Punk 1976-78: Sex Pistols and the rise of punk rock documented at the British Library -

Opening tomorrow, Friday 13th May, Punk 1976-78 is a small exhibition at the British Library charting the emergence and influence of early punk rock.

Launched on the 40th anniversary of punk, the show explores the early days of punk in the capital and reveals how its remarkable influence spread across music, fashion and design nationwide.

The exhibition looks at punk influences such as the French Situationist movement and New York City art-rock scene, and tracks the wonderfully chaotic rise and fall of the Sex Pistols.

Noting how the culturally and socially explosive phenomenon of punk rapidly transformed Britain’s musical landscape, the exhibition reveals punk’s pivotal role in the rise of the independent music scene and how it challenged the conventional image of women in rock bands.

The exhibition in the Library’s Entrance Hall Gallery features a range of rare fanzines, unique flyers, exclusive audio recordings and original record sleeves, and draws on material from the UK’s biggest punk-related archive held at Liverpool John Moores University.

Exhibition highlights include:

Rare copy of the Sex Pistol’s God Save the Queen single, which was never released because the A&M record label signed and dropped the band within one week
Unique copies of fanzines from 1977 including the first punk fanzine Sniffin’ Glueand the first and only edition of the Sex Pistols’ official fanzine, Anarchy in the UK
Original posters, gig tickets and flyers from the Roxy Club, Covent Garden and Eric’s Club, Liverpool
Original clothing from the SEX boutique run by Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood at 430 King’s Road, London
John Peel’s personal copy of the Undertones’ single, Teenage Kicks
Filmed interviews for Women in Punk by Gina Birch, founding member of The Raincoats
The Damned drummer Rat Scabies’s leather jacket

In recognition of the continuing legacy of punk, there’s an accompanying programme of British Library events, including speakers and creators who witnessed and participated in the events of 1976-78 first-hand.

Event highlights include:

An Evening with John Lydon, lead singer of the Sex Pistols and one of the most recognisable figures in popular music history
Me, Punk and the World: Bernard Rhodes in Conversation, Bernard Rhodes was at the forefront of developing the punk scene in the UK and went on to manage the Clash
Buzzcocks: In their Own Words, an evening with original members Steve Diggle and Pete Shelley and manager Richard Boon
Stories from the She Punks, featuring Tessa Pollitt from the first all-female punk band The Slits, Gina Birch from the Raincoats, Helen Reddington (Helen McCookerybook of The Chefs) and Jane Woodgate from the Mo-Dettes

I think I have almost all of these singles!

Andy Linehan, Curator of Popular Music Recordings at the British Library, commented:

Forty years ago punk had a huge impact on many aspects of British culture and continues to do so today, so we’re excited to dedicate an exhibition to it – featuring music, film, magazines and fanzines, record sleeves and more. Punk 1976-78 showcases the British Library’s unique collection of contemporary culture, as well as celebrating a phenomenon that spread across the nation and changed our cultural landscape.

Punk literally changed my life.

When I was 17, I co-produced a suitably low-tech Cardiff punk rock fanzine named, “Oh Cardiff, Up Yours!” before moving from Wales to London in a punk rock band – an eventful and generally unsuccessful venture, documented in this feature: From the Valleys to the Roxy: Welsh punk rock dreams from the 1970s

Update: read the full story of Oh Cardiff, Up Yours! on the British Library website

One of the Sex Pistols first ever reviews makes for wonderful reading:

“Actually, we’re not into music,” one of the Pistols confided.
Wot then?
“We’re into chaos.”

From someone who grew up with – and still feels heavily influenced by – punk, it feels weird seeing punk being turned into such an establishment icon.

The exhibition is accompanied by a Punk pop-up shop selling vinyl, t-shirts, prints and books in the British Library Entrance Hall inspired by the objects on display.

The pop-shop opens on 13 May and closes 2 October 2016, and will offer limited edition prints by punk photographer Sheila Rock, along with a range of merchandise including record players, homeware and jewellery.