Various. “Letters.” Melody Maker, Oct.–Dec. 1976, page 1. Reprint – History of Rock 1976
Letters – Punk!
— A selection of readers’ letters published in Melody Maker (Oct.–Dec. 1976), reflecting public reaction to punk, record labels, and vinyl quality.
— The correspondence captures the divisive impact of punk rock at the close of 1976. Bill Dyke mocks the Sex Pistols, finding them laughable; Chris Whitaker predicts punks will soon become establishment; while Geoff Graham argues their honesty is more vital than technical skill. A young Steven Morrissey of Stretford derides the Pistols as mere fashion. Elsewhere, George P. Cole praises Chrysalis Records for quick service on Robin Trower, and Graham Green laments falling vinyl pressing standards despite rising prices. Together, these letters reveal a readership split between contempt, cautious admiration, and consumer frustration during punk’s rise.
Melody Maker Letters | October to December 1976 | Punk!
The history of a monthly trip through music’s golden years this issue 1976
From the archives of NME & Melody Maker
Readers’ letters
Melody Maker October–December
Punk ruffles feathers, Chrysalis impresses, vinyl gets a sound kicking.
Punk? I’ll drink to that
What is happening to music today that forces the MM every week to write reams on the so-called punk rock controversy?
For two years or more the Melody Maker has been printing regular (though with increasing vehemence) articles on what has been apparently accepted as the new wave in rock music.
Don’t you think that perhaps this attitude amounts to the greatest form of adulation that punk rock could ever receive? Whatever caused the current success of these bands, it certainly was not their music.
I would be tempted to lay the blame at your feet. If you really would like punk rock to be no more, may I suggest you ignore it, and in six months it would be gone? Punk rock really does not have the popular appeal your weekly articles on it would have us believe; let those that need an aural lobotomy keep the music to themselves and let those of us who understand the real emotive power of music read about intelligent music within your pages.
The only time I have ever come across these punker-wallahs live was at a gig the Sex Pistols did at my old college. Within two minutes I and half the audience were rolling about laughing. The other half had fled for the bar;
I humbly suggest you do likewise.
Whatever punk rock is supposed to be, it’s certainly amusing and it’s a great excuse to turn to drink.
Bill Dyke,
Slaithwaite Road, Lewisham (MM Oct 9)
Today's punks, tomorrow's establishment
I’d like to know why the world is so worked up and surprised by the arrival of punk rock, as it was bound to come. OK, it’s a load of crap and anyone with hands can play it, but the same was true of early rock’n’roll and English reggae. Both of these types of music attracted the violent element of their generation – the rockers and the skinheads – and today punk rock attracts our violent element: the punks,
I suppose they’re called.
The thing is, given two to four years, the 19-year-old musicians will be 22, 23 and no longer relevant to the new violence generation. They will become the thing they despise now, the establishment. Unlike bands like The Stones, The Beatles and The Floyd, they won’t survive with their own generation because they have no talent and they won’t progress from punk music because they can’t. So real music lovers just be patient; punk rock will kill itself with its own hate of establishment.
Chris Whitaker,
Ongar, Essex (MM, Nov 27)
Punk: The truth
In reply to Chris Whitaker’s letter.
I would like to say that it’s not what the punk bands are playing that matters, it’s what they are saying.
I’ve been involved with music now for about 16 years, and one thing I’ve learned is that music and truth go together hand-in-hand. For too long now we’ve been inundated with bands who are very technical, very clever, very polished, but shy away from the important issues of life and cover them up with technical wizardry and pretentious lyrics that have no relevance.
Now I’m not knocking good music, but let’s have good music and truth together. You may think punk bands lack talent; this may be true in the musical sense, but there is no lack of honesty and truthfulness in what they do, and this must surely be the rarest talent of them all.
Thank you, punk rockers; it seems the Age of Aquarius isn’t dead after all.
Geoff Graham,
2 Tudor Road, Camp Hill, Nuneaton, Warwickshire (MM, Dec 11)
Pistols live, after a fashion
The likes of the Sex Pistols have yet to prove that they are only worthy of a mention in a publication dealing solely with fashion, and if the music they deliver live is anything to go by, I think that their
audacious lyrics and discordant music will not hold their heads above water when their followers tire of tom jumpers and safety pins.
Steven Morrissey,
Kings Road, Stretford, Manchester (MM, Dec 11)
Publicity no stunt
Photo: Chris Morphet / Getty
I wonder if I may, through the columns of your magazine, express my deepest thanks to the public relations office of Chrysalis Records. On Tuesday, November 30, I sent a letter to Chrysalis requesting information on Robin Trower. As I posted the letter I thought I would receive a reply, good or bad, in a month or two.
How wrong I was, because on Friday, December 3, just three days after I sent the letter,
I received a reply with the information I had asked for plus two photographs.
The speed of the reply just left me astounded. In these days when one hears so much about record companies treating the consumer in a shoddy manner, it is gratifying to find a company that does care about its customers.
I really hope you will print this letter, not out of a desire to see my name in print, but because it is about time that the record companies that take trouble over their consumers got some favourable publicity.
George P Cole,
Acland Hall, Bingley College, Bingley, Yorkshire (MM, Dec 25)
Pressing problem
The price of records continues to increase, yet the quality of pressing continues to decline. It’s annoying to part with an amount approaching £4 for an album, and then play it, only to find the enjoyment of the music ruined by crackling and hissing noises.
This situation seems even more inconceivable when one considers that in recent years the improvement in hi-fi equipment means that faults on pressings become even more apparent. Surely, as sound recording and reproduction equipment improves, so should the quality of record pressings.
A return to the quality of pressings of five or 10 years ago can’t be beyond the bounds of possibility.
Graham Green,
Staines Road, Twickenham, Middlesex (MM, Dec 25)
Melody Maker Letters | October to December 1976 | Punk!