50 Years of Punk: A Shortlist Celebration
Hey, Ho! Let's Go! To mark 50 years of punk, Shortlist is taking a comprehensive look back at where the genre came from, where it’s going, and why its unapologetic spirit is needed now more than ever.
“Is she really going out with him?”
Think 'punk', think its 1977 explosion. But if you want the precise moment punk went from three chords and a spittle-sizzled spark of anger to a full-throated rock revolution, it’s those opening words of The Damned’s 1976 ‘New Rose’ — the first punk single release, the genre line-in-the-sand which would change the face of popular music forever.
Fifty years ago, from humble beginnings in the streets and clubs of London and NYC, a raw, volatile blast of noise tore out of speakers across and permanently rewrote the rules of modern music. What began as a fierce underground rebellion defined by DIY ethics, sweat-soaked basements, and pure anti-establishment fury soon grew into a global phenomenon. Half a century later, that initial spark hasn't faded — it’s slashed its way into every level of pop culture, from fashion to film to, of course, today’s most innovative music.
To mark 50 years of punk, Shortlist is taking a comprehensive look back at where the genre came from, where it’s going, and why its unapologetic spirit is needed now more than ever. We’re tracking the movement’s fascinating trajectory, examining how raw underground aggression smoothed out into multi-platinum pop-punk, and counting down the 50 greatest punk albums and anthems of all time as selected by today’s biggest stars.
We’ve also cracked open our archives to resurface legendary conversations with pioneering trailblazers — from punk's high priestess Patti Smith to sharp-tongued poet John Cooper Clarke — alongside brand new, exclusive insights from modern torchbearers like Frank Carter.
Whether through grime-infused modern crossovers or classic vinyl cuts, punk proved that anyone could pick up an instrument and make noise. Five decades on, that ethos is louder, faster, and more vital than ever.
Hey! Ho! Let’s go!
50 Years Of Punk: A Shortlist Celebration
50 years of punk: Why the DIY ethos still matters five decades on (and why the punk spirit is needed now more than ever)
"The first time I saw The Clash I couldn’t understand a word they were singing but the look and the energy and the attitude captivated me instantaneously."
From garage bands to cultural force, the unlikely legacy of punk, as told by those who were there at the start.
The 50 best punk albums of all time
Three chords and the truth — as punk turns half a century old, here are some of its greatest ever records from across the eras. Put them on at full volume. Get pissed. Destroy.
The 50 greatest punk songs, ever: Today's biggest punk stars pick the most influential songs
Got three minutes to spare? This list will change your life, 50 times. From first-wave firestarters to modern pop-punk anthems, we've enlisted some of today’s biggest punk and rock acts, alongside punk culture pioneers, to help us rank the 50 punk tracks that changed music forever.
Exclusive: Frank Carter on Sex Pistols, Grime and his “unfinished business” with Gallows
Former vocalist of Watford punk legends Gallows, leading man in rock n’roll upstarts The Rattlesnakes and the current singer in the modern reincarnation of The Sex Pistols, few living musicians can boast the same punk pedigree as Frank Carter. From punk upstart to frontman of the most famous punk band of all time, here's Carter's story — in his own words.
From punk to pop-punk: How the most raw musical movement of all time went bubblegum
Heartbreak, teenage bedrooms and dick jokes — did punk lose its edge when the snarl turned to snark?
By the early Noughties, punk looked and sounded very different from the movement that had exploded in Britain and New York in the Seventies. This time, the guitars were polished, the choruses anthemic and the songs were way more concerned with crushes, breakups and suburban boredom. Pop punk had arrived — and the genre had gone bubblegum.
Still, millions of teens wanted a taste. Had punk really lost its bite, or just found a sweeter way to deliver it?
Punks on punk: How the OG era of three chords rock shaped the music of today's biggest acts
Fifty years after four snarling teens took to the stage and changed music forever, the UK punk scene’s influence is still inescapable. Touching everything from fashion to activism, spawning multiple musical subgenres, and with its DIY ethos embedded into the DNA of hip hop and even indie filmmaking, the ‘70s punk explosion didn't just birth a genre – it kickstarted a creative revolution.
We hand the mic to five musicians who've lived with punk's influence for decades. From their favourite UK punk tracks to the modern London scene and the movement's enduring legacy, here's what they had to say.
From The Archive
Patti Smith's Ultimate Playlist: The tracks that inspired the punk icon
Playlists at the ready: We're revisiting an incredible chat with the high priestess of New York punk, Patti Smith, as she runs through the soundtrack of her life, in her own words.
“I didn’t want to follow them”: Iggy Pop on how his fear of Queens of the Stone Age lead to his greatest modern-era album
"Most people, once they hit 60 and they’ve got some bucks are not gonna put themselves in this situation, where you’re testing yourself and you’re not sure if you can handle it. But with this, I kind of wanted to see what I could do. I wanted to prove something to myself.”
Iggy Pop on how a chance meeting with Josh Homme lead to his greatest album in decades.
Blink 182’s Tom DeLonge on UFOs, Bigfoot, and his debut film Monsters of California
Forget all the small things. If Blink 182's Tom DeLonge was to sit down and write the hit song today, it'd more likely be called ‘All The Mysterious Things’, or ‘All The Secret Things’. Maybe even ‘All The Government-Conspiracy-Military-Industrial-Complex-Cover-Up Things’.
In the years since DeLonge's rise to pop punk superstardom, the Californian songwriter has been a vocal public advocate for transparency around supernatural topics that many would consider "out there". He's staked his reputation on it — and told us all about it.
Sex Pistols' Glen Matlock picks his 5 all-time favourite punk songs
What does it take to make a revolution-sparking, rabble-rousing, total-anarchy-inducing punk record for the ages?
“The attitude, the delivery, the subject matter, the sound, and the trousers. You've got to wear the right trousers,” reveals godfather of punk, Glen Matlock.
As the bassist of the Sex Pistols, writer of the greatest punk anthems of all time and a trailblazer whose snarling basslines and razor-sharp riffs launched a cultural revolution, he should know. Here, he talks us through the genre's best cuts.
"It takes a lot of work to look this bad": Poet John Cooper Clarke on punk, inspiring Arctic Monkeys, and getting blagged by Lou Reed
Ready for a trip through Chickentown? We're looking back here at a 2014 chat with the original punk poet and sartorialist extraordinaire John Cooper Clarke. From inspiring the Arctic Monkeys to encounters with Lou Reed, the man’s lived.
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