Genre story · Punk
Oi! Punk
A British working-class punk current whose short choruses and street-level stories became known as Oi!.
The name Oi! came into wide circulation through journalist Garry Bushell's writing and the compilation Oi! The Album in 1980. The Cockney Rejects, Angelic Upstarts, the 4-Skins, Blitz and the Business approached it with different musical and political attitudes. The songs tend to be brief, with blunt guitar parts, direct drums and choruses that a crowd can sing together. The scene's history includes intense disputes about class, identity, skinhead culture and far-right attempts to exploit parts of the movement. No single political label can accurately be applied to all these artists. Oi! is closely connected to Street Punk, but its name, original press network and British social setting are historically more specific.
Listening examples
- 1980Various ArtistsOi! The Album1980 compilation.
- 1982BlitzVoice of a Generation
- 1983the BusinessSuburban Rebels