That can-do DIY spirit of punk swept up tons of shy 14 year old girls like me. And transformed us all into playful braggarts.
My head had been full of nervy great aunts giving war-time sensible advice like making a good coat last 20 years or smiling costing nothing. Suddenly punk swept those old ladies away and I could do anything – or at least I could talk about doing anything.
One of the best things about the punk attitude is promising something it’s almost impossible to deliver. So many gigs, tours, recordings and events have come about as a result of, “Yeah, sure …. we can do that!”
A great early example of this is the creation of Siouxsie and the Banshees:
When they learned that one of the bands scheduled to play the 100 Club Punk Festival, organised by Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren, were pulling out from the bill at the last minute, Siouxsie suggested that she and Steve Severin play, even though they had no band name or additional members.
Two days later, the pair appeared at the festival held in London on 20 September 1976. With two borrowed musicians at their side Marco Pirroni on guitar and John Simon Ritchie (already commonly known as Sid Vicious) on drums, their set consisted of a 20-minute improvisation based on “The Lord’s Prayer”.
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