Playing punk rock, especially Oi! and street punk, they grew popular worldwide and have performed concerts selling thousands of tickets in
Indonesia, where the hardcore punk scene is lively and growing. ==See also==