Editing Punk rock (section)

==1977–1978: Peak of the first wave==
A second wave of punk rock emerged in 1977. These bands often sounded very different from each other.<ref name="R211">Reynolds (2005), p. 211.</ref> While punk remained largely an underground phenomenon in the US, in the UK it had become a major sensation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Punk Music Style Overview |url=https://www.allmusic.com/style/punk-ma0000002806 |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=AllMusic |language=en |archive-date=October 1, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181001181553/https://www.allmusic.com/style/punk-ma0000002806 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/a-report-on-the-sex-pistols-19771020|title=A Report on the Sex Pistols|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=October 20, 1977|access-date=September 10, 2017|archive-date=September 5, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905124746/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/a-report-on-the-sex-pistols-19771020|url-status=live}}</ref> During this period punk music also spread beyond the English speaking world, inspiring local scenes in other countries.

=== North America ===
The [[Punk rock in California|California punk scene]] was fully developed by early 1977. In Los Angeles, there were: [[the Weirdos]], [[The Dils]], [[The Zeros (American band)|the Zeros]], [[Bags (Los Angeles band)|the Bags]], [[Black Randy and the Metrosquad]], [[Germs (band)|the Germs]], [[Fear (band)|Fear]], [[The Go-Go's]], [[X (American band)|X]], [[the Dickies]], and the relocated Tupperwares, now dubbed [[the Screamers]].<ref>Spitz and Mullen (2001)</ref> [[Black Flag (band)|Black Flag]] formed in [[Hermosa Beach]] in 1976 under the name Panic. They developed a [[hardcore punk]] sound and played their debut public performance in a garage in [[Redondo Beach, California|Redondo Beach]] in December 1977.<ref>Chick (2009), passim.</ref> San Francisco's second wave included [[Avengers (band)|the Avengers]], [[The Nuns]], [[Negative Trend]], [[the Mutants (San Francisco band)|the Mutants]], and the Sleepers.<ref>Stark (2006), passim.</ref> By mid-1977 in downtown New York, bands such as [[Teenage Jesus and the Jerks]] led what became known as [[no wave]].<ref>Heylin (2007), pp. 491–494.</ref> The [[Misfits (band)|Misfits]] formed in nearby New Jersey. Still developing what would become their signature [[B movie]]–inspired style, later dubbed [[horror punk]], they made their first appearance at CBGB in April 1977.<ref>Smith (2008), pp. 120, 238–239.</ref>

[[File:Misfits 2012-11-08 01.JPG|thumb|alt=The rock band The Misfits performing onstage. The band's name in large lettering is printed on a fabric panel behind the performers along with a skull image. From left to right are the electric bassist, drummer, and electric guitarist.|The Misfits developed a "[[horror punk]]" style in New Jersey.]]
The Dead Boys' debut LP, ''[[Young, Loud and Snotty]]'', was released at the end of August.<ref>Gimarc (2005), p. 86</ref> October saw two more debut albums from the scene: Richard Hell and the Voidoids' first full-length, ''[[Blank Generation (album)|Blank Generation]]'', and the Heartbreakers' ''[[L.A.M.F.]]''<ref>Gimarc (2005), p. 92</ref> One track on the latter exemplified both the scene's close-knit character and the popularity of heroin within it: "[[Chinese Rocks]]" — the title refers to a strong form of the drug – was written by Dee Dee Ramone and Hell, both users, as were the Heartbreakers' Thunders and Nolan.<ref>{{cite web |first=Jeffrey |last=Wengrofsky |title=The Romance of Junk: Heartbreaker Walter Lure |work=Trebuchet Magazine |date=May 21, 2019 |access-date=December 9, 2021 |url=https://www.trebuchet-magazine.com/walter-lure/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200422220240/https://www.trebuchet-magazine.com/walter-lure/ |archive-date=April 22, 2020 }} Retrieved May 12, 2020</ref> (During the Heartbreakers' 1976 and 1977 tours of Britain, Thunders played a central role in popularizing heroin among the punk crowd there, as well.)<ref>Boot and Salewicz (1997), p. 99.</ref> The Ramones' third album, ''[[Rocket to Russia]]'', appeared in November 1977.<ref>Gimarc (2005), p. 102</ref>

===United Kingdom===
The [[Sex Pistols]]' live TV skirmish with [[Bill Grundy]] on December 1, 1976, was the signal moment in [[British punk]]'s transformation into a major media phenomenon, even as some stores refused to stock the records and radio airplay was hard to come by.<ref>Savage (1992), pp. 260, 263–67, 277–79; Laing (1985), pp. 35, 37, 38.</ref> Press coverage of punk misbehavior grew intense: On January 4, 1977, ''[[The Evening News (London newspaper)|The Evening News]]'' of London ran a front-page story on how the Sex Pistols "vomited and spat their way to an Amsterdam flight".<ref>Savage (1992), p. 286.</ref> In February 1977, the first album by a British punk band appeared: ''[[Damned Damned Damned]]'' (by the Damned) reached number thirty-six on the UK chart. The EP ''[[Spiral Scratch (EP)|Spiral Scratch]]'', self-released by Manchester's [[Buzzcocks]], was a benchmark for both the DIY ethic and regionalism in the country's punk movement.<ref>Savage (1992), pp. 296–98; Reynolds (2005), pp. 26–27. Though see also McKay 2023 for an alternative view of the extent of punk's 'DIY-ness'.</ref> [[The Clash]]'s [[The Clash (album)|self-titled debut album]] came out two months later and rose to number twelve; the single "[[White Riot]]" entered the top forty. In May, the Sex Pistols achieved new heights of controversy (and number two on the singles chart) with "[[God Save the Queen (Sex Pistols song)|God Save the Queen]]". The band had recently acquired a new bassist, [[Sid Vicious]], who was seen as exemplifying the punk persona.<ref>Colegrave and Sullivan (2005), p. 225.</ref> The swearing during the Grundy interview and the controversy over "God Save the Queen" led to a [[moral panic]].<ref>Laing, Dave. ''One Chord Wonders: Power and Meaning in Punk Rock''. PM Press, 2015. p. 48-49</ref>

Scores of new punk groups formed around the United Kingdom, as far from London as Belfast's [[Stiff Little Fingers]] and Dunfermline, Scotland's [[the Skids]].<ref>See Worley (2017) for an overview of the regional spread of punk in its early years.</ref> Though most survived only briefly, perhaps recording a small-label single or two, others set off new trends. [[Crass]], from [[Essex]], merged a vehement, straight-ahead punk rock style with a committed anarchist mission, and played a major role in the emerging [[anarcho-punk]] movement.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Swash|first1=Rosie|title=Crass's political punk is as relevant now as ever|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/oct/24/crass-penny-rimbaud-steve-ignorant|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=March 26, 2015|date=October 23, 2010|archive-date=April 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402112739/http://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/oct/24/crass-penny-rimbaud-steve-ignorant|url-status=live}}</ref> Sham 69, London's Menace, and the [[Angelic Upstarts]] from [[South Shields]] in the Northeast combined a similarly stripped-down sound with populist lyrics, a style that became known as [[street punk]]. These expressly working-class bands contrasted with others in the second wave that presaged the [[post-punk]] phenomenon. Liverpool's first punk group, [[Big in Japan (band)|Big in Japan]], moved in a glam, theatrical direction.<ref>Reynolds (2005), pp. 365, 378.</ref> The band did not survive long, but it spun off several well-known post-punk acts.<ref>Savage (1991), p. 298.</ref> The songs of London's [[Wire (band)|Wire]] were characterized by sophisticated lyrics, minimalist arrangements, and extreme brevity.<ref>Reynolds (2005), pp. 170–72.</ref>

Alongside thirteen original songs that would define classic punk rock, the Clash's debut had included a cover of the recent Jamaican [[reggae]] hit "[[Police and Thieves]]".<ref>Shuker (2002), p. 228; Wells (2004), p. 113; Myers (2006), p. 205; {{cite web |title=Reggae 1977: When The Two 7's Clash |publisher=Punk77.co.uk |url=http://www.punk77.co.uk/punkhistory/reggae.htm |access-date=December 3, 2006 |archive-date=September 7, 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120907155344/http://www.punk77.co.uk/punkhistory/reggae.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Other first wave bands such as [[the Slits]] and new entrants to the scene like [[the Ruts]] and [[the Police]] interacted with the reggae and [[ska]] subcultures, incorporating their rhythms and production styles. The punk rock phenomenon helped spark a full-fledged ska revival movement known as [[2 Tone (music genre)|2 Tone]], centered on bands such as [[the Specials]], [[The Beat (British band)|the Beat]], [[Madness (band)|Madness]], and [[the Selecter]].<ref>Hebdige (1987), p. 107.</ref> In July, the Sex Pistols' third single, "[[Pretty Vacant]]", reached number six and Australia's the Saints had a top-forty hit with "[[This Perfect Day (song)|This Perfect Day]]".<ref>Wells (2004), p. 114.</ref>

In September, Generation X and the Clash reached the top forty with, respectively, "Your Generation" and "[[Complete Control]]". X-Ray Spex's "[[Oh Bondage Up Yours!]]" did not chart, but it became a requisite item for punk fans.<ref>Gaar (2002), p. 200.</ref> The BBC banned "Oh Bondage Up Yours!" due to its controversial lyrics.<ref>Laing, Dave. ''One Chord Wonders: Power and Meaning in Punk Rock''. PM Press, 2015. p. 86</ref> In October, the Sex Pistols hit number eight with "[[Holidays in the Sun (song)|Holidays in the Sun]]", followed by the release of their first and only "official" album, ''[[Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols]]''. Inspiring yet another round of controversy, it topped the British charts. In December, one of the first books about punk rock was published: ''The Boy Looked at Johnny'', by [[Julie Burchill]] and [[Tony Parsons (British journalist)|Tony Parsons]].{{refn|group=nb|The title echoes a lyric from the title track of Patti Smith's 1975 album ''Horses.''}}

=== Australia ===
In February 1977, EMI released [[The Saints (Australian band)|the Saints]]' debut album, ''[[(I'm) Stranded]]'', which the band recorded in two days.<ref>McFaarlane, p. 547.</ref> The Saints had relocated to Sydney; in April, they and [[Radio Birdman]] united for a major gig at [[Paddington Town Hall]].<ref>Cameron, Keith. [http://arts.guardian.co.uk/filmandmusic/story/0,,2129910,00.html "Come the Revolution"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071209232253/http://arts.guardian.co.uk/filmandmusic/story/0,,2129910,00.html |date=December 9, 2007}}. ''Guardian'', July 20, 2007. Retrieved on November 25, 2007.</ref> [[Last Words (band)|Last Words]] had also formed in the city. The following month, the Saints relocated again, to Great Britain. In June, Radio Birdman released the album ''[[Radios Appear]]'' on its own Trafalgar label.<ref name="M507">McFarlane (1999), p. 507.</ref>