Punk: Attitude
Mon 25 June 2007 10pm
Filmmaker Don Letts retells the story of punk and pays tribute to it in a unique documentary created out of archive live footage, exclusive interviews and shouty soundtrack.
What is punk, why did it happen, who invented it and where did it start?
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Don Letts is well placed to answer these questions, having been part of the punk movement from the start. He was a dub DJ in London's legendary Roxy club, a founder member of Big Audio Dynamite and all the time his Super8 movie camera was rolling.
Letts has assembled an impressive cast of punk pioneers to give their version of events on camera.
There are far too many legends to name here, but the list includes New York Dolls' David Johansen, Sylvain Sylvain and Arthur Kane, the Clash's Mick Jones and Paul Simonon, Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones, Tommy Ramone, Jello Biafra, Handsome Dick Manitoba, Siouxie Sioux and the highly quotable Henry Rollins.
It is Henry Rollins, greying at the temples, but still as muscle-bound and mean as ever who kicks off: "All we need is one person to say 'F*** this' and everyone points at them. 'Voice of a generation! Thank you! I've been thinking that all this time but haven't had the courage to say it myself!' ".
Was the original punk statement of intent spoken by Marlon Brando's leather-clad biker character in the 1953 film The Wild One? "What are you rebelling against?" asks an awestruck girl. "What have you got?" comes his reply.
Or did it start a decade later when the raw sounds of ? and the Mysterians gave way to the nihilism of the Velvet Underground and the manic energy of Iggy Pop and the Stooges? (Visit the website for ? and the Mysterians).
