Anarchy In The UK! - Punk Rock Quiz

Answer: Safety pin

Back in the day, the look of horror on many people's faces after encountering a punk for the first time was clear. Followers of punk would often carry out body piercings by their own hand, inserting any number of safety pins through their ears, lips, noses and even their nipples.

Their hair was usually brightly coloured and worn in outlandish styles - the Mohawk/Mohican always proving popular - and their clothes were frequently ripped and held together using leather or cloth straps, zip fasteners and the ubiquitous safety pins.

Answer: God Save The Queen

The record 'God Save the Queen' was released in May 1977 just prior to the Queen's Silver Jubilee celebrations. Banned almost immediately due to some of its lyrical content which was considered highly offensive at that time, the recording was given no airplay on BBC radio or television and was boycotted by the Independent Broadcasting Authority. Original singles released on the EMI record label can command some very high prices on the record collectors market; mint condition copies have been recorded as reaching an amazing £4000 in value! I was serving overseas during much of Britain's early dalliance with punk and so the movement initially passed me by. I can only begin to imagine what Mary Whitehouse and her cohorts in the National Viewers and Listeners Association thought of the Sex Pistols in particular and of the punk movement on the whole!

Answer: The Damned

The Damned - were they Punk, Goth or a little bit of both? Either way, as punk bands went, The Damned were certainly talented and a cut above most of the rest of the punk movement. The band was formed during 1976 in London and were the first British punk band to release a single disc; their debut 'New Rose' hit the record shops in the October of that year just over a month before the Sex Pistols released their first single, 'Anarchy in the UK'. Ironically, The Damned enjoyed their greatest success with a cover version of the song 'Eloise' originally released by British pop singer Barry Ryan, which reached the number three spot on the UK Singles Chart in 1986 almost a decade after the punk movement had reached its zenith.

Answer: Alberto Y Lost Trios Paranoias

This lyric is taken from the song 'Gobbing on Life' from the 'Snuff Rock EP' which contains, for its period, some quite offensive lyrics. For those non British players who may not know, 'gobbing' is a slang term for spitting, one of the more undesirable aspects of punk. It was rare to come away from any gig at the height of the punk movement completely free from a covering consisting of saliva, sweat and beer and, in more extreme cases, other far more unpleasant bodily fluids!

Try to imagine a punk version of the Barron Knights... Alberto Y Lost Trios Paranoias were formed in Manchester during 1972 as a novelty band but were, by 1975, being supported by little known bands such as The Police and The Stranglers! Known for recording parodies of works by the big names of the day, their career was relatively short-lived and they split in 1982.

Answer: His friend Harry

"Come on! Come on!
'Urry up, 'Arry Come on!
We're goin down the pub..."

Sham 69 were formed in the somewhat genteel surroundings of the village of Hersham, Surrey during 1975 by Jimmy Pursey and a group of friends. The band began to receive fantastic reviews in such respected music papers such as the NME; so much so, that by the decline of the punk era in around 1979 the band had charted no less than five top twenty singles. In the ensuing years Sham 69 have split, reformed, split again and undergone numerous line-up changes including parting company with frontman Jimmy Pursey in 2006. The band have since reformed (again) and have embarked on a series of very popular international tours.

Although not quite as successful as their anthemic hit record 'If the Kids are United', the song 'Hurry Up Harry' taken from their album 'That's Life', was released in October 1978, reaching its highest chart position at Number Ten and has proved to be one of the band's most enduring songs.

Answer: Bill Grundy

'The Filth and the Fury!' and 'Night of the Nasties' (Daily Mirror) and 'Punk? Call it Filthy Lucre' (Daily Express) are just some of the incandescent newspaper headlines published the day after Bill Grundy's badly advised interview with the Sex Pistols and their small retinue of followers.

This interview, which ran for just 100 seconds, was screened on the independent television station Thames Television 'Today' regional news programme and sounded the death knell for Grundy's career. Placed on an immediate two week suspension, Grundy rarely worked on British television again. Ironically, far worse language is heard today over the entire spectrum of British television programmes with few viewers batting as much as an eyelid. Bill Grundy passed away from a heart attack in Stockport, Greater Manchester on the 9th of December 1993.

Answer: His love rival, Gordon

One-hit wonder song 'Jilted John' by Jilted John has been described as "one of the most bizarre records of the decade". Alter-ego of British comedian Graham Fellows, Jilted John alienated every Gordon in the United Kingdom with this childish song about a romantic break-up and the lad responsible, his love rival Gordon.

The father of a great friend of mine had a particular hatred for this song and its writer! The song itself was released in July 1978 and again a month later with its 'a' and 'b' side songs reversed and on a different record label.

The song reached the number four spot on the UK Singles Chart and still raises a smile today whenever it is played... Unless, of course, your name is Gordon!

Answer: London Calling

Although released whilst the punk movement was still kicking and screaming, some consider the 1979 recording 'London Calling', their third, to be a post-punk album; however, the subject matter has both feet planted firmly in the punk movement. The band recorded a fusion of different styles on this classic record including reggae, jazz and R&B; all of which sit surprisingly well with the recording's punk elements.

The sleeve photograph, which was taken during the band's 1979 US tour by official photographer Pennie Smith, was voted the best rock and roll photograph of all time in 2002. How this betters any of the guitar smashing antics of Jimi Hendrix and Pete Townshend many years prior has always eluded me!

Answer: Perfect

The Undertones was formed in 1974 in the Northern Irish city of Derry/Londonderry. Unlike their contemporaries Stiff Little Fingers, much of their output took its influences from the issues and problems encountered by teenagers and not, as could be expected, the political situation in that part of Ireland at that time. Guitarist John O'Neill is on record as saying that, during the band's formation, he had a choice between buying a toy machine gun, the 'Johnny Seven' or a guitar; "It was 1976 in Derry, there were too many real guns about and the guitar was cheaper!" The band enjoyed some considerable success before splitting in 1983 due to personal differences, with some members forming That Petrol Emotion in 1984, but The Undertones, as they stand today, still tour regularly.

Their original singer and front man, Feargal Sharkey, enjoyed a successful solo career, his best selling single 'A Good Heart' reaching the number one spot on the UK Singles Chart in 1985, as well as enjoying huge international success.

Answer: False

Pennsylvanian native Nancy Spungen was a troubled individual who had suffered with mental health issues for much of her short life. She was the girlfriend of former member of the Sex Pistols, Sid Vicious, himself a young man with mental health and drug dependency issues.

The relationship between the two was played out in the post-punk media glare which cannot have been beneficial to either party. On the 12th of October 1978, Vicious woke up in a New York hotel room to find his girlfriend dead after suffering an apparent stab wound. Ten days after being arrested and charged with Nancy's murder he attempted suicide and was hospitalised.

After being released on bail on the 1st of February 1979, a celebration party ended with another tragedy; Vicious, after taking an overdose of drugs supplied to him by his own mother, was found dead the following morning.

The mysterious death of Spungen has never been fully explained but a (supposed) suicide note found by his mother after his death suggested that Vicious was responsible for her death and requested that he be buried alongside her.

This proved to be impossible, but his ashes were rumoured to have been scattered over Spungen's final resting place.