What’s the word ‘punk’ come to mean 50 years later? It’s been adopted by the very people it sought to unsettle. Chris Sullivan – DJ, club runner, lecturer, former band-leader – arrived in London just as it kicked off and looks back at a time when everything was a challenge, no-one apologised, outsiders linked up and fought for recognition, and pop culture could change overnight. We talk to him here about ‘Punk: the Last Word’ which traces its roots from Socrates to Soho, touching on…

… does ‘punk’ now mean conformity?

… is pop music still allowed to be outrageous?

… Socrates, Rimbaud, Lee Miller, the Warhol superstars: 2,000 years of people who embody the punk philosophy

… how the clothes often precede the music

… the 1975 pre-Pistols world – “people dressing as teddy boys, Marilyn Monroe, Cary Grant, records by Patti Smith, the Velvets, MC5”

… the days when you were attacked for dressing up, in his case by the Newport Rugby team and a guy with a starting handle at a service station

... new punk equivalents emerging in 2025

… how the spirit of punk gave people a drive and identity – Tracey Emin, Damien Hirst, Jonathan Ross, John Galliano

… “I threw a policeman through a plate-glass window”

Order ‘Punk: the Last Word’ here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/punk/stephen-colegrave/chris-sullivan/9781915841254

Help us to keep The Longest Conversation In Rock going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear

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UK Subs formed in 1976 when Charlie Harper was 32. They’ve had over 80 members, some of whom he can’t remember. They never split up and are touring in 2026 to celebrate his 82nd birthday. “I vowed I’d keep playing as long at the Stones - which I’m now starting to regret!” After 50 years on the punk frontline, he’s the first to see the humour in going deaf and “having to have the occasional sit-down”. This fond and honest conversation looks back at …

… seeing the Stones at Ken Colyers’ jazz club and drinking with them in the Porcupine

… making £4 a day – “a fortune” – playing tube stations in 1964: “ex-buskers never get stagefright”

… “dreadlocks, Afros, convoy cuts” – confessions of a teenage hairdresser

… what he learnt from Joe Strummer and the 101-ers

… his punk epiphany: seeing the Damned at the Roxy in 1976

… playing France’s Hellfest to 30,000 people and why the spirit of ‘77 still burns on the West Coast

… famous fans: Guns N’Roses, Hanoi Rocks, Dinosaur Jnr

… the UK Subs’ run-in with US Immigration

… skiffle, Jesse Fuller, Woody Guthrie, Big Bill Broonzy, Donovan and mid-‘70s R&B

…the onstage rigours of getting old: “I don’t get adrenaline anymore and have to have the occasional sit-down!”

… Where Did I Leave My Glasses? Why Did I Come Upstairs? – our fantasy tracks for the senior citizen!

Order UK Subs tickets here: https://ww.uksubstimeandmatter.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=16899&Itemid=161

Help us to keep The Longest Conversation In Rock going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear

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The boys of the NYPD choir are still singing Galway Bay, so pour yourself a measure of the Rare Old Mountain Dew and warm your toes on the following …

… Steve Lillywhite (in Bali!) remembers making Fairytale Of New York and how “a fiery redhead” kicked the Chrissie Hynde duet into touch

… the most recent singer-songwriter you could call “a ledge”?

… records we loved in our 20s but now feel a bit embarrassing

… “discipline and economy, tension and release”: the immortal twangs and tweaks of Steve Cropper and how the MGs redefined the idea of a great record

… Green Onions, I Thank You by Sam & Dave and the white heat of Otis Blue’s 24-hour recording

... Tim Buckley’s Greatest Misses

... performative listening: the exquisite awkwardness of the album playback!

… the link between Imogen Heap and the Hissing of Summer Lawns

… Jon Bon Jovi’s version of Fairytale – “so bad they had to turn the YouTube comments off!”

… plus Gram Parsons, the cult of the Blues Brothers, the Monochrome Set and a quiz from birthday guest Peter Petyt: spot the Hepworth/Ellen reviews of yesteryear!

The new live version of Fairytale of New York: http://pogues.lnk.to/FONYLiveGlasgow1987

Josh Smith demonstrating Steve Cropper’s guitar parts: https://youtu.be/LJEIwggKAsg?si=29weA4tBQE6ccj1-

Help us to keep The Longest Conversation In Rock going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.