This figure is described as an 80's German punk. Well, I'm going to paint her as an 80's London punk - not sure it'll make much difference, tbh.
I was 17 years old in 1976, which is generally regarded as the birth year of punk. I was living in inner London, and so I was fortunate enough to see many punk outfits live. In particular, on Sunday nights at the Lyceum Ballroom in the Strand there would be five punk bands on, following each other in lightning-quick succession - no sound checks, no delay, just get on, bash out a few numbers and get off again. I saw lots of terrible stuff (lots of punk bands didn't survive more than a few months, and quite rightly too!), but I did see some amazing gigs. Siouxsie and the Banshees and X-Ray Specs in particular were fabulous. But there was much more that I can't remember, because I was much too busy having fun!
I must emphasise that most punk fans were NOT 'punks'. The audience was nearly all ordinary joes like me - shortish hair, skinny jeans and maybe a skinny tie, but that was it. I guess the peacocks (like this bust) were going clubbing - not my scene at all, I didn't want people looking at ME!
The other thing to emphasise is that punk fans loved reggae - between sets the staple was to play roots reggae. Rastas and punks were both outsiders, and an urban London audience was naturally pretty mixed. It's no surprise that punk, then Two-Tone and post-punk artists, were at the forefront of movements like Rock Against Racism and the Anti-Nazi League. So I'm intending that this figure's badges and shirt will reflect that cross-cultural mix.
Finally, here's the figure!
I was 17 years old in 1976, which is generally regarded as the birth year of punk. I was living in inner London, and so I was fortunate enough to see many punk outfits live. In particular, on Sunday nights at the Lyceum Ballroom in the Strand there would be five punk bands on, following each other in lightning-quick succession - no sound checks, no delay, just get on, bash out a few numbers and get off again. I saw lots of terrible stuff (lots of punk bands didn't survive more than a few months, and quite rightly too!), but I did see some amazing gigs. Siouxsie and the Banshees and X-Ray Specs in particular were fabulous. But there was much more that I can't remember, because I was much too busy having fun!
I must emphasise that most punk fans were NOT 'punks'. The audience was nearly all ordinary joes like me - shortish hair, skinny jeans and maybe a skinny tie, but that was it. I guess the peacocks (like this bust) were going clubbing - not my scene at all, I didn't want people looking at ME!
The other thing to emphasise is that punk fans loved reggae - between sets the staple was to play roots reggae. Rastas and punks were both outsiders, and an urban London audience was naturally pretty mixed. It's no surprise that punk, then Two-Tone and post-punk artists, were at the forefront of movements like Rock Against Racism and the Anti-Nazi League. So I'm intending that this figure's badges and shirt will reflect that cross-cultural mix.
Finally, here's the figure!
