Post-Punk

The ethics of punk were continued in the late 70s and 80s through the form of post punk. Holding the same roots as the original punk movement post-punk brought in a new experimental and complex sound.

Public Image Ltd. rose from the ashes of punk band Sex Pistols, with singer John Lydon bringing the band together after Sex Pistols split. Public Image Ltd. are considered the innovators of the post punk movement and the first Post Punk band. Creating eight studio albums they received critical acclaim but never rose to the legendary status of the Sex Pistols. The band went on an indefinite hiatus in 1992 with John Lydon refusing to admit that the band had "split". Jeanette Lee from the band has went on to co-create Rough Trade Records with Geoff Travis and John Lydon from the band has went on to contradict his original ideas appearing on shows like "I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here" and an advert for Country Life Butter. For some people this has ruined his original status as a "Fuck You Front man".

Joy Division are one of the most well known Post-Punk bands. Originally trying to create the typical punk music they eventually found there own sound in a slower with a bassy ethereal sound. They became better known after the band ended, when singer Ian Curtis hanged himself in 1980. “Love Will Tear Us Apart” became their most popular song after the death of Ian Curtis. The remaining members of Joy Division went on to form New Order, who are a New Wave, Post-Punk band.

The Cure are a post punk band with a goth like image. They have released 13 studio albums over the course of there career and in 2009 received the God Like Genius Award at the NME awards for their contribution to Music. In a few of their albums they managed to make their music light and cheery whilst putting forward a dark and meaningful message. The bands second album “Seventeen Seconds” has a much darker sound than most of their other albums. This time in their career has been described as their “goth phase”.

The post-punk revival came in the early 2000’s, with bands like The Strokes, The Libertines and Franz Ferdinand shooting to mainstream success. These bands made music with obvious post-punk influences, using Mod like fashion copied from the original post-punk and new romantic bands. There are many bands trying to mimic the success of bands like this but none to as great success.

Tommy Wilson