Anarcho-punk (also known as anarchist punk
History
Before 1977
Some members of the 1960s
protopunk bands such as the MC5,
,
Hawkwind, and the Edgar Broughton Band
had new left or anarchist ideology. These bands set a precedent for mixing radical politics with rock music and established the idea of rock as an agent of social and political change in the public consciousness. Other precursors to anarcho-punk include avant-garde art and political movements such as
Fluxus,
Dada, the
Beat generation, England's angry young men (such as
Joe Orton), the
surrealism-inspired Situationist International, the May 1968 uprising in Paris, and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.
Jello Biafra of the
Dead Kennedys has cited the Yippies as an influence on his activism and thinking.
Post 1977
A surge of popular interest in
anarchism occurred during the 1970s in the
United Kingdom following the birth of
punk rock, in particular the Situationist-influenced graphics of
Sex Pistols artist
Jamie Reid, as well as that band's first single, "Anarchy in the U.K.".
and the
Poison Girls funded the rented Wapping Autonomy Centre with a benefit single and this then inspired other squatted self-managed social centres in London such as the Ambulance Station on Old Kent Road,
Centro Iberico, Molly's Café on Upper Street and the Bingo Hall opposite Highbury & Islington station (now the Garage).
George Berger (2025). 184609402X, Omnibus Press. 184609402X
The concept (and aesthetics) of anarcho-punk was quickly picked up on by bands like Flux of Pink Indians, Subhumans and Conflict.
The early 1980s saw the emergence of the Leeds anarcho-punk scene with groups like Abrasive Wheels, The Expelled and Icon A.D.
Pioneering crust punk bands Antisect, Anti System, Sacrilege and Amebix all began in the anarcho-punk scene, before incorporating their anarchist lyrical themes with elements of early heavy metal.[Glasper 2009, p. 11]
United States
Anarcho-punk spread to the United States in the late 1970s with groups like Austin's MDC and San Francisco's
Dead Kennedys. Los Angeles' Black Flag also embraced anarchists politics between 1982 and 1986, when
Henry Rollins was their vocalist.
United States anarcho-punk generally supported revolutions in Latin America and anti-
Apartheid movements and criticised the Presidency of Ronald Reagan.
In the 1980s, New York City cultivated a thriving anarcho-punk scene. Beginning as a part of the larger New York hardcore scene, bands like Reagan Youth, False Prophets and Heart Attack
In the 2000s, American anarcho-punk groups like Anti-Flag and Against Me gained significant mainstream success for the genre.
Ideology
Anarcho-punk bands often disassociated themselves from established anarchist currents like collectivist anarchism, anarcho-syndicalism or anarcho-communism. Because of this, as well as their emphasis on
pacifism, the scene was generally independent of the wider anarchist movement at the time. Bands generally supported
animal rights, anti-corporatism,
labour rights and the
anti-war movement.
Some of the tensions with more established political campaign groups were seen in the co-optation by Crass of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament logo in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and the band's mostly unsuccessful attempts to work with CND.
[See McKay, G. 2019. "They've got a bomb: sounding anti-nuclearism in the anarcho-punk movement in Britain, 1978-84." Rock Music Studies 6(2): 1-20. doi: 10.1080/19401159.2019.1673076
]
Anarcho-punks have criticised the flaws of the punk subculture and the wider youth culture. Bands like Crass and Dead Kennedys have written songs that attack corporate co-option of the punk subculture, people who are deemed to have sold out, and the violence between punks, , breakdancing, other youth subcultures,
Although Crass initially espoused pacifism, this is not necessarily the case for all anarcho-punks. Despite the broader punk subculture's antagonism towards hippies, the ideals of the hippie counterculture were an influence on anarcho-punk. Crass were explicit regarding their associations with the hippie counterculture,
Direct action
Anarcho-punks universally believe in
direct action, although the way in which this manifests itself varies greatly. Despite their differences in strategy, anarcho-punks often co-operate with each other. Many anarcho-punks are
pacifism (e.g. Crass and Discharge) and therefore believe in using non-violent means of achieving their aims. These include nonviolent resistance, refusal of work,
squatting, economic
sabotage,
dumpster diving,
graffiti,
culture jamming,
ecotage,
freeganism,
, civil disobedience,
hacktivism and
subvertising. Some anarcho-punks believe that violence or property damage is an acceptable way of achieving social change (e.g. Conflict). This manifests itself as
,
vandalism, wire cutting,
Hunt saboteur, participation in Animal Liberation Front, Earth Liberation Front, or even
Black Bloc style activities, and in extreme cases, bombings. Many anarchists dispute the applicability of the term "violence" to describe destruction of property, since they argue that destruction of property is done not to control an individual or institution but to take its control away.
DIY punk ethic
Many anarcho-punk bands subscribe to a "
DIY ethic" (DIY) ethic. A popular anarcho-punk slogan is "DIY not EMI," a conscious rejection of a major record company.
Many anarcho-punk bands were showcased on the
Bullshit Detector series of LPs released by
Crass Records and Resistance Productions between 1980 and 1994. Some anarcho-punk performers were part of the
cassette culture. This allowed artists to bypass the traditional recording and distribution routes, with recordings often being made available in exchange for a blank tape and a self-addressed envelope. The anarcho-punk movement has its own network of
,
, and self-published books
which disseminate news, ideas and artwork from the scene. These are DIY productions, tending to be produced in runs of hundreds at most. The 'zines are printed on
or duplicator machines, and distributed by hand at punk concerts, in radical bookstores and infoshops, and through the mail.
Musical style and aesthetics
Anarcho-punk bands are often less focused on particular musical delivery and more focused on a totalised aesthetic that encompasses the entire creative process, from album and concert art, to political message, and to the lifestyles of the band members.
[ quotation: ] Crass listed as band members the people who did their album art and live visuals. The message is considered to be more important than the music.
According to the punk aesthetic, one can express oneself and produce moving and serious works with limited means and technical ability.
[David Byrne, Jeremy Deller (2010) Audio Games, in Modern Painters, 1 March 2010 quotation: ] It is not uncommon for anarcho-punk songs to lack the usual rock structure of verses and a chorus, however, there are exceptions to this. For example, later
Chumbawamba songs were at the same time anarcho-punk and pop-oriented.
Bands such as Crass, Conflict, Nausea and Chumbawamba make use of both male and female vocalists.[Rimbaud, P; "...EXIT – 'The Mystic Trumpeter, Live at the Roundhouse 1972'" accompanying booklet, Exitstencil Recordings 2013]
Not all anarcho-aesthetics were reductive or simplistic though. George McKay had written of the idea of 'Crassonics', the sounds that the band Crass used or made in the recording studio to represent the nuclear sublime. These 'incorporated sounds of destruction, alienation, and accusation, in a righteous and relentless assault on the new nuclear norm.... Listenability and expressibility seemed polar opposites: to express nuclear horror in music ... one had to interrogate the limits of what one would be willing to listen to.'[McKay, G. 2019. '"They've got a bomb": sounding anti-nuclearism in the anarcho-punk movement, 1978=84.' Rock Music Studies (6)2: 1-20.]
See also
-
Anarchism and the arts
-
Anarchist symbolism
-
Animal rights and punk subculture
-
Crust punk
-
Red and Anarchist Skinheads
-
Punk ideologies
-
List of anarcho-punk bands
-
List of anarchist musicians
-
List of subcultures
Bibliography
-
Geoff Eley - "Do It Yourself Politics (DIY)", Forging Democracy: The History of the Left in Europe, 1850-2000, chapter 27: "The Center and the Margins: Decline or Renewal?." Oxford University Press, 2002. p. 476-481.
-
Ian Glasper - The Day the Country Died: A History of Anarcho Punk 1980 to 1984 (Cherry Red publishing, 2006 )
-
Craig O'Hara - Philosophy of Punk: More Than Noise (AK Press, 1999 )
-
George Berger - The Story of Crass (London: Omnibus Press 2006, )
Further reading
External links
