BANDS BY GENRE

PROTO PUNK / PUB ROCK / PUNK 1976-1979 / PUNK 1980-1986 / NEW WAVE / POST-PUNK/MESSTHETICS / HARDCORE / OI! / ANARCHO / TRALLPUNK / DEATHROCK/GOTH / BANDS POST 1986

It's worth noting that some bands moved from one genre to another (i.e. Abgas started off as punk but went post-punk) and some bands straddled genres so closely that it made to include them in more than one genre (i.e. Skids, The Rezillos and The Stranglers are all listed as both punk and new wave).

PROTO-PUNK

Not a genre, but a catch-all term for those bands pre-dating the Sex Pistols etc and having a sound that would greatly influence (or pre-echo) punk.

Death
The Dictators
Die Electric Eels
The MC5
The Modern Lovers
The Neon Boys
New York Dolls
The Stooges
Stormtrooper

 

PUB ROCK

A slightly disparaging term for UK bands in immediate pre-punk period (1971-1975) which played fast rhythm 'n' blues in sweaty pubs, largely as a reaction against prog rock and glam rock. The earliest bands on this circuit were Eggs Over Easy, regulars at the Tally Ho in Kentish Town, followed by Bees Make Honey, Ducks Deluxe and others. The biggest pub band was Dr Feelgood, who enjoyed considerable success before punk arrived. The band venues were the Hope and Anchor (in Islington), the Red Lion, the Nashville, Dingwalls, the Half Moon and the Kensington. Quite a lot of early punk bands had a pub rock influence.

The 101'ers
The Addix
The Bishops
The Count Bishops
Dr Feelgood
The Drug Addix
Eddie & The Hot Rods
Kilburn And The High Roads
The Gorillas
The Hammersmith Gorillas
Roogalator

PUNK

By which I mean the sound typified by the Ramones, Sex Pistols, Buzzcocks, Dead Boys, The Damned, The Clash, Eater, The Drones and Germs. Some of these bands (The Stranglers, Undertones) are also considered new wave (see below). Some bands, however, were a bit stranger (Devo), and some very early punks swiftly expanded beyond the classic punk sound behind (Television, who were noisy when they formed) or never really sounded like trad punk but helped create it anyway (Patti Smith). These latter ones were formed too early to be considered new wave, but whenever I get around to including Talking Heads (who formed early) I'll put them in the new wave section because they definitly did not sound punk.

Then there's the second bunch of bands, prominent from 1980 onwards, who took the punk sound, updated it for the 80's, adopted the leather jacket/mohawk/idiot image and released records mainly on independents. Top of the tree here were The Exploited and Discharge. This second bunch does not include sub-genres such as anarcho punk, Oi! and hardcore.

1976-1979

999
The Accelerators
The Accident
Accident on the East Lancs
Acme Sewage Co.
Active Dog
A.D. 1984
Adam And The Ants
The Addix
The Adicts
The Adults
The Adverts
Alan Milman Sect
Alice Bag Band
Alley Cats
The Allies
Alternative TV
The Alternators
Amazing Space Frogs
Amazorblades
The Amber Squad
Angelic Upstarts
Anorexia (Birmingham, West Midlands)
Anti-Social
Armed Force
The Art Attacks
Arthur Comics
Asphalt Jungle
Attempted Moustache
Attentat
Auntie Pus
Avengers
The Bags
The Balls
Honey Bane
The Banned
The Bears
Bee Bee Cee
Big Balls
Big Balls and the Great White Idiot
Big In Japan
Black Randy & Metrosquad
The Blanks
Bleach Boys
Blitzkrieg Bop
The Bloodclots
Blunt Instrument
Born B.C.
The Boys
Breakouts
Bullets
Cane
Cash Pussies
Chartreuse
Cheetahs
The Cheifs
Chelsea
The Child Molesters
Chron Gen
The Cigarettes
John Cooper Clarke
The Clash
Cock Sparrer
Cockney 'n' Westerns
The Condemned
The Controllers
Controls
The Cortinas
Wayne County And The Electric Chairs
Crime
Crisis
The Crowd (USA)
The Crowd (UK)
The Curse
Cyanide
The Cybermen
The Damned
Dangerous Girls
The Dark
The Dead Boys
The Deadbeats
Defiant
Demon Preacher
The Demons
Dix Denney and John Denney
The Depressions
The Destructors
Devo
The Dickies
The Dils
The Diodes
Dirty Dog
The DP's
The Drive
The Drones
The Duggie Briggs Band
The Dyaks
The Electric Chairs
Elton Motello
Elizabeth
The Exile
The Exits ( Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Eyes
The Fakes
Patrik Fitzgerald
The Freeze
The Friendly Hopefuls
Front
Fruit Eating Bears
Fun City
F-Word
FX
Garbo's Celluloid Heroes
Gate Crashers
Gen X
Generation X
Germs
Geza X & The Mommy Men
Girls At Our Best
Dave Goodman and Friends
Gordon The Moron
Great British Heroes
Grinder
Handbag
Charlie Harper
The Head
Headache
Richard Hell
Helmettes
Henry Essence
The Hoax
Horrorcomic
The Idols
(Impatient) Youth
The Jerks
Jilted John
Joe Cool And The Killers
Johnny And The Self Abusers
Johnny Moped
The Jolt
The K9's
KAOS
Billy Karloff & The Extremes
Billy Karloff & The Goats
Billy Karloff Band
The Killers
Killjoys
King
Krypton Tunes
Last Words
Le Ritz
Left Hand Drive
The Lewd
The Leyton Buzzards
Lockjaw
London
Lucy
The Lurkers
The Machines
Magic Michael
Man-Ka-Zam
Maniacs
Manufactured Romance
Martin And The Brownshirts
Matt Black & The Doodlebugs
Maxim's Trash
Mean Street
The Members
Menace
Metal Urbain
Midnite Cruiser
The Mirrors
The Mistakes (England)
The Models
The Molesters
Mutants (UK)
Nasal Boys
Nazis Against Fascism
Negative Trend
Neo
Neon Hearts
Nipple Erectors
The Nips
No Choice
Norman And The Hooligans
The Nosebleeds
The Now
The Nuns
Gene October
The Offs
The Outcasts
The Outsiders
The Panik
The Pathetix
Penetration
Physicals
The Pigs
The Plague
Plastix
The Plugz
Pneumania
Iggy Pop
The Pork Dukes
The Prats
The Prefects
The Professionals
Proles
Protex
Pseudo Existors
Psykik Volts
Puncture
Pure Hell
PVC2
The Radiators From Space
Radio Active
Radio Blank
Ramones
Randoms
Raped
Razar
Red Letters
The Red Lights
The Reducers
Revenge
The Rezillos
Rich Kids
Rik L Rik
Rikki And The Last Days Of Earth
Rikki Sylvan And The Last Days
The Rings
The Ripchords
The Rotters
The Rowdies (London)
The Rowdies (Vale of Evesham)
Rozz And Negative Trend
The Rude Kids
Rudi
Ruefrex
Ruts
Ruts D.C.
The Saints
Satan's Rats
Rat Scabies
The Scabs
The Scars
Schoolgirl Bitch
Scrotum Poles
The Seize
Sex Pistols
Sham 69
The Shapes
The Sick Things
Siouxsie & The Banshees
Skids
Skrewdriver
Skunks
Slaughter
Slaughter & The Dogs
Slime
The Slits
TV Smith
Snatch (England)
The Snivelling Shits
Sods (Denmark)
The Sods (UK)
Sofisticatos
Some Chicken
Sounder
Speed
Spitfire Boys
Stiff Little Fingers
Stinky Toys
The Stoat
The Stranglers
Pete Stride And John Plain
The Subhumans (Canada)
Suburban Studs
Subs
Subway Sect
Sunset Boys
Superman's Girlfriend
The Table
Tax Exiles
The Teardrops
Television
Tickets
The Tights
TV Smith's Explorers
TVn: Orjat
Ugly
The UK Subs
The Undertones
The Unwanted
The Urinals
The Users
V2
The Valves
Vermilion
Vermilion And The Aces
The Vibrators
Vice Creems
Victim
Victimize
The Victims (New Jersey, USA)
The Visitors (Scotland)
VKTMS
Vomit Pigs
The Wall
Warsaw Pakt
The Wasps
Weirdos
White SS
Wire
X (USA)
Geza X
X-Ray Spex
X.S. Energy
The Xtraverts
The Yobs
The Zeros (UK)
The Zeros (USA)
The Zips
 

1980-1986

1st Offence
3rd Party
16 Guns
A Few Tears
A.D's
Abgas
The Abductors (Newcastle-Upon-Tyne)
The Abductors (Nottingham)
The Abnormal
Abrasive Wheels
The Abs
The Accursed!
Acid Attack
Act Of Defiance
Action Pact!
The Actives
Ad-Nauseam
AD-X
Aftermath UK
Anhrefn
Anabollic Steroids
Anarchist Attack
Animal Farm
Anti Establishment
Anti-Nowhere League
Anti-Pasti
Anti-State Control
Antibody
Attila the Stockbroker
Avoid
Barbed Wire
Bizex-B
Black Easter
Blood And Thunder
Butcher
Cadaverous Clan
Carnage
Catch 22
Chaos U.K.
Chaotic Dischord
Chaotik Dischord
Chaotic Youth
Charge
Charged G.B.H.
The Clergy
Court Martial
Criminal Justice
The Cult Maniax
Dead Katss
Dead Man's Shadow
The Deceased
Decontrol
Demob
Destructors
Disorder
Disturbance
Drongos For Europe
Eddie And The Subtitles
The Ejected
Embryo
Emergency
The Enemy
English Dogs
Epidemic
Expelled
Exploited
External Menace
Fenzyx
The Fits
Fungus
G.B.H.
Genocides
The Gymslips
Iconoclasts
The Insane
Jump Squad
Last Rough Cause
The Len Bright Combo
Mad Parade
Mania
Mau Maus
Mayhem
No Future UK
No Remorse
No Respect
The Noise
Obscene Females
One Way System
Paranoia
The Partisans
Peroxide
Phantoms Of The Underground
Picture Frame Seduction
Primtive
Production House
Protest
Public Disturbance
Rabid
The Rat And The Whale
Resistance 77
Roses Are Red
Sad Society
The Satellites
Sex Aids
Social Disease
Society's Rejects
Special Duties
The Straps
Subculture
Subvert
T.D.A.
Tenpole Tudor
Nik Toczek
The Troops
The Troops Of Tomorrow
The Tudors
Ultra-Violent
Undead
Under The Gun
The Underdogs
The Untouchables
Uproar
Urban Dogs
The Varukers
Vice Squad
The Wanderers
Xtract
 

NEW WAVE

"New wave" was initially a phrase used to describe all the new bands forming in '76/77, as in "there's a new wave of bands". It was then used as a term to describe bands which had the influence of punk - short hair, short songs - but were much more commercial sounding and radio friendly. Classic examples are The Knack, The Boomtown Rats and Elvis Costello. Also prone to more obvious sixties influences and use of synthesisers.

The Accidents
The Aces
Action Replay
Active Ingredients
The Addix
Advertising
The Alarm
Alberto Y Lost Trios Paranoias
Barry Andrews
Andy Arthur
Automatics (UK)
The B-52's
The B Girls
The Barracudas
Befour Three O'Clock
Bethnal
Blondie
The Boomtown Rats
Brainiac 5
Bullets
Buzz
The Carpettes
Celia & The Mutations
The Chuddy Nuddies
John Cooper Clarke
Hugh Cornwell
Elvis Costello
The Cuban Heels
Dead Fingers Talk
Deaf School
Devo
The Doctors
Doctors Of Madness
The Dodgems
The Doll
The DP's
The Drug Addix
John Du Cann
Ian Dury
Ian Dury And The Blockheads
Ian Dury And The Music Students
The Edge
Elton Motello
The Exits (Battersea, London)
The Flys
Jeff Hill
Holly & The Italians
Steve Hooker & The Heat
Steve Hooker Band
Jabberwock
Janie Jones & The Lash
Jet Bronx
Jet Bronx And The Forbidden
The Jive Bureaux
Jo Callis S.H.A.K.E. Project
Johnny Japes And His Jesticles
Nick Lowe
The Luxury Item
Masterswitch
Misspent Youth
Model Mania
Neon Barbs
New Hearts
Nicky And The Dots
The Out
Plastic Bertrand
The Pointed Sticks
Public Zone
The Radiators
Radio Stars
The Resistance
The Rezillos
Rikki & The Numbers
The Rivvits
Jonny Rubbish
The Salvation Army
Sex Beatles
Shake
The Shepherds Bush Comets
Skafish
Skids
The Soft Boys
Speedometers
The Spics
Stadium Dogs
Starship
The Stiffs
The Stranglers
The Stukas
Studio Sweethearts
Tanz Der Youth
Target 13
The Three Wise Men
Trash
Tubeway Army
Undertones
The Vapors
Chuck Wagon
The Waitresses
Larry Wallis
Larry Wallis' Psychedelic Rowdies
Wreckless Eric
XTC
The Yachts
Robert Nat Young
Zones
 

POST-PUNK / MESSTHETICS

Wikipedia: Post-punk (originally "new musick"[2]) is a broad type of rock music that emerged from the punk movement of the 1970s, in which artists departed from the traditional garage rock template of punk to pursue a variety of radical sensibilities. Attempting to break from rock cliché and subvert conventions, post-punk artists experimented with sources such as electronic music, black dance styles, and the avant-garde, as well as novel recording technology and production techniques. Artists also crossed their work with with art and politics, drawing widely on ideas from critical theory, modernist art, and literature. Communities that produced independent record labels, visual art, multimedia performances and fanzines developed in conjunction with these musical developments.

I've also included bands commonly lumped together under the term Messthetics. These bands made cheaply recorded records and released them on D.I.Y. labels, but for one reason or another - usually lack of musical expertise - did not fit into the standard punk bracket.

8 Eyed Spy
100 Flowers
Abgas
The Afflicted
Afflicted Man
Alternative TV
Amoebas in Chaos
Androids Of Mu
Any Three Initials
Annie Anxiety
Arch Criminals
Athletico Spizz 80
Avant Gardener
(Ye) Avant Gardener(s)
Beirut Slump
The Birthday Party
The Boys Next Door
Jean Jacques Burnel
Catwax Axe Co.
The Cravats
The Cravats DCL
Cuddly Toys
The Desperate Bicycles
English Subtitles
The Evening Outs
Gang Of Four
Garbo
The Good Missionaries
Half Japanese
High Speed & The Afflicted Man
I Jog And The Tracksuits
If-Then-Else
I'm Dead
Kalashnikov
Bruce Lose
Lydia Lunch
Magazine
Amerigo Marras and Bruce Eves
The Mekons
Metal Urbain
MinuteFlag
Murder The Disturbed
Mutants (USA)
Outer Circle
Poison Squirrel
Public Image Limited
Punilux
Punishment Of Luxury
Siouxsie & The Banshees
The Sleepers
The Slits
Snatch
Spizz Oil
Spizz Orbit
Spizzenergi
Spizzenergi: 2
The Spizzles
Poly Styrene
Swell Maps
Tagmemics
Teenage Jesus And The Jerks
Telescope
Television Personalities
Tiger Lily
The Tracksuits
Tubeway Army
Ultravox!
The Urinals
Wire
The Witch Trials
 

HARDCORE

These bands took the punk template and simply played it really, really fast. 30 second songs not uncommon. They didn't go in for fancy production techniques and many bands released records on their own labels. Top bands: Black Flag, Bad Brains, Dead Kennedys, Minor Threat, Descendents and Hüsker Dü. You'll have your own favourites.

Abandoned
Absence Of Malice
The Abused
Accelerators
The Accüsed
Tony Adolescent & The Flower Leperds
Adolescents
Adrenalin O.D.
ADZ
Agent Orange
Rikk Agnew
Agnostic Front
Agression
GG Allin
¡Anarchy 6!
Angry Red Planet
Angry Samoans
Anti Cimex
Anti Scrunti Faction
Antidote
Art
Art Only Band In The World
Articles of Faith
Artless
Attitude Adjustment
Authorities
Bad Brains
Bad Religion
Bedlam
Big Boys
Black Flag
The Brigade
CH3
Channel 3
Circle Jerks
Circle One
C.O.C.
Corrosion of Conformity
The Crewd!
Crucifix
The Crucifucks
Chris D.
De De Troit & The Car-Tunes
Dead Kennedys
Decry
Descendents
D.I.
Dicks
Divine Horsemen
D.O.A.
Double-O
The Effigies
False Prophets
Fear
Feederz
The Flesh Eaters
Flipper
Klaus Flouride
Flower Leperds
Genocide
Genöcide
Hüsker Dü
Hypnotics
JFA
Junior Achievement
Kraut
Legal Weapon
The Lovedolls
Mau Maus
Meat Puppets
M.I.A.
The Middle Class
Minor Threat
MinuteFlag
Minutemen
The Mob (USA)
Mob 47
Modern Warfare
Nip Drivers
No Labels
No Rock Stars
Nomeansno
The Offs
Pleased Youth
Poison Idea
Queer Pills
The Queers
Randy Rampage
Really Red
Red Cross
Redd Kross
Rejectors
RF7
Rhino 39
Second Wind
Shattered Faith
Sin 34
S.O.A.
Social Distortion
Some Weird Sin
Sorry
SS-20
The Stains
State Of Alert
Stepmothers
Stranglehold
Symbol Six
Tex And The Horseheads
Toxic Reasons
True Sounds Of Liberty
T.S.O.L.
U.X.A.
Whipping Boy
White Flag
White Pride
Würm
Youth Brigade (Los Angeles)
Youth Brigade (Washington DC)
Zero Boys
 

OI!

The 1977 punk sound as played by morons obsessed with violence, football and beer. Usually played pretty slowly. It's hard to think of Oi! without thinking of gorillas, but some of these bands - Cockney Rejects, The Business, The Last Resort and The 4-Skins - were excellent. I love it.

The 4 Skins
A.B.H.
Accused (England)
The Adicts
AD-X
Die Alliierten
Angela Rippon's Bum
Antisocial
Attak
Betrayed
Bleed
Blitz
Blitzkrieg
The Blood
The Burial
The Business
Case
Clockwork Soldiers
Cock Sparrer
Cockney Rejects
Combat 84
Coming Blood
Crossed Hammers
Gary And The Gonads
The Gonads
The Gymslips
Infa-Riot
The Infas
Iron Cross
The Last Resort
The Magnificent Gonads
Mania
Max 'n' Gal (The Brothers Gonad)
Millwall Roi's Last Resort
Peter And The Test Tube Babies
The Plastic Gangsters
Red Alert
Splodge
Max Splodge
Splodgenessabounds
The Violators
Warrior
 

ANARCHO

Led by Crass, anarcho was punk's political (left) wing, dedicated to smashing the system. Not for them the glossy allure of major labels, these bands dressed in black (Rubella Ballet notably excepted), frowned upon rockisms, housed their records in black-and-white sleeves and wondered why we couldn't all just love each other. War, animal rights, nuclear power, sexual freedom and deadly earnestness were the order of the day. Top bands (after Crass): Poison Girls, Conflict, Flux of Pink Indians, Subhumans, and (even though I don't actually like them much) The Mob.

4 Minute Warning
7th Plague
The A-Heads
Abstract Critique
Accumulative Poison
Active Minds
Admit You're Shit (A.Y.S.)
Alternative
Amebix
Anathema
Anthrax
Anti-System
Antidote (Netherlands/England)
Antisect
Annie Anxiety
A.O.A.
The A.P.F. Brigade
The Apostles
Armchair Power
The Assassins
Assassins Of Hope
Atrox
Awake Mankind
A.Y.S. (Admit You're Shit)
Chumbwamba
Conflict
Crass
Culture Shock
D & V
Dirt
The Disrupters
The Epileptics
Exit-Stance
Faction
'Fatal' Microbes
Pete Fender
Flux Of Pink Indians
Icon
Icon A.D.
Icons Of Filth
The Licks
The Mental
The Mob
Danbert Nobacon
Oi Polloi
Omega Tribe
Passion Killers
Poison Girls
Potential Victims
Reality Control
Riot/Clone
Rubella Ballet
Rudimentary Peni
The Secluded
Shock To The System
Skin Disease
The Snipers
Stupid Humans
Subhumans
Terminal Disaster
Nik Toczek
X-Cretas
The Xpozez
XS
Youthanasia
Youthanasia PX
Zounds
 

TRALLPUNK

A Swedish punk sub-genre: fast melodic hardcore with a slight metal influence.

Asta Kask

 

DEATHROCK / GOTH

A but like post-punk but even less entertaining and (usually) more doom-laden, but also tongue-in-cheek. Although commonly associated with Los Angeles and groups such as 45 Grave and Christian Death, it also thrived in the London club The Batcave. In the UK some exponents of the genre were briefly referred to as "positive punk".

Alien Sex Fiend
45 Grave
Blood And Roses
Brigandage
Christian Death
Kommunity FK
Pompeii 99
Ritual
Sex Gang Children
Skulls (New Jersey)
Southern Death Cult
Specimen
Super Heroines
Twisted Nerve
UK Decay
The Zarkons
 

BANDS POST-1986

Action Swingers
The Aints
ALL
Anti-Heros
Argy Bargy
Armitage Shanks
Jello Biafra
Dim Stars
God's Lonely Men
Greg Graffin
The Hanson Brothers
The Insurgence
Lard
Screeching Weasel
The Skulls (California)