Punk in London is a film by German TV director, Wolfgang Buld, is a mediocre effort at capturing the events and happenings surrounding the discraceful rise and commercial collapse of the London punk scene circa '75. With only small interviews that seem extremely akward at times, the conceert footage of prevelant punk groups from the period are a saving grace for this doco. The most frustrating part of this production by far was the complete absence of any titles of interviewees or artists. One can imagine how frustrating this can be when viewing this for research reasons.Not to be to unfair, their were some interesting parts to this documentary. One of these was the establishment of a creative hub for the punk scene at the Roxy Club.
One of the biggest problems the punk scene was facing in its early days was a central gathering place. A venue was needed to house the up and coming punk outfits that were surfaacing out of London and the surrounding areas.
The Roxy Club was the brainchild of Andy Czezowski who was, at one stage, manager of the Damned. At the time of recording Punk in London, Andy was managing one of the "it" bands of the time, Chelsea. He explains how the present Chaguaramas, a struggling gay club in the run down London suburb of Covent Park, would be an ideal location to open a venue that this scene and music can call its own.
While it was a success in the true spirit of punk, it was ironically "screwed over by the man" as rent was to high for Czezowski to keep it open if he was to keep door prices down, so not to give in to the pressures of the commercial stigma facing this punk icon, it closed it's doors in April '78 with a fairwell party that involved drinking the remaining alcohol and completely destroying the joint. (F#@* the man!!!)
The punks of London, not surprisingly at all, were not received well by the general public. While this is fairly common knowledge, it is the rivalry that the London punks had with the Teddyboys that Buld strongly emphasises through this documentary. Many of the interviewees explained the unrest between the two sub-cultures as a way for the youth to express their energy due to the fact that there was no war occuring at that particular time...seriously!? I mean really, are they trying to compare this gang rivalry as a civil war happening in the seedy clubs of 1970's London?
One of the biggest problems the punk scene was facing in its early days was a central gathering place. A venue was needed to house the up and coming punk outfits that were surfaacing out of London and the surrounding areas.The Roxy Club was the brainchild of Andy Czezowski who was, at one stage, manager of the Damned. At the time of recording Punk in London, Andy was managing one of the "it" bands of the time, Chelsea. He explains how the present Chaguaramas, a struggling gay club in the run down London suburb of Covent Park, would be an ideal location to open a venue that this scene and music can call its own.
While it was a success in the true spirit of punk, it was ironically "screwed over by the man" as rent was to high for Czezowski to keep it open if he was to keep door prices down, so not to give in to the pressures of the commercial stigma facing this punk icon, it closed it's doors in April '78 with a fairwell party that involved drinking the remaining alcohol and completely destroying the joint. (F#@* the man!!!)
The punks of London, not surprisingly at all, were not received well by the general public. While this is fairly common knowledge, it is the rivalry that the London punks had with the Teddyboys that Buld strongly emphasises through this documentary. Many of the interviewees explained the unrest between the two sub-cultures as a way for the youth to express their energy due to the fact that there was no war occuring at that particular time...seriously!? I mean really, are they trying to compare this gang rivalry as a civil war happening in the seedy clubs of 1970's London?
The Teddyboys were a sub-culture that based their existence on their undying love for everything rock & roll. Yes this is quite similar to the punks, however while punk and rock & roll have evolved and moved on, the Teddyboys appear to have cemented themselves in time and refuse to evolve with their music. The Teddies claimed that the punks had simply taken rock & roll and made it crap (or fast?). This doesn't seem too far off the mark if you are to listen only to the music, but it seems as though the Teddies were blinded by their suits and shimmering hair to fully comprehend the extent to why these punks were doing what they were doing. An interesting subculture to research in its own rights, the Teddyboys were just as rough as the punks in nature, however not so tough in appearance. (maybe in the late 40's-50's?)
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