First punk rock band ever?

Anyone heard of the Pink Fairies (1969-1973)?

I got this album, it was recorded in 1971. Sounds ahead of its time in some ways. Like it inspired later bands like Black Flag.
Interesting, because it is for sure "classic rock" but strikes me as punk too!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIKm8FNUzdY"]The Pink Fairies Do It (HQ) - YouTube

"...Remember, this was the dawn of stadium rock, with bands like Led Zeppelin rearing it's ugly head. The era of rock gods, inflated ticket prices, and total inaccessibility for fans. We wanted to tear it all down. Pick by pick. The thought of our fans PAYING to see us was incomprehensible. We played only for free, after all money was the root of all evil, right? We waved two fingers at corporate rock by setting up and playing OUTSIDE of huge rock events. Why pay? We'll give it to you for free. We bewitched people from the entry gates at the Isle of Wight and Bath. We got naked at Phun City, played benefits for the underground press, rocked a gay pride rally, and helped organize the very first Glastonbury Festival. We shamelessly promoted ourselves by spray painting our name on the sides of express coaches that crossed country. We influenced everyone, from Hawkwind to the Sex Pistols. We were the peoples' band. Long live rocknroll." -Twink (first punk rock band, indeed, 1969-1973)

Sounds even more punk than "Do it"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwsSbP2RHlM"]Pink Fairies-Teenage Rebel - YouTube

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxNTOTXRpJ0"]black flag - six pack.wmv - YouTube

 

I consider The Ramones debut the first punk album.

There was definitely some protopunk preceeding the Ramones though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvJGQ_piwI0"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvJGQ_piwI0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SD-uF8uisA"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SD-uF8uisA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLrczc-FOLc"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLrczc-FOLc

 

The stooges can also be considered punk or proto-punk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJIqnXTqg8I"]The Stooges - I Wanna Be Your Dog - YouTube

 

The Modern Lovers.

 

I never really got into punk. I'd listen to it at the behest of a friend or something but meh.

 

I prefer post-punk myself.

 

Thanks for posting. I used to have "Do It" downloaded, but completely forgot about it 'til now. It's even better the second time around.

I've been listening to punk for years, but I don't take it as seriously as some people do. I think punk started with rock and roll, and you have to give credit to all the bands that have tried to do something creative. It's not really a sound that makes one punk, IMO. And when punk started the label applied to various bands that were wildly different. Now it seems to only apply to a particular sound that I don't find very compelling.

 

Nothing will ever top Eyeless In Gaza's first two albums.

That album cover in the OP is pretty sweet though, and Polydor (would eventually) go on to prove one of the best of the major sub-labels, releasing tons of amazing albums by Brian Eno, Faust, Jon Hassell, Michael Rother, Goblin, Supersister, Wavemaker, Achim Reichel &c.

Then, you have all of the obscure disco releases they put out, both directly through Polydor and through various divisions; Magic Mail, Arpadys, A'mbar, Syncophonic Orchestra's Columbia Symphonie Spatiale, Sergent York, and the ever treasured classic, Cosmic Connection by Alex Cima. Magic Mail is one of the most obscure disco releases of all time, and supposedly only a handful of copies remains (this may be an exaggeration, but even if it is, it's not by much..); my friend Albion (the Swedish dj I always rave about) got two copies of it and posted a photo of them on his facebook, lol the comments everybody left were great. It was released by members of the German space-disco band Ganymed, and it was a sort of failed side-project; if you listen to it, you can see why, however, there is a reason why the price for this is in excess of $500 on discogs (for the only single copy for sale), if you get past the first few horrible minutes, the album has moments where it *really* takes off!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iESGvz9A7Q"]Magic Mail - Magic Mail (full album) - YouTube

 

I don't like punk rock and punk at all (few exceptions like the best oi stuff and stuff like the Pogues, some Exploited songs etc.) but I dig the Pink Fairies. I checked them and lots of other obscure classic and psych rock stuff out when I was really into finding the best psych stuff out there. I still have their music on my hd somewhere

 

I never liked it either, not the music nor the general mentality responsible for producing it. Then again, I very rarely have interest in music which is made with the intention of expressing an ideology, and the only emotion that I believe to deserve an expression in music is that of contemplative ecstatic bliss; anger, frustration, depression, love &c can occasionally appeal to me when set to music but the songs which are like this are also invariably focused on establishing something far more transcendent by rhythm.

 

Well, I do dig certain black metal a lot. Not only does it often focus on strong ideologies, it even finds it origins partly in 80's punk. I can't think of another (sub)genre in music that expresses anger and depression in a more suitable way for me (certainly not punk unfortunately). I do like in certain oi punk the focus on the working class and how they are shit upon by the government. But most of all their pride in being the working class that build their country (most often england).

 

Yes, I know that you do; I grew up very much involved with both black and death metal, on the one hand, and hip-hop on the other, but after I came into my twenties I realized that this was only because my access to other styles of music was severely limited. It's not that I consider myself having 'grown out of' it, as if this were a maturation process, rather that I liked what I could from what was available to me, and then as I got access to music from around the world (from university radio stations and online) I realized that was suits me is from a total opposite end of the spectrum (disco, krautrock, ambient &c) and I simply was unaware that music likes this even existed up until that point, because nobody ever told me!

But even as a child, it was the instrumental songs on the metal albums, and primarily the beats on the hip-hop albums, which attracted me the most; also I was always very, very much attracted to baroque sounds (from the various vague channels and outlets, primarily in public places, which presented it to me at such a young age) and could intuitively comprehend the distinction between it and what is considered classical, apprehending a definite 'taste' that I could feel but not explain until very many years later.

Everything has it's purpose and I don't look down on music which is strictly contained within the sphere of contemporary human experience, or even extended to include the experience collectively as a universal, but I find that the only thing which *really* touches my heart is that which can *only* be expressed instrumentally, which I would define as contemplation on the divine. Whether that is through dance (disco) or unlimited innovation (jazz) doesn't matter, it's all the same thing.

 

I don't look down on music in general neither but when we learn that certain punk bands formed before they learned to play an instrument I think that is a good indication wether I dig it musically or not

 

Yes, well I agree with that entirely!
What really bothers me about punk rock, however, is the inherent rejection of discipline, and while there are varying degrees of this and it would be unfair to routinely dismiss anything related to the social phenomenon on this point, it is a basic enough mentality attached to its adherents and expresses itself in some very ugly ways, primarily in uneducated and hypocritical stances taken towards what is perceived to be grandiose and whimsical. I'm no fan of the majority of what comes under the umbrella term 'prog' but to summarily dismiss the immense talent and poignant melodic expressions set down by some of these artists is brutally ignorant, and yet it's one of the most common positions taken by historical punks (often these same people will 'respect' the likes of Beethoven, the prince of airy whimsy, second only to Mozart).

The same punk rock movement rejected the use of synthesizers at first and yet synthpunk (and it's broader umbrella, synthpop and postpunk) is one of the most innovative and visionary movements of the last century; whereas punk rock stripped the bedecked skeleton to the bones, synthpunk did likewise and yet instead of discovering fuel for fire, it discovered genuine weirdness and something not ever heard before. There is a major difference between being anti-establishment and a pioneer and while the two positions are not necessarily mutually exclusive, the former destroys with the intention of leaving it to chaos while the latter destroys while replacing such an absence with something much more profound.

And really, protopunk itself is nothing to write home about when compared to the real rebel psycho music; I'm speaking of the free jazz of the fifties set forth by the likes of Ornette Coleman and Don Cherry, who took the aesthetic that punk rock was supposed to be based on to heights unheard of even to this very day.

 

I can't say I love punk, because then people think I love a style of music. But if you are looking for the sincerest forms of things like hope, frustration, and anger, there are certain "punk" bands that probably have done it best.

I love passion in any form of music. I don't care what anybody says. I'll listen to prog or glam or metal, so long as it suits my fancy.

 

I wish I could love the passion in any kind of music. Especially the anger and frustration in nu metal annoys me to no end. And that while they are very succesful at bringing their emotions across

 

Well, I guess I don't strictly like "passion." It has to be about a noble enough purpose than how you did it all for the nookie.

 

I think bringing emotion(s) across passionately is a noble enough purpose. And very important in music. But yeah, it doesn't mean I love all passionate music

 

I do like some things that are kind of embarrassing to like. Like, sometimes I dig on George Michael a little.

I think, in a theatrical sense, early punk is very good. It's not such a sideshow anymore.