Post punk generally refers to the particularly fertile and creative period following the initial punk rock 'explosion'. During the first wave of punk, roughly spanning 1976-1983, bands such as The Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Ramones and The Damned began to challenge the current styles and conventions of rock music by stripping the musical structure down to a few basic chords and progressions with an emphasis on speed and attitude. But as punk itself came to have a signature sound a few bands began to experiment with more challenging musical structures, lyrical themes, and a self consciously art-based image, while retaining punk's initial iconoclastic stance.
Typically more introverted, complex, arty and experimental than classic punk rock or the more pop oriented New Wave music, post punk laid the groundwork for "alternative rock" by broadening the idea of what punk and underground music could do, incorporating elements of Krautrock, Jamaican dub music, American funk and studio experimentation into the punk rock genre. It found a firm place in the 1980s college rock scene, and left behind several major sub-genres. However, post punk's biggest influence remains in the vast variety of sounds and styles it pioneered, many of which proved very influential in the later alternative rock scene.
Championed by late night BBC disc jockey John Peel and record label/shop Rough Trade (amongst others- including Postcard Records , Factory Records, Falling A Records, Fast Product, Mute Records, among others), "post punk" could arguably be said to encompass many diverse groups and musicians. In the list that follows, it should be noted that some of these groups were contemporary with or predated the early punk period from which post punk sprang. Also, many of the listed groups have been considered members of other genres in addition to post punk, such as punk and new wave.
In 2003 and 2004, the term post punk began to appear in the music press again, with some critics reviving the label to describe a new set of bands that shared some of the aesthetics of the original post punk era. 21st century bands described as "post punk" have included Franz Ferdinand, Interpol, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Metric, The Killers, The Weakerthans and The Stills. Other critics simply labelled the bands modern rock, alongside pop punk acts such as Green Day, Good Charlotte, Sum 41 and The Ataris, or as indie rock. Unlike the original post punk artists, were often deliberately difficult and obtuse, bands of the post-punk revival were more accessible and radio friendly, leading some to claim that they were not stylisic torchbearers of the post punk style but were instead simply a variant within the dominant commercial style of rock music.
See also: Industrial music, Cassette culture, Indie rock
Post punk bands
- 23 Skidoo
- A Certain Ratio
- Au Pairs
- Bauhaus - Also considered progenitors and members of the massively influential goth rock style.
- bIG fLAME
- The Birthday Party
- The Blood Brothers
- Cabaret Voltaire - Also considered early pioneers of industrial music specifically, and electronic music in general.
- Crass - Crass adhered so strongly to the punk ethos, regularly eschewing popularity or accessibility, that they cannot be contained by the label of punk. Their music, while bearing little in common with other post punk bands, was still an unwavering attempt to take punk music to the next level.
- The Cure - Like Bauhaus, The Cure are considered progenitors and members of the massively influential goth rock style.
- Cultural Amnesia
- Depeche Mode
- Devo
- The Durutti Column
- Echo & the Bunnymen
- Einstürzende Neubauten
- Essential Logic
- Factrix
- Fad Gadget
- The Fall - The Fall's music changes drastically in "phases" designed primarily by a shifting emphasis of leadership. However, their music remains consistently post punk throughout their career.
- The Feelies
- The Fire Engines
- Flying Lizards
- Gang of Four
- The Human League - Perhaps better known for their more accessible music, which is described as New Wave, and not post punk.
- insane picnic
- Interpol
- Josef K
- Joy Division
- Killing Joke
- The Lemon Kittens
- Magazine - Straddling the line between post punk and New Wave, Magazine was formed by the remains of the early punk legends Buzzcocks.
- The Mekons
- Mission of Burma
- Monte Cazazza
- New Order
- The Normal
- Orange Juice
- John Otway
- Pere Ubu
- Poison Girls
- The Pop Group
- Psychedelic Furs
- Public Image Ltd. - This abrasive group was formed by Johnny Rotten, vocalist of the Sex Pistols, after the Pistols' disbanding.
- The Raincoats
- Red Crayola
- Scritti Politti
- Shellac
- Siouxsie and the Banshees
- Spasmodic Caress
- Suicide - Contemporaries of Cabaret Voltaire, Suicide are considered early architects of industrial music.
- Swans
- The Slits
- The Strokes
- This Heat
- Throbbing Gristle - Considering by many to be the first industrial group, Throbbing Gristle challenged their audiences, both live and on studio recordings, in a way that places them firmly in the post punk category.
- Tuxedomoon - Making music that, ostensibly, was intended for various indepent film projects, Tuxedomoon's albums are often categorized as film music.
- Winston Tong
- The Wake
- Wire - Starting as a first wave British punk group, Wire's sound quickly grew to encompass post punk, and they were instrumental in the development of synth-pop and techno music.
- Young Marble Giants
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