Best punk band ever ?

Jon the Impaler · Post by **Jon the Impaler** » 02 May 2008, 15:43

A topic for discussion , not a vote , on who were the best punk band , in people’s opinion on this site .
Personally I would not include any bands after 1990 at the latest , in the same way that maybe old rock n roll fans wouldn’t have included anything from the 70’s . To me , punk was the stuff from 1974-76 up to the mid 80’s …… I don’t know enough about what is classed as punk lately such as Rancid, Green Day etc , the only band I know anything about now is Dropkick Murphy’s .
OK …….. the main contenders in my opinion :
The Sex Pistols . The first band in the UK under the punk banner….something new and original the likes of which had never been seen before . A brilliant debut album. It all went wrong gradually when they took on a cartoon character as bass player when Matlock was sacked , then released Great Rock n Roll swindle .
The Clash : First two albums were excellent punk albums , but they soon changed style’s , first to reggae , then various styles on Sandanista . Many say London Calling one of the finest albums of any sort ever , others say that’s when they started to sell out .
The Damned : Some great songs , great albums…..consistently over the years , though they never achieved the acclaim or notoriety that other punk bands achieved . First punk band to release a single .
The Stranglers : Should they be included ? Were they punk ? I’m including for arguments sake …… finest musicians of the lot . We’re biased here anyway . My favourite band of course ….dodgy period late 80’s , late 90’s IMO .
The Jam : As Stranglers …… were they ? Best singles band of the lot . Weller knew when to call it a day …..started to move away from The Jam sound and knew when it was time to move on and do another thing .
The Buzzcocks : Some excellent singles , good albums , fine pop-punk songs , first band in UK outside of London to be really noticed on the punk scene .
The Ramones : No Ramones - no Pistols , simple as that really . Influences from 60’s but took on a totally different style to anything else at the time , great pop- punk songs , consistent throughout their career ……. though unlike others here , maybe the sound was limited , could be argued they were the same throughout their career. Very different from other US acts of the time under the punk label ( Talking Heads , Devo , Blondie ……. all were more “arty “) .

My opinion …….. best musicians of the lot were easily The Stranglers , however as best out and out punk band …………

The Ramones .

The Nosferatu · Post by **The Nosferatu** » 02 May 2008, 18:50

john lydon said the only punk band was the sex pistols, the others that followed straight after were just imitators, i agree entirely.

adriana · Post by **adriana** » 02 May 2008, 19:32

John Lydon in interviews rated the Adverts and Tubeway Army, both excellent bands in my opinion around 77/78

Andrew · Post by **Andrew** » 02 May 2008, 19:45

I'd be tempted to say "X-Ray Spex" both musically and lyrically.

Post by **BazinBlack** » 02 May 2008, 20:00

Difficult one that, however I would have to say the best Punk band who, lets be honest, most others copied, were the SeX PisToLs. But I really love The Damned and they for me would be a close second. Were The Stranglers punk? This question will be written about by our childrens children and our childrens....you get the point. By their own admission The Stranglers jumped on the punk bandwagon and thats good enough for me, I don't really care if they were classed as punk or not, all I know is they are the best God dam rock and roll band this country has ever produced. They will always always always (the sun) be my favourite band of all time.

Right off me soapbox, i'm off to enjoy the BH weekend.

Bazza

AlwaysTheSun · Post by **AlwaysTheSun** » 02 May 2008, 22:32

The Ramones were good fun live but quickly became tedious on record.

Bubba · Post by **Bubba** » 02 May 2008, 23:53

Placing the Stranglers to one side, I would suggest Siouxsie and the Banshees.

Post by **theraven1979** » 03 May 2008, 01:01

Buzzcocks - pure fucking kitchen sink melodrama and songs of despair. All cleverly done with neat lyrics and even cooler guitar riffs. Very teenage, very punk IMO

Jim

Post by **Frank Castle** » 03 May 2008, 09:42

Outwith the mighty MIB I would have to say The Damned,closely followed by The Buzzcocks.And word of mention to Killing Joke,creators of atmospheric industrial Punk.

But for out and out raw punk energy it's got be The Ruts and the UK Subs

Post by **pigeon** » 03 May 2008, 12:33

The Stranglers,Buzzcocks & Stiff little fingers for me Inflanable Materials is a great album.

Post by **Fatbusjim** » 03 May 2008, 13:44

Gotta be the mighty Pistols for me.

hans · Post by **hans** » 03 May 2008, 18:21

The Saints!