Were it not for the Clash, punk would have been just a sneer, a safety pin and a pair of bondage trousers.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
What was punk all about? To me, it was if you really want to do something, go ahead and do it.
I always said punk was an attitude. It was never about having a Mohican haircut or wearing a ripped T-shirt. It was all about destruction, and the creative potential within that.
It's true the punk fashion itself was iconographic: rips and dirt, safety pins, zips, slogans, and hairstyles. These motifs were so iconic in themselves - motifs of rebellion.
When I was 13, I kind of got into the punk scene. I realized it was easier to wear a pair of combat boots and jeans and a beat-up T-shirt. I think of it as a uniform.
The craziest thing about it, I used to hate fighting, but you had to show how tough you was; you had to show you wasn't no punk.
I pretty much grew up when punk was big in the UK. The Sex Pistols were heroes for me. I used to run around like Johnny Rotten. I had a jacket like his.
People forget the punk thing was really good for women. It motivated them to pick up a guitar rather than be a chanteuse. It allowed us to be aggressive.
In the early days, myself and my friends were into punk because we had no money, just very basic instruments and skills. It was more about the ethos and the energy.
When punk picked up black leather, I put it down.
Punk was never about one particular clean-cut imagery... it's about many, many individuals coming very loosely together.