''The Punk Rock Movie'' (also known as ''The Punk Rock Movie from England'') is a British 1978 film that was assembled from Super 8 camera footage shot by

Don Letts Donovan "Don" Letts (born 10 January 1956) is a British film director, disc jockey (DJ) and musician. Letts first came to prominence as the videographer for the Clash, directing several of their music videos. In 1984, Letts co-founded the band B ...

, the

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music f ...

The Roxy Roxy, Roxey, and Roxie may refer to: People * Roxy (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name Places in the United States * Roxie, Mississippi, a town * Roxie, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Music * Roxy ...

club during the early days of the UK punk rock movement, principally during the 100 days in 1977 in which punk acts were featured at

club in London.

History

::The spikiest home movie of the Seventies captured an embryonic rock revolution. ...Verité rock had become verité celluloid almost by accident. Roxy club disc jockey Don Letts was given a Super 8 camera as a present by fashion editor Caroline Baker. When Letts started to film the acts at The Roxy, it was soon reported that he was making a movie, so Letts determined to film continuously for three months. He needed to sell his possessions in order to continue to purchase film.Uncredited
Don Letts at The Roxy
Archived article, August, 2003; www.punkandoi.free.fr, as found at www.web.archive.org. A preliminary, 60-minute version of the film was shown in autumn of 1977 at the

Institute of Contemporary Arts The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) is an artistic and cultural centre on The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. Located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps and Admiralty Arch, the ICA c ...

in London. This resulted in the cover story, "Punk Home Movies" in '' Time Out'' magazine. The film features live footage of

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...

Wayne County & the Electric Chairs Wayne County & the Electric Chairs were part of the first wave of punk bands from the 1970s. The band was headed by Georgia-born singer Jayne County and became known for their campy, foul-mouthed ballads, glam punk inspired songs and image which ...

Generation X Generation X (or Gen X for short) is the Western world, Western demographic Cohort (statistics), cohort following the baby boomers and preceding the millennials. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1960s as starting birth years a ...

Slaughter and the Dogs Slaughter and the Dogs are an English punk rock band formed in 1975 in Wythenshawe, Manchester. Their original line-up consisted of singer Wayne Barrett McGrath, rhythm guitar Mick Rossi, drummer Brian "Mad Muffet" Grantham, lead guitarist M ...

The Slits The Slits were a punk and post-punk band based in London, formed there in 1976 by members of the groups the Flowers of Romance and the Castrators. The group's early line-up consisted of Ari Up (Ariane Forster) and Palmolive (a.k.a. Paloma R ...

Siouxsie and the Banshees Siouxsie and the Banshees were a British rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. They have been widely influential, both over their contemporaries and with later acts. ''Q'' magazine in ...

Eater Eater may refer to: * Eater (band), an English punk rock group * "Eater" (''Fear Itself''), a 2008 episode of the NBC television horror anthology ''Fear Itself'' * ''Eater'' (novel), a 2000 science fiction novel by Gregory Benford * ''Eater'' (w ...

Subway Sect Subway Sect were one of the first British punk bands. Although their commercial success was limited by the small amount of recorded material they released, they have been credited as highly influential on the Postcard Records scene and the indi ...

X-Ray Spex X-Ray Spex were an English punk rock band formed in 1976 in London. During their first incarnation (1976–1979), X-Ray Spex released five singles and one album. Their 1977 single " Oh Bondage Up Yours!" and 1978 debut album '' Germfree Adol ...

Alternative TV Alternative TV (sometimes known as ATV) are an English band formed in London in 1977. Author Steve Taylor writes: "Alternative TV pioneered reggae rhythms in punk and then moved on to redefine the musical rules". History Alternative TV were for ...

and

Johnny Thunders John Anthony Genzale (July 15, 1952 – April 23, 1991), known professionally as Johnny Thunders, was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He came to prominence in the early 1970s as a member of the New York Dolls. He later played with ...

and

The Heartbreakers The Heartbreakers, sometimes referred to as Johnny Thunders' Heartbreakers, were an American punk rock band formed in New York City in 1975. The band spearheaded the first wave of punk rock. History Johnny Thunders (vocals/guitar) and Jerry N ...

. Backstage footage of certain bands, such as Generation X, The Slits and Siouxsie and the Banshees, is also included. All live footage was shot at the Roxy, except that of the Sex Pistols, who were filmed at The Screen On The Green cinema in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

on 3 April 1977. The performance was

Sid Vicious John Simon Ritchie (10 May 1957 – 2 February 1979), better known by his stage name Sid Vicious, was an English musician, best known as the bassist for the punk rock band Sex Pistols. Despite dying in 1979 at age 21, he remains an icon of the ...

' first public concert with the band. The film was subject to limited theatrical release in 1978. It was also subject to limited video release at that time by Sun Video (1978) and Danton Video (1980). It was also released on video in 1992 by

Studio K7 !K7 Music is a music company based in Berlin, Germany that focuses mostly on electronic music. The name is an abbreviation of the company's original Berlin address, Kaiserdamm 7 (it has since relocated, first to Heidestrasse 52, and currently he ...

. Versions of the film were released on DVD between 2006 and 2008, though these releases were subject to criticism for sound reproduction and digital transfers that were considered to be inferior to the original. In addition, concerns were expressed that the soundtrack now included overdubbed material, as opposed to the original live recordings.See als
Particulars of 2008 DVD release of ''The Punk Rock Movie''
www.amazon.co.uk.

Segments (of 1987 VHS)

- God Save The Queen ive(2:12) *

Shane MacGowan Shane Patrick Lysaght MacGowan (born 25 December 1957) is an Irish singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as the lead singer and songwriter of Celtic punk band the Pogues. He was also a member of the Nipple Erectors and Shane MacGo ...

The Nipple Erectors ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

dancing to the Clash - White Riot ingle(2:01) *

backstage (0:56 length) *

- Cranked Up Really High ive(2:50) * Backstage with

rehearsing "Listen" a cappella (1:02) * Generation X - Walking In The City ive(2:04) * Generation X - Kleenex ive(1:08) * Unidentified woman in studio playing guitar * Crystal Clear takes snaps of

practicing (1:56) *

Ari Up Ariane Daniele Forster (17 January 1962 – 20 October 2010), known by her stage name Ari Up, was a German vocalist best known as a member of the English punk rock band the Slits. Biography Ari Up was born in Munich, West Germany. Both her pare ...

Joe Strummer John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), known professionally as Joe Strummer, was a British singer, musician and songwriter. He was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of punk rock band the Clash, ...

on bus listening to Joe Gibbs & Professionals - "Jubilation Dub" (1:19) *

- White Riot ive(1:38) * The Clash goof off while the tour bus is repaired (1:38) * The Clash - Garageland ive(0:58) *

Topper Headon Nicholas Bowen "Topper" Headon (born 30 May 1955) is an English drummer, best known as the drummer of punk rock band the Clash. Known for his instrumental contributions to the drumming world, Headon was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fam ...

& Ari Up on bus (unknown Reggae plays) (0:23) * The Slits - Vaseline ive(2:13) *

Paul Simonon Paul Gustave Simonon (; born 15 December 1955) is an English musician and artist best known as the bassist for the Clash. More recent work includes his involvement in the supergroup the Good, the Bad & the Queen and playing on the Gorillaz alb ...

, Joe Strummer & Ari Up mess about on bus - which is pulled by Police (to unknown Reggae) (0:37) *

- Why Don't You Shoot Me ive(2:40) *

- working up song in studio (1:31) * Police busting punk shop "Boy" for window display o unknown Reggae(2:02) *

- F*** Off ive(1:10) *

Soo Catwoman Susan Lucas, better known as Soo Catwoman (often written incorrectly as Sue Catwoman), was associated with the London punk subculture that sprang up around the mid-1970s. History In ''The Filth and the Fury'', Johnny Rotten singles her out amon ...

interviewed o unknown Reggae(0:26) * Wayne County & the Electric Chairs - F*** Off ivecontinued (0:30) * Wayne County & the Electric Chairs - Cream In My Jeans ive(2:18) * Police busting punk shop "Boy" for window display o unknown Reggaecontinued (0:48) * Wayne County & the Electric Chairs - end of unknown song ive(0:24) * Alternative TV - working up song in studio continued (0:55) * Eater backstage (0:27) * Eater - No Brains ive(3:30) *

- Bad Shape ive(2:20) * The Slits - New Town (2:44) * Alternative TV - working up song in studio continued (1:05) *

Johnny Thunders and The Heartbreakers The Heartbreakers, sometimes referred to as Johnny Thunders' Heartbreakers, were an American punk rock band formed in New York City in 1975. The band spearheaded the first wave of punk rock. History Johnny Thunders (vocals/guitar) and Jerry ...

- Chinese Rocks ive(2:34) * Siouxsie and the Banshees backstage taking pills (1:24) * The Heartbreakers and The Banshees on bus (1:03) * The Heartbreakers backstage (0:28) * Johnny Thunders and The Heartbreakers - Born To Lose ive(2:38) * The Heartbreakers and The Banshees on the bus with

(0:46) * Siouxsie backstage doing her makeup (0:49) * Siouxsie and the Banshees - Carcass ive(The Story Of A Man Who Has An Impaled Affair With A Carcass) (3:08) * Siouxsie backstage with vodka (0:10) * The Clash - 1977 ive(1:25) * Soo Catwoman interview continued (0:41) * Punk girl interviewed to The Saints - I'm Stranded (0:46) *

- Oh Bondage! (1:49) * Siouxsie and the Banshees backstage (0:54) * Johnny Thunders and The Heartbreakers - Chinese Rocks ive(1:22) * Siouxsie and the Banshees backstage (0:15) * Sex Pistols - Lazy Sod (1:49) * Sex Pistols - Liar (1:45) * Sex Pistols - Pretty Vacant (0:35) * Sex Pistols - New York (2:00) * Sex Pistols - God Save The Queen (3:07) *

Johnny Rotten John Joseph Lydon (; born 31 January 1956), also known by his former stage name Johnny Rotten, is an English singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer of the late-1970s punk band the Sex Pistols, which lasted from 1975 until 1978, and agai ...

in Jamaica destroying a children's record player (1:35)

References

External links

*
Interview with LettsThe Punk Rock Movie on Google Video
{{DEFAULTSORT:Punk Rock Movie 1978 films Documentary films about punk music and musicians British documentary films British musical films 1978 documentary films Films directed by Don Letts 1970s English-language films 1970s British films