Punks are a youth subculture that originated in the USA and Great Britain and became very popular all over the world. This subculture is closely related to the corresponding musical direction. The first punk bands played fast, driving music that was combined with protest and rude lyrics. And the fans of these groups were distinguished by their bright appearance and defiant behavior.
History of the word and the first punk bands
Even in Shakespeare's play "Measure for Measure" the word "punk" is found - that is how cheap prostitutes are called there. Much later this word acquired another meaning - "waste", "dirt".
In the early seventies, punk began to refer to the strange music that some rock bands played. Soon, those who listened to this music (usually young people from workers' quarters) were also called punks.
Examples of first wave punk bands include The Dumned, Sex Pistols, Ramones, The Stooges. Each of them brought something of their own to the punk subculture. Let's say the leader of "The Stooges" Iggy Pop was the first to practice stage diving, that is, jumping from the stage into the crowd. In addition, Iggy Pop's "trick" was that he performed with a naked torso and often injured himself during the concert.
As for the USSR, punk rock appeared here in 1979. It was then that the Leningrader Andrei Panov, nicknamed Pig, together with his friends, created the group "Automatic Satisfactors" (which is actually the translation of the phrase "Sex Pistols" into Russian). For a long time this group (which is not too surprising) remained in the deep underground and only in the late eighties joined the Leningrad Rock Club.
Ideology and principles of punk subculture
In fact, punks never had a single ideology. But at the same time they have some principles, for example, the principle of D. I. Y. ("Do It Yourself" or "Do it yourself"). In other words, when creating their creativity, they prefer to rely on their own strengths, which, in theory, allows them to remain honest and independent, "not to be sold."
And the representatives of this subculture are characterized by a critical attitude to literally everything that surrounds them, disregard for the norms and stereotypes that are imposed by society, feigned aggressiveness, the perception of freedom as the main value, etc.
It is worth mentioning the attitude of punks to politics. Everything here is ambiguous. Punks can either engage in active political protest or be apolitical. There are entire subgenres of punk music that have nothing to do with politics, such as horror punk.
Punk appearance
The appearance of punks deserves special attention. The fashionable hairstyle among punks is the mohawk (the fashion for it was introduced by the group "The Exploited"). Moreover, this mohawk is painted, as a rule, in bright, unnatural colors (say, purple).
Ripped jeans are also typical for punk style. Often these jeans are decorated with chains (in particular, dog leash chains) and patches with punk band logos and flashy slogans. When paired with ripped jeans, punks like to wear heavy boots or sneakers. And this image is complemented by an often torn T-shirt in black or another color.
Other attributes of the punk style include a biker jacket, bracelets, rivets, wristbands, pins (and sometimes in the most inappropriate places for this). Some elements of punk clothing can be decorated with images of skulls, skeletons, etc.
Is the punk subculture still alive today? Of course, yes. Indeed, both in Russia and abroad, there are numerous punk bands that go on tours and tours in cities and towns. And these bands have fans, many of whom identify as punks.
