The global impact of Punk was driven by a sound of raw, unrehearsed intensity, it was a soundtrack of revolution. In the turbulent 1970s headlines were dominated by movements. Gay rights, women’s liberation, civil rights, the end of the utopian vision of the hippies, Roe v Wade, Watergate, the Cold War, the anti-war movement, the death of Elvis Presley and the birth of the Punk movement.
Music was dominated by corporate rock, disco and a handful of entrenched big-name musicians and bands. The hopes, dreams and visions of 60s activists gained corporate sponsors, slick ad campaigns and polished logos. The hippie revolution was being ingested by a middle-class ethos that turned everything into a bottom line of profit and loss.
Aimee Mann of ‘Til Tuesday photographed by Michael Grecco.
A Cacophony of Power Chords
A cacophony of power chords pierced the silence of the dystopian 1970s. Emerging from middle-class suburban garages, empty industrial spaces, fringe neighborhoods, and forgotten stages was the sound of a disaffected generation.
A soundtrack of power chords backed by the beats of frenzied drumming and led by snarling; primal screaming vocals became the soundtrack of a revolution. A discombobulated movement was in fact the voice of a new generation. Inevitably Punk, like every revolution, morphed from an underground haven for the youth of angst into a powerful music influencer.
Iconic Anthems
Iconic anthems that encapsulated the punk revolution were shared around the world. The music of Sex Pistols, The Ramones, The Clash, Talking Heads, Adam Ant, Joan Jett, David Bowie, and others were recognized as a soundtrack of Punk. Their fame drove the global impact of music, the revolution, and the lifestyle of Punk.
David Byrne of Talking Heads photographed by Michael Grecco.
The abandoned clubs of the 60s, Whiskey a Go-Go in LA, The 100 Club in London, Hangar 110 in Brazil, Le Gibus in Paris and CBGB’s in New York were injected with the blood of Punk. In Boston, it was The Rat, Spit, Channel, and others.
Witness to History
The Ramones cut their teeth in New York at CBGBs, considered the preeminent Punk bar. In rapid fire succession they released six albums between 1976 and 1981. These first six albums featured iconic punk anthems. They included Blitzkrieg Bop, Judy is a Punk, Rockaway Beach, Teenage Lobotomy, and I Wanna be Sedated to name a handful the dozens of songs that captured the essence of Punk as a lifestyle and a movement.
Joey Ramone of The Ramones photographed by Michael Grecco.
Michael Grecco was immersed in the heartbeat of the soundtrack of Punk. As a photographer for the AP, and a Boston music magazine, he had unprecedented access to performers on and off the stage. Michael Grecco used his camera to capture the music that drove the global impact of punk in photographs.
The Days of Punk, by Michael Grecco, is a testament to the transformative Punk revolution in a beautifully curated collection of vivid, iconic photographs. The personally curated photos in Days of Punk, go beyond the visual. Each Michael Grecco photograph defines the spirit, lifestyle and cataclysmic era that began in non-descript clubs and conquered an unsuspecting world.
Capturing The Music in Photographs
The fury of the Sex Pistols hit Anarchy in the UK; a searing indictment of establishment norms rings clear in the photos of Michael Grecco. London Calling by The Clash became the rallying cry for political awareness and change in the punk movement. The photographs of The Clash by Michael Grecco from this era clearly portray the aggression and urgency of the political turmoil that they were addressing.
Mick Jones of The Clash photographed by Michael Grecco.
The enduring legacy, the sounds of the music and the societal changes of the era are front and center in the Days of Punk. Few history books capture the sights, sounds and emotions of a time and place like the immortal photographs of Michael Grecco in the Days of Punk.
