Punk revisited this weekend

[Paul Webster]

For those who fancy a bit of reminiscence - Both BBC and ITV have punk shows
this weekend.

If you would rather listen to a collection of old Festive 50 tracks - then
Andrew Morrison is playing 2 hours worth on his Dandelion Radio show this
month.

If you would rather live in the near past - then you can still vote for your
2006 Festive 50 at:
http://www.dandelionradio.com/pages/festive50_poll_form.html

Votes close sometime around Christmas Day and the Festive 50 show will be
put together between Christmas and New Year for broadcast throughout
January.

England's Still Dreaming: 30 Years of Punk - on BBC Radio 2
Saturday 2nd December 2006 at 20:00 to 21:00
Steve Lamacq presents the first of two programmes examining the legacy of
punk, focusing on 1976. By the mid-70s, the UK was experiencing economic
meltdown, with lengthening dole queues and rubbish-strewn streets. In
retrospect, it was inevitable that the music of the time would be dark,
nihilistic and fuelled by an energized political anger. In New York, the
music scene, built around CBGB's, was much more rooted in rock's rich
tapestry and art school ideas and nowhere near as ferocious and dangerous as
what was happening in Britain. The London punk scene, initially driven by
Malcolm McClaren's clever posturing, was given the perfect psychodrama by
John Lydon's fierce intelligence and neo-psychotic glare. The Sex Pistols
were getting out onto the sleepy circuit, wrecking PAs and getting
occasional column inches. The Stranglers were gigging around the country,
trading punches with irate punters. In Bolton, the Buzzcocks read a
paragraph about the Pistols in the NME and drove all the way down to London
to search for the band. TV Smith was putting together the Adverts in
Torquay. Everywhere punk rock was beginning to emerge and all these loose
strands were beginning to coalesce around the Sex Pistols. McClaren noticed
this and managed to place the movement behind his group. A generation of
kids, let down by the government and disgusted by the Queen's Silver
Jubilee, had at last found an expression for their discontent, a music that
spoke back to them. With contributions from John Lydon, Malcolm McClaren,
Mick Jones, Hugh Cornwell, TV Smith, Howard Devoto and Pete Shelley.


The Story of Punk on ITV4 - on Sunday 3rd December 2006 at 21:00 to 23:00
Definitive history of punk rock which examines the US and UK origins of the
music revolution that turned society, fashion culture and music on its head
in the mid 1970s. Narrated by Robert Elms, with contributions from John
Lydon, Glen Matlock, Bob Geldof, Tommy Ramone, Marky Ramone, Caroline Coon,
Don Letts, Vivienne Goldman and John Savage.

Sid and Nancy on ITV4 - on Sunday 3rd December 2006 at 23:00 to 01:10
Harrowing account of the decline of Sid Vicious, bass player with punk band
the Sex Pistols, and his American girlfriend Nancy Spungen, charting their
descent into heroin addiction and death. The stark tale captures the
boredom, anger and desperate need for love that led to the pair's seemingly
willful self-destruction.
Director: Alex Cox
Starring: Gary Oldman, Chloe Webb, David Hayman, Debby Bishop, Andrew
Schofield, Xander Berkeley

Jubilee on ITV4 - on Monday 4th December 2006 at 01:10 to 03:15
Director Derek Jarman's controversial portrait of early British punk which
imagines Elizabeth I paying a visit to the future of her sceptred isle, with
the aid of an astrologer and Shakespearean fairy Ariel. Somewhat
overshooting the present, she finds herself in a land of chaos and decay in
which the punks have inherited the Earth. Made in the year of Elizabeth II's
silver jubilee.
Director: Derek Jarman
Starring: Jenny Runacre, Nell Campbell, Toyah Willcox, Jordan, Hermine
Demoriane, Ian Charleson


Paul Webster
Backroom at Dandelion Radio
http://www.dandelionradio.com