Bored teenagers

Ian shirley celebrates the (highly collectable) punk bands who could have been contenders….

Forget that Kate Nash has scored hit singles and a hit album – Made Of Bricks – the important thing is that she is a punk rock fan. In fact, Nash got into the music by buying a vinyl copy of Bored Teenagers 2 at Spitalfield’s record collector’s Market one Friday morning to explore the great sonic clang of bands like The Zips, The Negatives and Disorder.

The Bored Teenagers series recently celebrated its fifth volume and documents those unheralded bands who were inspired to make music by the example of the Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Damned and the entire try-it-yourself ethos of punk rock. For every band that secured a major label deal and toured the country, there were 30 who were local heroes, whose career ended after the release of one single or EP.

Thus, although in the history books punk rock is associated with the usual suspects, the important legacy was the DIY ethic which left behind a veritable treasure trail of music.

“I’ve been collecting punk and Mod records since I was at school,” says label boss David ‘Dizzy’ Holmes, whose first purchase was God Save The Queen as a 13-year old. “Obviously, I bought all the classics like the Pistols and The Clash and, once I’d completed my collection, I started looking closer into the scene and it led me to the more …

by Ian shirley
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