Anarcho-punk

History

Forerunners

During the 1960s to early 1970s, some artists who were later retroactively described as "proto-punk" became influenced by New Left or anarchist ideology, which included David Peel who was associated with the Yippie movement, alongside bands such as the MC5, the Fugs, the Edgar Broughton Band, Mick Farren's the Deviants, Pink Fairies and Hawkwind. These bands set a precedent for mixing radical politics with rock music and established the idea of rock as an agent of social and political change in the public consciousness. Other influences include avant-garde art and political movements such as Fluxus, Dada, the Beat Generation, Youth International Party, England's angry young men (such as Joe Orton), the surrealism-inspired Situationist International, the 1967 March on the Pentagon, the May 1968 uprising in Paris, and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.

Jello Biafra of the Dead Kennedys has cited the Yippies as an influence on his activism and thinking.

Origins

A surge of popular interest in anarchism occurred during the 1970s in the United Kingdom following the birth of punk rock, in particular the Situationist-influenced Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren and graphics artist Jamie Reid, as well as that band's first single, "Anarchy in the U.K.". Crass and the Poison Girls funded the rented Wapping Autonomy Centre with a benefit single and this then inspired other squatted self-managed social centres in London such as the Ambulance Station on Old Kent Road, Centro Iberico, Molly's Café on Upper Street and the Bingo Hall opposite Highbury & Islington station (now the Garage). The concept (and aesthetics) of anarcho-punk was quickly picked up on by bands like Flux of Pink Indians, Subhumans and Conflict.

By the early 1980s, an anarcho-punk scene emerged in Leeds spearheaded by groups such as Abrasive Wheels, the Expelled and Icon A.D. From this scene came Chumbawamba, whose emphasis on confrontational political activism soon overtook their connection to the scene. Despite their anti-corporate views, the group signed to EMI, leading to their 1997 single "Tubthumping" reaching number 2 on the UK Singles Chart.

Pioneering crust punk bands Antisect, Anti System, Sacrilege and Amebix all began in the anarcho-punk scene, before incorporating their anarchist lyrical themes with elements of early heavy metal. Early British grindcore bands like Carcass, Napalm Death and Extreme Noise Terror were primarily a part of the 1980s anarcho-punk scene, however began embracing elements of extreme metal and American thrashcore.

Social and legal conditions in the UK at the time, such as "cheap housing, lenient squatting laws and welfare benefits adequate to live on", allowed these bands to flourish. Dunstan Bruce of Chumbawumba said "we took the dole as a full-time wage underpinning our activism [...] We pooled our resources; that money powered the band and our printing press in the squat basement. We printed leaflets for local campaigns and activist groups".

International development

United States

Anarcho-punk spread to the United States in the late 1970s with groups like Austin's MDC and San Francisco's Dead Kennedys. Los Angeles' Black Flag also embraced anarchists politics between 1982 and 1986, when Henry Rollins was their vocalist. United States anarcho-punk generally supported revolutions in Latin America and anti-Apartheid movements and criticised the Presidency of Ronald Reagan.

In the 1980s, New York City cultivated a thriving anarcho-punk scene. Beginning as a part of the larger New York hardcore scene, bands like Reagan Youth, False Prophets and Heart Attack made use of a similar musical style and mentality to their British counterparts. This scene split from New York hardcore as the decade progressed. Nausea were a key figure in the scene during this period, helping to cultivate a new scene in the city based around politics and squatting.

The anarcho-punk fanzine and record label Profane Existence, founded in Minneapolis, became a "significant banner holder" for American scenes, particularly crust. Plan-It-X Records and affiliated bands such as This Bike is a Pipe Bomb and Imperial Can were associated with a folk punk scene that operated as a facet of anarcho-punk.

In the 1990s in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a number of collectively organised squats, houses and venues hosted shows, political events and parties. Venues included the Calvary Church, Stalag 13, The Killtime, and the First Unitarian Church. Bands such as R.A.M.B.O., Mischief Brew, Flag of Democracy, Limp Wrist, Paint It Black, and Kid Dynamite were based in the city. In West Philadelphia, punks also staffed the local food cooperatives and activist spaces – such as A-Space and LAVA Zone, where groups such as Food Not Bombs and Books Through Bars would operate.

In the 2000s, American anarcho-punk groups like Anti-Flag and Against Me gained significant mainstream success for the genre.

Iceland

In the 1980s Einar Örn, who had been studying in London, booked the English band Crass to play in Reykjavík. Örn formed the avant-garde anarcho-punk band KUKL, which also counted Björk as a member. They recorded for Crass Records and scored several British indie hits, and toured Britain with Flux of Pink Indians. They later regrouped as the core of pop band The Sugarcubes who signed to the One Little Indian label which was founded by Derek Birkett of Flux.

Indonesia

After the fall of the New Order regime in the late 1990s, anarcho-punk collectives such as Marjinal and Taring Babi have become the "public face of anarchism" in Indonesia. These groups and their genre's fans consist of mostly poor, urban youths in cities like Jakarta, Bandung, and Yogyakarta. Underground music scenes in Java, Sumatera and Bali became "an important centre for radical left activism", with the ideology becoming "dominant in the local music scene". From it emerged punk collectives with leftist views, such as the Anti-Fascist Front in Bandung, and the Anti-Oppression Front in Surabaya. In 2007 street punks Budi Khaironi and Bowo, and humanitarian activist Ahmad Zaki formed the band Punk Muslim in Jakarta in 2007, pairing punk music and activism with Islamic religious education. Another anarchist punk band is Sukatani, though stylistically their music is more electro-punk or electronic post-punk.

Italy

The Virus was a squat in Milan in the 1980s. It was a hub of a network of anarcho-punk collectives that extended all over Italy, with connections and contacts throughout Europe. In April 1982 it held the Offensiva di Primavera ('Spring Offensive'), a music festival which invited over 50 bands for a three-day event that was attended by thousands of people. Bands to play at the squat included Wretched and Negazione. It produced a zine titled Anti-Utopia.

Attack Punk Records was founded in Bologna in 1981 by Helena Velena, Laura Carroli, and Carlo Chiapparini to put out records by their anarchist hardcore punk band RAF Punk.

Poland

Anarcho-punk bands from Poland include Włochaty and Dezerter. Dezerter were explicitly anarchist, and expressed this in interviews, and in their lyrics and imagery.

Spain

The Spanish bands Sin Dios and Los Muertos de Cristo influenced a range of punk scenes in both Europe and Latin America.