Punk and New Wave thread.

Vive Le Rock magazine has requested readers send in their list of their top 50 punk songs….

WE NEED YOU!
The VLR All-Time Punk Chart
1976-85. Published 2025

Send your top 50 songs list in no order to: PunkList@mail.com
 
PinkFinal said:
Vive Le Rock magazine has requested readers send in their list of their top 50 punk songs….

WE NEED YOU!
The VLR All-Time Punk Chart
1976-85. Published 2025

Send your top 50 songs list in no order to: PunkList@mail.com
Click to expand...
Here is my 50 in absolutely no order apart from the top 10 (and that is in no order from 2 to 10).
The first 20 I just named my fave song from 20 different bands and after that my fave few from each band and the last 5 were individual bands / songs to finish it off.

There is none of that 2nd wave nonsense like Chron Gen / Exploited / Discharge and only two of the CBGB New York crowd in The Ramones and Richard Hell. Were The Talking Heads and Blondie punk? And don't get me started on Green Day being punk!

There are no The Jam tunes - were they punk? (only 1 would have got in there if deemed yes) and what about Elvis Costello / early Echo & The Bunnymen and The Cure? Joy Division and New Order? Are they punk or new wave / post punk / goth? Who decides?
I haven't sent this list off yet. I'd be interested to hear from the regulars to this thread (apart from @BlueMoonRisin’ who is a free loading ****) as to whether the above bands should be included or not.
PS @BlueMoonRisin’ I love you really xx)

1. Siouxsie & The Banshees - Spellbound
2. Eddie & The Hot Rods - Do anything you wanna do
3. Neon Hearts - Regulations
4. Buzzcocks - Orgasm addict
5. Generation X - Wild Youth
6. The Sex Pistols - Anarchy in the UK
7. Stiff Little Fingers - Alternative Ulster
8. The Rezillos - Destination Venus
9. Crass - Bloody Revolutions
10. Chelsea - The right to work
11. Dirt - Object, refuse, reject, abuse
12. The Stranglers - Peaches
13. The Clash - Tommy Gun
14. X Ray Specs - Oh bondage up yours
15. Richard Hell & The Voidoids - The Blank Generation
16. The Boomtown Rats - Rat Trap
17. Adam & The Ants - Car Trouble
18. The Ramones - Bonzo Goes to Blitzberg
19. The Damned - Smash it up
20. Slaughter & The Dogs - Boston Babies
21. Siouxsie & The Banshees - Night shift
22. Siouxsie & The Banshees - Halloween
23. Siouxsie & The Banshees - Monitor
24. Siouxsie & The Banshees - Hong Kong Garden
25. Generation X - Ready Steady Go
26. Generation X - Your Generation
27. Generation X - Kiss me Deadly
28. Gen X - Dancing with myself
29. The Sex Pistols - God Save the Queen
30. The Sex Pistols - Holidays in the sun
31. The Sex Pistols - Bodies
32. Stiff Little Fingers - Suspect device
33. Stiff Little Fingers - At the edge
34. Television Personalities - Part time punks
35. Buzzcocks - Ever fallen in love (with someone you shouldn't have?)
36. Buzzcocks - Boredom
37. Buzzcocks - What do I get?
38. Buzzcocks - Everybody's happy nowadays
39. Toyah - Ieya
40. Toyah - Danced
41. Altered Images - Dead Pop Stars
42. Public Image Ltd - Public Image
43. Public Image Ltd - Flowers Of Romance
44. Public Image Ltd - Rise
45. Crass - Do they owe us a living?
46. The Dead Kennedy's - Holiday in Cambodia
47. The Clash - The Guns of Brixton
48. The Stranglers - Hanging around
49. Magazine - Shot by both sides
50. Sex Pistols / Sid Vicious - My Way
 
Mad Eyed Screamer said:
Here is my 50 in absolutely no order apart from the top 10 (and that is in no order from 2 to 10).
The first 20 I just named my fave song from 20 different bands and after that my fave few from each band and the last 5 were individual bands / songs to finish it off.

There is none of that 2nd wave nonsense like Chron Gen / Exploited / Discharge and only two of the CBGB New York crowd in The Ramones and Richard Hell. Were The Talking Heads and Blondie punk? And don't get me started on Green Day being punk!

There are no The Jam tunes - were they punk? (only 1 would have got in there if deemed yes) and what about Elvis Costello / early Echo & The Bunnymen and The Cure? Joy Division and New Order? Are they punk or new wave / post punk / goth? Who decides?
I haven't sent this list off yet. I'd be interested to hear from the regulars to this thread (apart from @BlueMoonRisin’ who is a free loading ****) as to whether the above bands should be included or not.
PS @BlueMoonRisin’ I love you really xx)

1. Siouxsie & The Banshees - Spellbound
2. Eddie & The Hot Rods - Do anything you wanna do
3. Neon Hearts - Regulations
4. Buzzcocks - Orgasm addict
5. Generation X - Wild Youth
6. The Sex Pistols - Anarchy in the UK
7. Stiff Little Fingers - Alternative Ulster
8. The Rezillos - Destination Venus
9. Crass - Bloody Revolutions
10. Chelsea - The right to work
11. Dirt - Object, refuse, reject, abuse
12. The Stranglers - Peaches
13. The Clash - Tommy Gun
14. X Ray Specs - Oh bondage up yours
15. Richard Hell & The Voidoids - The Blank Generation
16. The Boomtown Rats - Rat Trap
17. Adam & The Ants - Car Trouble
18. The Ramones - Bonzo Goes to Blitzberg
19. The Damned - Smash it up
20. Slaughter & The Dogs - Boston Babies
21. Siouxsie & The Banshees - Night shift
22. Siouxsie & The Banshees - Halloween
23. Siouxsie & The Banshees - Monitor
24. Siouxsie & The Banshees - Hong Kong Garden
25. Generation X - Ready Steady Go
26. Generation X - Your Generation
27. Generation X - Kiss me Deadly
28. Gen X - Dancing with myself
29. The Sex Pistols - God Save the Queen
30. The Sex Pistols - Holidays in the sun
31. The Sex Pistols - Bodies
32. Stiff Little Fingers - Suspect device
33. Stiff Little Fingers - At the edge
34. Television Personalities - Part time punks
35. Buzzcocks - Ever fallen in love (with someone you shouldn't have?)
36. Buzzcocks - Boredom
37. Buzzcocks - What do I get?
38. Buzzcocks - Everybody's happy nowadays
39. Toyah - Ieya
40. Toyah - Danced
41. Altered Images - Dead Pop Stars
42. Public Image Ltd - Public Image
43. Public Image Ltd - Flowers Of Romance
44. Public Image Ltd - Rise
45. Crass - Do they owe us a living?
46. The Dead Kennedy's - Holiday in Cambodia
47. The Clash - The Guns of Brixton
48. The Stranglers - Hanging around
49. Magazine - Shot by both sides
50. Sex Pistols / Sid Vicious - My Way
Click to expand...
The perfect list to remind me why I don’t like punk. The Kinks pre figured punk.
 
Last edited:
Neat Neat Neat Damned
Police Truck Dead Kennedys
Hillside Strangler Hollywood Squares
Out of Control Angelic Upstarts
Into the Valley Skids
Rockaway Beach Ramones
Swallow My Pride Ramones
White Man In Hammersmith Palais Clash
Bodies Sex Pistols
CID UK Subs
At the Edge SLF
Securicor Crass
Cranked Up Really High Slaughter and the Dogs
Orgasm Addict Buzzcocks
Smash It Up Damned
Teenage Warning Angelic Upstarts
Shot By Both Sides Magazine
Suspect Device SLF
No Time To Be 21 Adverts
Attack Exploited
Dead Cities Exploited
Tomorrow's Girls UK Subs
Boredom Buzzcocks
Pretty Vacant Sex Pistols
Public Image PIL
Babylon's Burning Ruts
Complete Control Clash
Tommy Gun Clash
Warhead UK Subs
Fast Cars Buzzcocks
You've Got My Number Undertones
Holiday In Cambodia Dead Kennedys
London Calling Clash
Belsen Was a Gas Sex Pistols
No One Is Innocent Sex Pistols
Safety In Numbers Adverts
Life Alternative TV
Garageland Clash
Hong Kong Garden Siouxsie & Banshees
I Don't Mind Buzzcocks
53rd & 3rd Ramones
Banned From the Pubs PATTTB
I Just Can't Be Happy Today Damned
Can't Stand Rock n Roll Anti Nowhere League
Homicide 999
This Perfect Day Saints
Germ Free Adolescents X Ray Spex
Nice N Sleazy Stranglers
East of Dachau Underdogs
 
Mad Eyed Screamer said:
Here is my 50 in absolutely no order apart from the top 10 (and that is in no order from 2 to 10).
The first 20 I just named my fave song from 20 different bands and after that my fave few from each band and the last 5 were individual bands / songs to finish it off.

There is none of that 2nd wave nonsense like Chron Gen / Exploited / Discharge and only two of the CBGB New York crowd in The Ramones and Richard Hell. Were The Talking Heads and Blondie punk? And don't get me started on Green Day being punk!

There are no The Jam tunes - were they punk? (only 1 would have got in there if deemed yes) and what about Elvis Costello / early Echo & The Bunnymen and The Cure? Joy Division and New Order? Are they punk or new wave / post punk / goth? Who decides?
I haven't sent this list off yet. I'd be interested to hear from the regulars to this thread (apart from @BlueMoonRisin’ who is a free loading ****) as to whether the above bands should be included or not.
PS @BlueMoonRisin’ I love you really xx)

1. Siouxsie & The Banshees - Spellbound
2. Eddie & The Hot Rods - Do anything you wanna do
3. Neon Hearts - Regulations
4. Buzzcocks - Orgasm addict
5. Generation X - Wild Youth
6. The Sex Pistols - Anarchy in the UK
7. Stiff Little Fingers - Alternative Ulster
8. The Rezillos - Destination Venus
9. Crass - Bloody Revolutions
10. Chelsea - The right to work
11. Dirt - Object, refuse, reject, abuse
12. The Stranglers - Peaches
13. The Clash - Tommy Gun
14. X Ray Specs - Oh bondage up yours
15. Richard Hell & The Voidoids - The Blank Generation
16. The Boomtown Rats - Rat Trap
17. Adam & The Ants - Car Trouble
18. The Ramones - Bonzo Goes to Blitzberg
19. The Damned - Smash it up
20. Slaughter & The Dogs - Boston Babies
21. Siouxsie & The Banshees - Night shift
22. Siouxsie & The Banshees - Halloween
23. Siouxsie & The Banshees - Monitor
24. Siouxsie & The Banshees - Hong Kong Garden
25. Generation X - Ready Steady Go
26. Generation X - Your Generation
27. Generation X - Kiss me Deadly
28. Gen X - Dancing with myself
29. The Sex Pistols - God Save the Queen
30. The Sex Pistols - Holidays in the sun
31. The Sex Pistols - Bodies
32. Stiff Little Fingers - Suspect device
33. Stiff Little Fingers - At the edge
34. Television Personalities - Part time punks
35. Buzzcocks - Ever fallen in love (with someone you shouldn't have?)
36. Buzzcocks - Boredom
37. Buzzcocks - What do I get?
38. Buzzcocks - Everybody's happy nowadays
39. Toyah - Ieya
40. Toyah - Danced
41. Altered Images - Dead Pop Stars
42. Public Image Ltd - Public Image
43. Public Image Ltd - Flowers Of Romance
44. Public Image Ltd - Rise
45. Crass - Do they owe us a living?
46. The Dead Kennedy's - Holiday in Cambodia
47. The Clash - The Guns of Brixton
48. The Stranglers - Hanging around
49. Magazine - Shot by both sides
50. Sex Pistols / Sid Vicious - My Way
Click to expand...
Agree with 6 7 13 29-33 35 42 46 2 in that order. Remove the rest. Replace with
Clash Deny
Clash Garageland
UK Subs Warhead
SLF Tin Soldier
SLF Straw Dogs
Angelic Upstarts Who killed liddle
AU Never ad nothing
AU police oppression
AU last night another soldier
AU woman in disguise
Discharge Fightback.
DK california uber alles
 
Mad Eyed Screamer said:
Here is my 50 in absolutely no order apart from the top 10 (and that is in no order from 2 to 10).
The first 20 I just named my fave song from 20 different bands and after that my fave few from each band and the last 5 were individual bands / songs to finish it off.

There is none of that 2nd wave nonsense like Chron Gen / Exploited / Discharge and only two of the CBGB New York crowd in The Ramones and Richard Hell. Were The Talking Heads and Blondie punk? And don't get me started on Green Day being punk!

There are no The Jam tunes - were they punk? (only 1 would have got in there if deemed yes) and what about Elvis Costello / early Echo & The Bunnymen and The Cure? Joy Division and New Order? Are they punk or new wave / post punk / goth? Who decides?
I haven't sent this list off yet. I'd be interested to hear from the regulars to this thread (apart from @BlueMoonRisin’ who is a free loading ****) as to whether the above bands should be included or not.
PS @BlueMoonRisin’ I love you really xx)

1. Siouxsie & The Banshees - Spellbound
2. Eddie & The Hot Rods - Do anything you wanna do
3. Neon Hearts - Regulations
4. Buzzcocks - Orgasm addict
5. Generation X - Wild Youth
6. The Sex Pistols - Anarchy in the UK
7. Stiff Little Fingers - Alternative Ulster
8. The Rezillos - Destination Venus
9. Crass - Bloody Revolutions
10. Chelsea - The right to work
11. Dirt - Object, refuse, reject, abuse
12. The Stranglers - Peaches
13. The Clash - Tommy Gun
14. X Ray Specs - Oh bondage up yours
15. Richard Hell & The Voidoids - The Blank Generation
16. The Boomtown Rats - Rat Trap
17. Adam & The Ants - Car Trouble
18. The Ramones - Bonzo Goes to Blitzberg
19. The Damned - Smash it up
20. Slaughter & The Dogs - Boston Babies
21. Siouxsie & The Banshees - Night shift
22. Siouxsie & The Banshees - Halloween
23. Siouxsie & The Banshees - Monitor
24. Siouxsie & The Banshees - Hong Kong Garden
25. Generation X - Ready Steady Go
26. Generation X - Your Generation
27. Generation X - Kiss me Deadly
28. Gen X - Dancing with myself
29. The Sex Pistols - God Save the Queen
30. The Sex Pistols - Holidays in the sun
31. The Sex Pistols - Bodies
32. Stiff Little Fingers - Suspect device
33. Stiff Little Fingers - At the edge
34. Television Personalities - Part time punks
35. Buzzcocks - Ever fallen in love (with someone you shouldn't have?)
36. Buzzcocks - Boredom
37. Buzzcocks - What do I get?
38. Buzzcocks - Everybody's happy nowadays
39. Toyah - Ieya
40. Toyah - Danced
41. Altered Images - Dead Pop Stars
42. Public Image Ltd - Public Image
43. Public Image Ltd - Flowers Of Romance
44. Public Image Ltd - Rise
45. Crass - Do they owe us a living?
46. The Dead Kennedy's - Holiday in Cambodia
47. The Clash - The Guns of Brixton
48. The Stranglers - Hanging around
49. Magazine - Shot by both sides
50. Sex Pistols / Sid Vicious - My Way
Click to expand...
Hell of an effort to come up with a Top 50! I’m not gonna argue about the bands you chose to omit, but surprised with a couple you included. Boomtown Rats? Tonic for the Troops is one of my favourite albums, but with the exception of Can’t Stop and maybe Like Clockwork, I wouldn’t call any of it punk, most of all Rat Trap, which is Springsteen-esque, pub rock. Also, in my mind, PiL were the first post-punk band. Flowers of Romance has more in common with that early, highly-stylised synth experimentation that helped give rise to New Romantic and Rise is just simply pop.
 
roman totale said:
Hell of an effort to come up with a Top 50! I’m not gonna argue about the bands you chose to omit, but surprised with a couple you included. Boomtown Rats? Tonic for the Troops is one of my favourite albums, but with the exception of Can’t Stop and maybe Like Clockwork, I wouldn’t call any of it punk, most of all Rat Trap, which is Springsteen-esque, pub rock. Also, in my mind, PiL were the first post-punk band. Flowers of Romance has more in common with that early, highly-stylised synth experimentation that helped give rise to New Romantic and Rise is just simply pop.
Click to expand...
Agree with a lot of points there.
50 is a ridiculous amount to ask anyone. Too 10 would have been enough.
Yes it’s a big question as to what was deemed punk and what was simply post punk and new wave.
 
As a Conflict guy, I felt duty bound not to like New Model Army back in the day.

But been playing this album a bit over the last couple of nights and I’ve got to admit that it’s packed with quality tunes.

b626b56f90f393a4f7f6b6c3d1288153.jpg
 
Stephen230 said:
As a Conflict guy, I felt duty bound not to like New Model Army back in the day.

But been playing this album a bit over the last couple of nights and I’ve got to admit that it’s packed with quality tunes.

b626b56f90f393a4f7f6b6c3d1288153.jpg
Click to expand...
About 6 years ago my son was lead guitarist for a punk band called the Antiseptics. Asked me if I fancied going with him to one of his gigs in Sheffield to which I declined. The next day he rang and said that I would really have liked the headline band. It was only the New Model Army. If only he had mentioned who they were supporting beforehand I would have gone. 1 of my all time favourites.
 
C'mon then you FOC's. Who's going to Rebellion this year? I've already taken the plunge and sorted out my ticket and accommodation. Cracking lineup thus far with PiL, The Damned, The Undertones and, of course, UK Subs. And for the more New Wave/post punk minded, Peter Hook and the Light, Lovely Eggs and The Nightingales. Throw in some Selecter and Bad Manners (no, really) and there's something for everyone. In fact, you can't really go wrong with over 300 acts to choose from!
 
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I read this book a few years back and enjoyed it. Now to be released as a documentary - not sure there’s anything left to be said that hasn’t already been said, but I’ll certainly give it a go.
Release date 10th February but don’t know what format.
Surprise, surprise there’s no Johnny lol
IMG_1583.jpeg
 
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