It’s 1976. A stage is set in Manchester’s Lesser Free Trade Hall with 40 people in attendance. Among the audience are Steven Morrissey of The Smiths, Ian Curtis of Joy Division, and Pete Shelley of The Buzzcocks. 

   This gig would inspire the three to form those bands. A guitar rev followed by a scream began the show that would change music forever, from a band that the biggest names in music history such as Nirvana, Green Day, and even Oasis cited as a major influence. A band who embodied every aspect of Punk music, The Sex Pistols. 

   Rewind three years, and punk doesn’t exist. However, many factors were paving the way. Punk is as much of a genre as it is a movement, characterized by raw aggression, violence, and political opposition. In 1970s Britain, the people were restless with protest for civil rights and social change that would be reflected in an era of evolving music.

   Since the 1960s, rock music has divided children and a generation of parents fearful of this new period of music characterized by drugs, hippies, and protests. 

   At the same time, heavier sounds were so pivotal to punk music they would hindsight be known as Proto-punk groups, Garage rock, and metal bands such as the Stooges and Black Sabbath influenced early punk bands. The famous hit “You Really Got Me” by The Kinks, served as an early source of punk inspiration, with its early use of Distorted guitar and gritty sound that was the first to make it into the mainstream.

   Enter the 70s, bars and clubs became commonplace for new bands to popularize. Arguably the most important in music history is the New York CBGB club. Originally meant for Country, Bluegrass, and Blues, (Hence C-BG-B) the club would explode into a scene of new subgenres of Rock when Pub Rock band Squeeze was first booked to play a set in 1974.

   Artists like Patti Smith and Television pioneered Punk Rock and Art Punk with influential records “Horses” and “Marquee Moon.” However, Punk truly became realized a few months later when a band even more important to not only Punk, but Rock shocked spectators at the CBGB. This band was The Ramones. With breakout hits such as “Blitzkrieg Bop” and “Beat on the Brat,” the band finally brought this underground bubble of punk to popular heights, giving the mid-70s a new heavy sound, laced with poisonous political undertones. 

   After The Sex Pistols united the youth of Britain against the government with anthems such as “Anarchy in the U.K.” or “God Save the Queen,” the later half of the 70s prominently featured messengers of anarchist ideals such as the massive U.K. outfit “The Clash” and their record “London Calling.” They ushered in a new subgenre of punk known as “Post-Punk.” This new genre relied heavily on experimentation and opened a new world for punk, allowing for other post-punk bands to achieve success such as Talking Heads, Joy Division, early The Cure, Devo, Wire, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and even early U2. 

   The second wave of punk began in the early 80s, with punk diffusing into all of America in flourishing underground scenes, especially in California. A new subgenre of punk was formed, known as Hardcore Punk. The scene focused less on commercial success and more on being as loud and heavy as possible, with leaders such as Black Flag or The Dead Kennedys dominating. All of these sub-genres would slowly fade and be replaced by the long-lasting sub-genres of punk that would remain for decades, Ska, Post-Hardcore, Emo, and most notably New Wave.