Pub rock (United Kingdom)

Pub rock is a subgenre of rock music that emerged in the early to mid-1970s in the United Kingdom. A back-to-basics movement, which incorporated roots rock, pub rock was a reaction against the

Characteristics#

Pub rock was deliberately nasty, dirty and post-glam. Bands looked menacing and threatening, “like villains on The Sweeney”. According to David Hepworth, Dr. Feelgood looked as if they had “come together in some unsavoury section of the army”. Pub rock groups disdained any form of flashy presentation. Scene leaders like Dr. Feelgood, Kilburn and the High Roads and Ducks Deluxe played simple, “back to mono” rhythm and blues in the tradition of white British groups like the Rolling Stones and the Yardbirds, with fuzzy overdriven guitars and whiny vocals. While pub rockers did not have expensive stage shows, they took inspiration from early R&B and increased the dynamism and intensity of their live shows. Pub rock allowed a variety of singers and musicians to perform, even if they did not adhere to a clearly defined musical genre. This means that pub rock labels could afford to put out records with a tenth of the sales of mainstream bands. The pub rock scene was primarily a live phenomenon. During the peak years of 1972 to 1975, there was just one solitary Top 20 single (Ace’s “How Long”), and all the bands combined sold less than an estimated 150,000 albums. Many acts suffered in the transition from pub to studio recording and were unable to recapture their live sound. Pub rock’s small venue approach increased the importance of good songwriting and well-written lyrics, in contrast to mainstream pop which had marginalised both elements. The UK pub rock scene wound down by 1976. The record industry was already looking into early punk, thinking it might be the next “big thing”. In 1976, some pub rock labels were putting out both the harder-edged pub rock acts and early punk bands such as The Damned.

History#

American country-rock band Eggs over Easy were the precursors of the movement when they broke the jazz-only policy of the “Tally Ho” pub in Kentish Town, in May 1971. They were impressive enough to inspire local musicians such as Nick Lowe. They were soon joined by a handful of London acts such as Brinsley Schwarz who had been victims of the prevailing big-venue system. Most of the venues were in large Victorian pubs “north of Regents Park”, where there were plenty of suitable establishments. One of the most notable venues was the Hope and Anchor pub on Islington’s Upper Street, still a venue. At that point it seemed that nearly every large pub in London was supplying live music, along with hot snacks and the occasional stripper. By Autumn 1975, they were joined by acts such as Hammersmith Gorillas, Joe Strummer’s 101ers, Eddie and the Hot Rods, and The Count Bishops. Pub rock was rapidly overtaken by the UK punk explosion after spawning what are now seen as several proto-punk bands. Some artists were able to make the transition by jumping ship to new outfits, notably Joe Strummer, Ian Dury and Elvis Costello. A few stalwarts were later able to realise Top 40 chart success, but the moment was gone. Many of the actual pubs themselves survived as punk venues (especially the Nashville and The Hope & Anchor), but a range of notable pubs such as the George Robey and the Pied Bull have since been closed or demolished. The Newlands Tavern survived. Now called The Ivy House, in 2023 it is once again a thriving music venue showcasing many new bands.

Legacy#

According to Nostalgia Central, “Pub rock may have been killed by punk, but without it there might not have been any punk in Britain at all”. The Pistols played support slots for the Blockheads and the 101ers at the Nashville. Dr. Feelgood played with the Ramones in New York. The word “punk” debuted on Top of the Pops on a T-shirt worn by a Hot Rod. Punk fanzine Sniffin’ Glue reviewed the Dr. Feelgood album Stupidity as “the way rock should be”. In the gap between the music-press hype and vinyl releases of early punk, the rowdier Pub Rock bands even led the charge for those impatient for actual recorded music, The back-to-basics approach of pub rock apparently involved chord structures that were still too complicated for punk guitarists like the Sex Pistols’ Steve Jones, who complained “if we had played those complicated chords we would have sounded like Dr. Feelgood or one of those pub rock bands”. By the time the Year Zero of punk (1976) was over, punks wanted nothing to do with pub rockers. Bands like the Stranglers were shunned but they did not care. It was independent record label Stiff Records, formed from a £400 loan from Dr. Feelgood’s Lee Brilleaux, who went on to release the first British punk single—The Damned’s “New Rose”. Stiff Records’ early clientele consisted of a mix of pub rockers and punk rock acts for which they became known.

Sources#

Blaney, John (2011) – A Howlin’ Wind: Pub Rock and the Birth of New Wave (London: Soundcheck Books).
Savage, Jon (1991). England’s Dreaming: The Sex Pistols and Punk Rock (London: Faber and Faber).
Lydon, John (1995). Rotten: No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs (New York: Picador).
Birch, Will (2003). No Sleep Till Canvey Island: The Great Pub Rock Revolution (1st ed. London: Virgin Books) .
Abad, Javier (2002) “Música y Cerveza” (Editorial Milenio. Spain)

Suggested listening#

Goodbye Nashville Hello Camden Town: A Pub Rock Anthology (Castle Music, 2XCD compilation, 2007)
Pub Rock: Paving The Way For Punk (Beloved Recordings, compilation CD, 1998)
Surrender To The Rhythm: The London Pub Rock Scene Of The Seventies (Grapefruit Records, 3XCD compilation, 2020)
Saturday Night! The Best Of Pub Rock (Carlton Sounds, CD compilation, 1997)
No Contest (Thunderbolt, CD compilation, 2000)
A Pint Of Your Best Pub Rock, Please! (Nectar, CD compilation, 1997)
A Bunch Of Stiff Records (Stiff Records, LP, 1977)
Naughty Rhythms The Best Of Pub Rock (EMI Premier, 2XCD compilation 1996)

Suggested viewing#

Punk Britannia Part 2 Pre-punk: 1972-1976 (2012, dir. Sam Bridges) - Documentary from a three-part TV series on the BBC

External links#

Southend Music Venues by Southend Sites
Pub Rock at Nostalgia Central

Genre family: 1970s in British music, 20th-century music genres, English styles of music, Rock music genres