When we talk about the origins of punk, the story usually begins in 1976 or 1977, with New York and London as its main settings. But before punk had a name, an aesthetic or a scene of its own, there were already bands making records that moved away from conventional rock and began to sound rougher, more primitive and more streetwise.
Cheap And Nasty #16 goes back to 1971 to explore precisely this territory in between. A moment when glam was still dominating much of the musical landscape, but on its fringes, distorted guitars, harder rhythms, provocative lyrics and a much more street-level attitude were beginning to emerge, with little interest in the virtuosity and excess of 1970s rock.
Here you won't find the major stars of glam, but obscure bands, forgotten singles and recordings buried beneath the enormous commercial success of the era. Bands that today can be heard as missing pieces of a story that had yet to be written.
Hollywood Brats are a perfect starting point. Their primitive sound, early Stones influences and shamelessly glam image make them one of the clearest examples of the bridge between glitter and punk. In fact, when the punk explosion finally arrived, many of their ideas were already there.
From a much more aggressive angle come Third World War, with their openly political and confrontational rock, stripping away much of the sophistication of progressive rock and looking directly towards the street. Jook, meanwhile, represent another important connection between glam, rhythm & blues and the future pub rock scene.
Also featured are Coloured Balls, one of the compilation's great anomalies. Their blend of hard rock, blues and an increasingly defiant attitude shows that this transformation was not happening exclusively in England. From Australia came music that was equally raw, loud and unapologetic, anticipating some of the codes that would later become associated with punk.
Around them are much lesser-known names: Roy Owens Moon, Milk'N'Cookies, The Miamis, Hello, Hector, Chris Hodge, Light Fantastic, Neil Christian, Zephyr, Supernaut, Helter Skelter and One Hit Wonders. Some remained within glam territory; others moved towards hard rock, pub rock or power pop. But they all share the feeling of gradually moving away from the glitter and towards something rougher.
The selection does not attempt to suggest that there was a straight line from glam to punk. There wasn't. The birth of punk was far more chaotic. Different scenes, bands and styles arrived at similar conclusions by very different routes. Glam brought attitude and theatricality; hard rock brought volume and riffs; pub rock reclaimed immediacy; garage and rock'n'roll brought simplicity; and eventually all these influences collided with the punk explosion of 1976-77.
That is why this volume of Cheap And Nasty is not exactly a compilation of "proto-punk." It is more like a snapshot of the moment when several pieces were beginning to fall into place.
The glitter is still there, but it is beginning to fade.
The air is filling with dirtier guitars, shorter songs, stranger characters and bands that no longer seem interested in becoming the next big rock stars.
Punk hasn't arrived yet. But you can already hear it coming.
01. Hollywood Brats – Nightmare (1973)
02. Third World War – Working Class Man (1971)
03. Jets – Yeah (1973)
04. Coloured Balls – Flash (1973)
05. Coloured Balls – Won’t You Make Up Your Mind (1973)
06. Jook – Bish Bash Bosh (1974)
07. Jook – Watch Your Step (1978)
08. Roy Owens Moon – Hey Sweety (1971)
09. Milk’N’Cookies – Wok’N’Roll (1975)
10. The Miamis – We Deliver (1977)
11. Hello – Hold Me (1976)
12. Hector – Bye, Bye Bad Days (1974)
13. Chris Hodge – Beautiful Love (1974)
14. Light Fantastic – Don’t Let Go (1974)
15. Neil Christian – She’s Got The Power (1976)
16. Baby Grande - Zephyr (1975)
17. Supernaut – I Like It Both Ways (1976)
18. Helter Skelter – I Need You (1977)
19. One Hit Wonders – Goodbye (1972)
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