Genre story · Punk
Street Punk
Punk stripped back to direct riffs, shouted choruses and the immediate concerns of people outside the music industry.
Street punk grew from late-1970s punk and the rougher British underground of the early 1980s. Bands such as the Exploited, GBH and the Partisans made fast, forceful songs that carried the experience of working-class urban life into small clubs and independent releases. The label has never described one fixed political outlook, and regional scenes subsequently developed their own versions. Direct guitar chords, a driving rhythm section and choruses designed for collective singing are common. The boundary with Oi! and hardcore is porous, but Street Punk is a broader description: it need not imply the particular early-1980s British scene associated with Oi!. A band playing familiar punk chords is not automatically part of either tradition.
Listening examples
- 1981The ExploitedPunks Not Dead
- 1982GBHCity Baby Attacked by Rats
- 1983the PartisansThe Partisans