Figure 1: October 2, 1976. Front Page, Dailymail.co.uk
A significant benchmark for anarchist portals in media can be linked to how anarchists express themselves in music. Prior to the 1950s, there wasn’t a significant movement within the music industry that involved punk or anarchist ideologies, due to their ‘vulgar’ content. However, once the Cold War ramped up and international strife was affecting popular culture within the masses, groups formed that ultimately bucked the status quo and started producing music that was anti-establishment, progressive, and critiqued oppressive policy. Once the hippie era of the sixties subsided and the war in Vietnam was ramping up, the punk movement in music started to grow some legs and started running around offending conservatives with heavy metal and even heavier lyrics. One of the most prolific Western bands of the mid-seventies punk scene was the Sex Pistols, who openly mocked the UK’s foreign policy with banging tunes about fighting the state.
I want to explore some of the Sex Pistols’ lyrics, primarily from one song, Anarchy in the UK, where they describe being stuck in a capitalist hellscape and how anarchy is the way forward. Their song tackles multiple international struggles, such as the nationalist conflict ‘The Troubles’ in Ireland and the Angolan Civil War, which were elements of the United Kingdom’s foreign policy. Their song also describes some of the hardships that come with being part of an anarchist group, namely the ability to decide on a particular plan of action. “Right now, I’m an antichrist, and I’m an anarchist. Don’t know what I want, but I know how to get it. . .” (Sex Pistols, 1977). The group wants to convey that not only are they not part of organized religion, but they also don’t consider themselves part of a society that values a religious predisposition in a person. Their next claim is that they don’t know what they are after, but they have the knowledge to acquire it. This lyric represents some of the common troubles within an anarchist organization, namely the ability to effectively come to a consensus on the next plan of action. This is a discourse that affects anarchy circles the size of countries, and even as small as rock bands. An example of this happening within the real world is the independent country of Rojava, in which an independent nation of anarchists has trouble creating a society that effectively captures their ideals. According to anthropologist David Graeber, Rojava struggles with a dual power system whereby both ‘parties’ were created within the government, which complicates the ability to pass the legislature. Graeber adds that despite their aspirations to be an ecologically sustainable country, Rojava still relies on fossil fuels and an insufficient power grid, powered by neighborhood generators that stresses the already finite resources (Ecologise.in, 2019). The problems that are inherent in an independent anarchist nation like Rojava has ripples to even the smallest of anarchist groups. The Sex Pistols also advocate in their song about their discontent with how the workforce is treated with their lyric, “Cause I wanna be anarchy, no dogsbody,” (Sex Pistols, 1977). The term ‘dogsbody’ originated in the British Navy and referred to someone who was given a variety of boring and menial tasks to accomplish, just to keep them busy. This sentiment is surprisingly reminiscent of Marius Jacob, a 20th-century anarchist, and thief, and his thoughts on how work is valued within society. “The more a man works the less he earns. The less he produces the more he benefits. Merit is not taken into consideration. Only the bold take hold of power and hasten to legalize their rapine,” (Jacob, 1905). In this quote, Jacob is discontent with how society values the work of CEOs and owners, but disregards the hard work of the common man that makes progress happen. Jacob argues that the wealth generated by the workforce is not distributed back to them, and they are forced to labor on assembly lines within factories to provide for their families. The Sex Pistols replicate Jacob’s sentiment about menial and repeating tasks by showing us a way out of the current capitalist-oriented society, simply embracing anarchy.
Another set of Sex Pistols lyrics I want to analyze is towards the end of the song, where they reference the U.K.’s foreign policy in Ireland, and primarily the struggle between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The island of Ireland has been inhabited by the Brits since the 12th century, but it wasn’t until about the 1650s that Ireland came under the governance of the United Kingdom, and eventually gained independence in 1922. Aside from numerous atrocities committed by the British government while controlling Ireland, which includes the Irish Potato Famine, or more accurately The Great Hunger. The Irish Potato Famine wasn’t really a famine, instead Irish farmers were forced to sell what food they produced in order to pay rent to their English landlords, thereby forcing millions into homelessness or starvation (McNamara, ThoughtCo., 2019). England’s presence in Ireland fueled a national conflict between Loyalists in favor of remaining in the United Kingdom, and Irish Nationalists in favor of Northern Ireland annexing itself into a united Ireland. “. . . Or is this the UDA [Ulster Defense Association]? Or is this the IRA [Provisional Irish Republican Party]? I thought it was the UK, or just another country. Another council tenancy” (Sex Pistols, 1977). Although the songwriters could be confused by the number of acronyms, it is more likely that they are shining a light on the conflict in Ireland known as ‘The Troubles’ where nearly 2000 civilians were killed in skirmishes between the IRA and the UDA. (Malcolm Sutton, n.d.). England’s involvement in The Troubles revolves around Ireland’s status as a protectorate of the UK and after fights broke out between Loyalists and Republicans. Britain’s forces organized a peace-keeping mission that ended up being the “longest continuous campaign in British military history,” (O’Neill, 2019). Although British troops were welcomed and expected to dampen the threat of police targeting by the IRA, the attitude shifted when the British Army shot seventeen civilians on Bloody Sunday, strengthening support for the IRA, and stoking the flames of conflict. The Sex Pistols are calling attention to the conflict in Ireland and expressing their discontent with the killing of civilians by the state and endorsing the rise of anarchist groups like the IRA, thereby ‘sticking it’ to the state.
Before this, we haven’t explored how the media portrayed anarchy and the punk scene surrounding it, but the Sex Pistol’s 1976 interview with Bill Grundy is a masterclass of how state media expressed disgust with punk rockers. In this interview, Grundy mockingly critiques the group’s ideology, provokes conflict, and low-key sexually harasses Siouxsie Sioux, the future lead singer of punk rock group Siouxsie and the Banshees. “I am told. . . that that group. . . have received £40,000 from [their] record company. . . Doesn’t that seem slightly opposed to your anti-materialistic view of life?” (Jadson Jr, 2013). A common misconception is that anarchists are anti-materialists, rather anarchists like Marius Jacob would disagree. In Jacob’s case, he thinks that money should equate to the work that you do, and that laborers shouldn’t be poverty-ridden by producing necessary goods (Jacob, 1905). Steve Jones, the guitarist for the band, offers a fantastic rebuttal, “We fuckin’ spent it ain’t we?” to which bassist Glenn Matlock clarified “it’s gone down the boozer” (Jadson Jr., 2013). The whole interview is chaotic where there is obvious tension between the leather-clad Sex Pistols and the state media mouthpiece, Bill Grundy, where both parties take shots at each other. The confrontation includes a moment where Johnny Rotten curses under his breath and Grundy makes him repeat it, despite the UK’s very strict obstinacy laws. Grundy calling Rotten out for using a ‘rude word’ is reminiscent of a father-son dynamic where the father makes the son admit his mistakes, implying that Grundy is trying to appeal to an authority figure the band might react to, but the band doesn’t fall for it. After going after the band's male members, Grundy then targets the groupies standing behind them, specifically Siouxsie, and asks if they’re having a good time. Siouxsie responds with an affirmation that they’re having a good time and that she’s always wanted to meet Grundy, to which Grundy invites her to meet after. After witnessing the look of disgust and discomfort on Siouxsie’s face, the band immediately calls Grundy a ‘dirty bastard’, ‘dirty fucker’, and ‘a fucking rotter’ (Bennet, 2016). The next morning, the Sex Pistols were on the front page of the Daily Mirror. The Sex Pistols’ appearance on Grundy’s show highlights what happens when an anarchist group faces off against a member of the state media. Both sides trade blows to the other’s ideology and the media pounces on the group of so-called ‘punks’
The Sex Pistols didn’t have a particularly lucrative career and their appearance on Grundy’s television program exacerbated their downfall. “In his acclaimed punk tome England’s Dreaming, Jon Savage says that the impact of the Today appearance had “a totally disastrous effect on the group: from then until their demise in January 1978, they added only four new songs to their repertoire” (Bennet, 2016). The group’s brash attitude against authority figures didn’t paint the Sex Pistols in the best light, and therefore not very profitable in the eyes of strait-laced adults. However, it’s undeniable that the Sex Pistol's music became the sounds of a generation with other British punk bands joining the scene, including the Clash and the Damned. Siouxsie Sioux, who we discussed earlier as a target of Bill Grundy’s sexual advances, became the lead singer for Siouxsie and the Banshees, a feminist punk rock group.
Punk has morphed into something different than what the Sex Pistols would have considered ‘the punk genre’. In the early 2000s, bands like Rage Against the Machine released ballads critical of the same generation who enjoyed the Sex Pistols, albeit an older generation at that point. Their music fused more in line with ‘punk-rap’ and they critiqued police ties to hate groups, media censorship, and an overall general disdain for the state. The closest thing to the Sex Pistols in modern music would be the Russian-based group, Pussy Riot. The group focuses on feminist and LGBTQ+ activism within Vladimir Putin’s oppressive regime and has been arrested multiple times for staging guerrilla performances critical of Putin’s policy. In February of 2012, three of the members “sang a song in Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. . . they were arrested, imprisoned, refused bail, and now face up to seven years in jail. . . the orders for this seem to have come right from the very top of the Russian government” (Cadwalladr, 2012). Their lyrics focus on exposing American hypocrisy, advocating for LGBTQ+ rights, and fighting the patriarchy. While more recently they have been doing tours and likely have a general sense of structure to accomplish this, their early days were masterworks of anarchist expression through unregulated and guerilla concerts within the heart of Moscow.
The Sex Pistols never achieved financial success, but they played a far more important role in the culture of 1970’s London, their complete disregard for the state’s rules. Their lyrics exposed the UK’s involvement in national conflicts and condemned the society that allowed these actions to take place. Their appearance on Bill Grundy’s television program exemplified the media’s attitude towards anarchists and punks in general by probing them for soundbites to use against them in the papers. The punk genre that the Sex Pistols occupied has continued to grow and adapt over the next half-century, being adopted by different cultures to express themselves.
Bibliography
Bennett, Jon. “What Happened When the Sex Pistols Appeared on the Bill Grundy Show.” loudersound. Louder, December 2, 2016. https://www.loudersound.com/features/in-december-1976-the-sex-pistols-appeared-on-the-bill-grundy-show.
Cadwalladr, Carole. “Pussy Riot: Will Vladimir Putin Regret Taking on Russia's Cool Punks?” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, July 28, 2012. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jul/29/pussy-riot-protest-vladimir-putin-russia.
Jacob, Marius. “Why I Was a Burglar.” Why I Was a Burglar by Marius Jacob 1905, 1905. https://www.marxists.org/subject/anarchism/jacob-marius/why-burglar.htm.
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Sutton, Malcolm. “Sutton Index of Deaths.” CAIN, n.d.. https://cain.ulster.ac.uk/sutton/tables/Status.html.
Written by Contributor. “Rojava: The Radical Eco-Anarchist Experiment Betrayed by the West, and Bludgeoned by Turkey.” Ecologise, October 24, 2019. https://ecologise.in/2019/10/27/rojava-the-eco-anarchist-experiment/.
YouTube.com. Juusmo, 2010. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbmWs6Jf5dc.
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