Punk Pathetique
Encyclopedia
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
(principally active circa 1980-1982) that involved humour and working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
cultural themes.
The name of the genre was coined by then-Sounds
Sounds (magazine)
Sounds was a long-term British music paper, published weekly from 10 October 1970 – 6 April 1991. It was produced by Spotlight Publications , which was set up by Jack Hutton and Peter Wilkinson, who left "Melody Maker" to start their own company...
journalist Garry Bushell
Garry Bushell
Garry Bushell is an English newspaper columnist, rock music journalist, television presenter, author and political activist. Bushell also sings in the Oi! band The Gonads and manages the New York City Oi! band Maninblack. Bushell's recurring themes are comedy, country and class...
, who actively championed many of its exponents. Punk pathetique was initially an attempt to characterize a group of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
bands that embodied Cockney
Cockney
The term Cockney has both geographical and linguistic associations. Geographically and culturally, it often refers to working class Londoners, particularly those in the East End...
culture with a Dickensian working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
attitude. Musically it was related to, and had crossover with, the Oi!
Oi!
Oi! is a working class subgenre of punk rock that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The music and its associated subculture had the goal of bringing together punks, skinheads and other working-class youths ....
subgenre. The cover of the 1980 Bushell/Sounds compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
Oi the Album described the record as featuring "ruck 'n' rollers and punk pathetiques". In contrast to harder-edged Oi! bands with more serious lyrics, punk pathetique bands focused on the naughty, silly and trivial. Max Splodge, of Splodgenessabounds, said: "The pathetique bands are the other side of Oi! We're working class too, only whereas some bands sing about prison and the dole
Welfare
Welfare refers to a broad discourse which may hold certain implications regarding the provision of a minimal level of wellbeing and social support for all citizens without the stigma of charity. This is termed "social solidarity"...
, we sing about pilchards and bums. The audience is the same."
Some punk pathetique bands had notable success in the UK charts. Toy Dolls
Toy Dolls
The Toy Dolls are an English punk rock band formed in 1979. Departing from the angry lyrics and music often associated with punk rock, The Toy Dolls worked within the aesthetics of punk to express a sense of fun, with songs such as "Yul Brynner Was a Skinhead", "My Girlfriend's Dad's a Vicar" and...
got to #4 in December 1984 with "Nellie The Elephant." Splodgenessabounds
Splodgenessabounds
Splodgenessabounds are an English punk rock band formed in Keston, Bromley, South London. The band is associated with the Oi! and Punk Pathetique genres. Their frontman is Max Splodge.-Career:...
reached #7 in 1980 with "Simon Templar," and #26 with "Two Little Boys" later that year. According to Bushell:
Peter and the Test Tube Babies
Peter and the Test Tube Babies
Peter and the Test Tube Babies are a punk rock band that was formed in the small town of Peacehaven, England in 1978 by Del Strangefish and Peter Bywaters. Due to their humorous tongue-in-cheek lyrics, they have been considered part of the Punk Pathetique subgenre...
were first featured in Sounds in July 1980, and made their vinyl debut on Oi! The Album later that year. They favoured absurd lyrics and strange titles, such as "The Queen Gives Good Blow Jobs." Toy Dolls, based in Sunderland
City of Sunderland
The City of Sunderland is a local government district of Tyne and Wear, in North East England, with the status of a city and metropolitan borough...
, shared the punk pathetique approach to nonsensical entertainment. Toy Dolls singer Olga Algar told Sounds in March 1980: "We're a new wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
group, but we're not serious. All our songs are pretty childish and infantile, but they're all based on things and people 'round here."
Bushell wrote that punk pathetique peaked in autumn 1980, with the Pathetique Convention staged at the Electric Ballroom
Electric Ballroom
The Electric Ballroom is a performance venue and indoor market located at 184 Camden High Street in Camden Town, London . The Electric Ballroom has been in operation for over seventy years, during which time it has been used in many different ways.The two storey building has two dance floors and...
. However, music critic Dave Thompson has stated of Splodgenessabounds' 1981 album:
Other punk pathetique bands included TV Personalities, The Shapes
The Shapes (UK band)
The Shapes were an English punk rock group that formed in the town of Leamington Spa in 1976. Different in many ways from their peers in the nascent punk subculture, they were known for eschewing the more political stances that were fashionable at the time, instead producing works of a cartoonish...
, The Adicts
The Adicts
The Adicts are an English punk band from Ipswich, Suffolk, England. One of the more popular punk rock bands in the 1980s, they were often in the indie charts at that time. Their song "Viva La Revolution" was featured in the video game Tony Hawk's Underground. It was also featured in a commercial...
, the Notsensibles
Notsensibles
Notsensibles are a light-hearted punk rock band from Burnley, England, who had their greatest success with their second single "I'm in Love with Margaret Thatcher".-History:...
, the Gonads, The Postmen, Desert Island Joe, The Hoopers, Pierre The Poet (Garry Butterfield), Paul Devine, Lord Waistrel & The Cosh Boys, Stephen Louis Knoche Jr & his Raging Cronies, the Alaska Cowboys, and the Orgasm Guerrillas. Later, the mantle was inherited by the Bus Station Loonies
Bus Station Loonies
The Bus Station Loonies are a 'cabaret punk' band from Plymouth, England. They have been described as a cross between Dead Kennedys, Undertones, Alberto y Lost Trios Paranoias and the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band....
, Monkish and the Macc Lads
Macc Lads
The Macc Lads were a punk and hard rock band from Macclesfield, UK. Self-proclaimed "rudest, crudest, lewdest, drunkest band in Christendom", The Macc Lads used irreverent and foul-mouthed lyrics, political incorrectness, drinking, sexism and homophobia....
, who did comic punk singalongs in very much the same style. As of 2010, Toy Dolls, Peter and the Test Tube Babies, The Gonads and Splodgenessabounds continue to tour and record.