Quelltext der Seite Text "Stones versus Punk (10th anniversary report basing on facts)" (Gary Robertson, Nico Zentgraf)

Ten years ago, the Punk Rock movement started, its aim was to destroy the establishment and to set up a state of anarchy. The Rolling Stones were among the supergroups, having proven their power after completing their 1975/76 world tour.

On one hand it wasn't surprising the anger of the punks concentrated on the Stones: They had wide appeal, lots of money and led the life of the jet-set rich. On the other (musical) hand - that's the contradiction - they tried to imitate them. Keith commented in an interview: "Many of the English Punk records sound like our early records, and that sound is very hard to achieve nowadays. But it seems to be the sound many of them are aiming for. We did them on a 2-track Revox in a room insulated with egg cartons at Regent Sound. Under these primitive conditions it was easy to make this kind of sound, but hard to make a much better one. Today the new bands have to work against environment, sophisticated technology, 24-track studios."

Mick became a target for Punk anger ("Mick Jagger, white nigger" - Eddie Tenpole in the theme song from <i>The great rock'n roll swindle</i>, co-written by Julien Temple), despite the fact that Malcolm McLaren's previous discovery, The New York Dolls, had a Jaggeresque singer. How Keith got involved in the crossfire was never made clear. "The eternal punk" (headline of German magazine <i>Tip</i> in 1983), "The world's most elegantly wasted human being" and on top of the <i>NME</i>'s "Most likely to die"-chart for years (of course he outlived Malcolm Owen, Sid Vicious, Ian Curtis and most of the Pretenders).

There were "Keef"-lookalikes like Mick Jones from The Clash and Ceeb Meador from The Werewolves. The Ruts even put him on the cover of their '79 album <i>The crack</i>, where he stands in a party scene, glass in hand. On the less "mainstream" Punk side - The Sex Pistols and their fans hated him. Malcolm McLaren even ridiculed him in the Sex Pistols' movie <i>The great rock'n roll swindle</i> when he proudly boasted how Pistols guitarist Steve Jones broke into Keith's house in London and stole a color TV, fur coats and some guitars. Sid Vicious - whose actions always meant more than his words - was a little less subtile: "I wouldn't piss on Keith Richards if he was on fire", fortunately he never had a chance to prove his point.

All of these attacks were aimed at The Glimmer Twins, the rest of the band seemd unscatued. Perhaps the fact that Bill, Charlie and Ronnie kept their private lives and opinions out of the popular press made them less viable targets.

For instance Johnny Rotten claimed that he slammed the door of McLaren's "Sex"-boutique in Jagger's face, Mick said it wasn't true. In 1979 Rotten would say in an interview that the Rolling Stones were a distraction, something he don't want his music to sound like.

Inside the Rolling Stones there was a lot of friction between Mick and Keith. Mick seemed to really like the new movement with its fresh approach, power and rawness. In a story in Barbara Charon'es book, during the <i>Some girls</i>-sessions in November 1977, Mick came into the studio and tried to imitate the Punk rockers by yelling and dancing like a lunatic. Keith wasn't impressed: "I don't think that Bowie or Johnny Rotten or all the Zeppelins are anywhere in the future let alone the present. Jagger believes Punk is today, is now... For a band of the Stones position to do that would have been ludicrous. It's fatal for the Stones to try that. What the fuck do we want to sound like the Sex Pistols for? What's the point of listening to that shit? It's for mass media consumption anyway."

In 1978 the <i>Some girls</i>-LP showed a new style and re-evaluation of the past. "When the whip comes down", "Shattered" ("Dressed in plastic bags... some kind of fashion"), "Lies", and especially "Respectable", all show the Punk influence with their rawness and simplicity. The Stones had never changed and the world had finally caught up with them. "Talking heroin with the president." Or even Marijuana with Canada's First Lady? The Stones had destroyed a politician without trying, something Punk with all its promises of anarchy was unable to do. People were spitting on the Stones in 1964, many Punk bands were offering money for anyone who'd kill himself on stage. It had already been done in 1969, albeit unwittingly.

On the Rolling Stones 1978 Tour the band also showed new influences. They played slightly shorter shows in smaller arenas. The backing musicians were nearly gone, as were the more self indulgent and dated songs. The "No Dinosaur Rock Policy" putted the Stones back on the street ("When The Whip Comes Down") instead of being the painted gods with flowery stages and other parts of their mid-seventies excesses.

They also gained a new generation of fans. To them the Stones were <i>Some girls</i> and <i>Emotional rescue</i>, or even more proper the songs "Miss you" and "Emotional rescue". Their other albums seemingly recorded by a different band (which is in some ways true as Ron Wood began to influence the sound). Some of these new fans that had put them down, beginning to mellow as New Wave became the "in" thing.

One year after <i>Some girls</i> The Clash released their double album <i>London calling</i>. Critics hailed it as the best double album since <i>Exile on Main St</i>, especially for its variety of styles, rawness and the all-out quality of the music. The Clash would always be compared to the Stones, although they never managed to maintain the momentum into the eighties.

Despite Keith's cynism ("First they should learn to swear") it seems the Stones and Punk influenced each other, although some of them didn't like it to be compared. So Bob Geldof of the Boomtown Rats after he was compared with Mick Jagger one more time: "People said it and it has always pissed me off."

Maybe if Keith had not beenso busy with his own problems with drugs and trials he could have observed the scene better and absorbed the better part of the Punk music into the Stones sound as he did with Reggae. Now it must be said that Keith has used Punk to produce songs like "Hold back" and "Dirty work". As Mick once said, despite of his money he was still a Punk because it was the attitude that counted. This must include Keith if only for his classic comment - "If you're going to kick authority in the teeth you might as well use both feet."

In October 1978 Keith shared the headlines of the mass media. Keith was on trial in Toronto while Sid was accused of murdering his girlfriend and attempting suicide in New York. Keith made ironic comments about this ("He's trying to steal my headlines") but was a little more serious after Vicious was accused of killing Nancy Spungen: "Not only is murder considered a lesser crime, but in another country they couldn't be extradited but they could for what I've been charged with. To think someone couldn't be extradited for mass murder. Ridiculous? You tell me." In the end Keith got the lighter sentence. Mick offered help to Sid Vicious, but McLaren told him to shove it.

And with it the end of the Sex Pistols and Punks story. Now its power and influence are almost forgotten in a deluge of blande music, cover versions and re-releases (in the UK at least). But it did a lot good at the time.

== Results ==

* Sid Vicious died and became a Punk martyr, as Brian Jones was to many of the sixties generation. Keith Richards emerged a winner. He went on tour with The New Barbarians whose line-up included Ian McLagan (from the Small Faces pop group) who was also a member of former Pistol Glen Matlocks Rich Kids. When the New Barbarians played at Knebworth members of the Sex Pistols and the Clash were spotted in the audience by the music press. When asked if they were there to see the main band Led Zeppelin, they laughed. They were there to see one person. Sometimes the New Barbarians sounded more chaotic than any Punk band ever.
* The Stones made many three-chord songs in the late seventies such as "When the whip comes down" (two chords!) and "Summer romance". The Punks in return did cover versions of Stones songs like "Citadel" by the Damned, "Satisfaction" by the Residents and also by Devo, "Tell me" by the Dead Boys (led by Stiv Bators, a big Keith Richards fan), "Gimme shelter" by the Sisters Of Mercy, etc
* The Stones were a "street" rock band again, but they were also a Punk band in the beginning. Take an earful of the Honolulu gig in 1966. It's pure Punk!
* Johnny Rotten became John Lydon and made a fortune (not least by sueing McLaren). Mick Jones left The Clash and makes dance music featuring dialogue from a film starring Mick Jagger. Julien Temple made videos for the Kinks and the Rolling Stones. Not forgetting the unreleased Mick Jagger video-movie <i>Running out of luck</i>, and Mick likes his Sid Vicious video "My way" very much. Temple has since taken his <i>Great rock'n roll swindle</i> ideas (exploiting youth with fashion and music) and remade them into <i>Absolute beginners</i>. Malcolm McLaren tried to make a success by fusing Punk with Afro-rhythms, made music to skip, Breakdance and even Opera-Pop. He was always compared with Andrew Oldham and disappeared in obscurity just as fast. Keith said McLaren had things half baked, and he was right. "Fuckin'" Andrew made a few dollars as manager of a Punk band called L. A. Trash, that did a Stones cover version.
* The Rolling Stones survived! They also beat New Wave, Heavy Metal, Futurist, New Romantics, Gender Benders, the Who, Led Zeppelin, Adam Ant, the Thompson Twins and last and certainly least Wham!

AIN'T IT GOOD TO BE ALIVE!<br>- Gary

TRUST YOUR GUT REACTION<br>- EMT

== Publication ==

{| class=wikitable
| 1986 unreleased || {{country1|CH}} <i>[[Charlie is good tonight]]</i> nr. 5
|}

The article was originally credited to "Gary" (Robertson) and "EMT" - The Ego Maniac Traitor (aka Nico Zentgraf).


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