Break out the leather jacket and safety pins while you check out these classic concert posters from punk’s golden age.
Punk rock was a world-changing movement within popular music. In its original form, it was the very essence of rock n’ roll stripped to its bare soul. It was adrenaline, teenage angst, distrust of authority, and at the time, something new.
Take a look at these great posters from Heritage’s upcoming music memorabilia auction on Saturday, April 16th:
Sex Pistols 1978 Swedish Concert Poster. An exciting and eye-catching concert poster for a show that ended up getting canceled. Scheduled for the 21st day of January 1978 in Sweden, the band opted to go to America instead. That ended up being a disastrous run and ended the band.
Featuring a still from the “God Save the Queen” promotional video with a dark pink shot, the anger and menace from John “Johnny Rotten” Lydon is in focus. As tame as it is now, angry punks swearing on live TV and screaming “No future for you!” was seen as an affront and a threat to polite society in 1976-1978. With unemployment and strikes making life extremely bleak for the teenagers and young adults raised on lofty post-World War II dreams, punk bands expressed what the present and possible future felt like.
The poster measures 24 ¾” x 36 ¾”. In Very Good condition with tape tears, creasing, smudges on verso, tears, and adhesive residue in various spots. COA from Heritage Auctions.
The Clash 1977 French Second Rock Festival Concert Poster Touting Debut Single. “No Elvis, Beatles, or The Rolling Stones,” Clash frontman Joe Strummer once barked about the year 1977. And it was true.
In that year, British punk was a huge moment in pop culture. Inspired by American acts like the New York Dolls, the Stooges, and The Ramones, a bevy of aspiring musicians on the dole decided to make a raucous noise about the times they were living in. Poverty, waste, and no future for this generation gave the world some mighty fine tunes that still resonate today.
This is a very large concert poster for the Clash’s performance at the 2nd Mont de Marsan Rock Festival, as well as advertising the band’s first single, “White Riot.”
This version of “White Riot” was the original version later released on the UK version of The Clash, featuring guitarist Mick Jones counting off the song (instead of the more familiar version starting with a police siren, heard on the US version of The Clash). This was a rougher take on the song, which was originally a demo.
Inspired by the Notting Hill Carnival riots in 1976, which Strummer and bassist Paul Simonon were at, the tune was a loud and strong opening bow from the Only Band That Matters.
At the time in France, rock festivals were not legal. That didn’t stop promoters from having a punk festival in 1976, and it’s second in 1977 with the Clash, the Police, and the Damned, along with Eddie & the Hot Rods and Dr. Feelgood. Mont de Marsan is a small little town in France, but the sounds from these festivals still make a dent on ears. An estimated 4,000 people saw this show.
In the bottom right corner, the poster says “Printed in France by Regie Internationale.” Measures 30 ½” x 46″. In Very Good Minus condition with considerable wear, toning, tears, tape repair on the verso, soiling, fold marks, holes, small spots of loss, and general wear. It was clearly used back in its day, and synonymous with the craziness and tension of 1977’s punk. COA from Heritage Auctions.
I’ve been into punk rock in one form or another since roughly 1994. To some, that’s a long time. To many of the originators of the genre, that’s a decade and a half after it “died.” To me, it survives to this day, always evolving – in some ways for the better, in others for the worse – for each generation. Visit a packed hardcore show at a dingy club, and judge for yourself on how much life the rebellious subculture still has left in it. Whatever you think of the genre, one thing is certain: punk collectibles (from the 1970s and 80s, especially) are only gaining steam.