1976: The Arse End of Old Wave (the New Wave barely in sight)

Feels like any week now it ought to be kicking off in terms of Punk Fiftieth Anniversary coverage. Magazine retrospectives, TV programs, exhibitions, books, documentaries... 

But what will they pick as the commemorative fulcrum?  The first, or the second, performance of the Sex Pistols at Lesser Free Trade Hall, Manchester? (The first is coming up very soon anniversary wise, just three days off, June 4... the second was in July).  The Ramones arriving in London for their July 4 1976 concert at the Roundhouse, all the fledging British groups in attendance?  The 100 Club Punk Festival in late September? The Damned's "New Rose", released October 22? Sex Pistols's "Anarchy in the U.K.", November 26? 

As you've probably noticed, I spend a lot of time perusing old music papers. And recently - mainly because I've never seen many of that year's issues until now - it's been the weeklies from 1976.

And here's the thing - judging from the contents of NME and Sounds that year, you would hardly know that something new and revolutionary is budding. The overwhelming preponderance of the coverage is Old Wave. Which of course doesn't know itself to be Old Wave yet, since the term New Wave doesn't exist and the Discourse of the Boring Old Farts only emerges towards the end of the year. The features, the record reviews, the record company adverts are business as usual,  the continuation of  early Seventies sounds:  prog, blues-rock, country-rock, sophisto-rock, hard rock, pomp rock, some final dribbles of glam. Nobody has the slightest idea they are about to be obsolesced.

Here below are some gleanings that give you the true Arse End of Old Wave flavour of 1976. So many artists I'd never even heard of - Roderick Falconer! Supercharge! Orleans! Spriguns! Cajun Moon! American Flyer! Frogmorton! Sparrow! La Seine! Widowmaker!

 

Yes, you are right - that is the future frontman of The Dream Academy right there

Even in the end of year critics picks, when the writing on the wall was writ large, the chart could not help reflecting the year's Arse Endiness, simply because there were hardly any punk / new wave records to figure in the tabulation

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This Arse End of Old Wave vibe actually persisted quite strongly even into 1977 - as advertising, as feature selection, as the front cover artists featured - even though 1977 is vastly more jam-packed with New Wave stuff. It takes a while for the newly signed New Wavers to get records out and there is a time lag effect, the residual hang-over of A&R decisions made in 1975 and 1976....  the newly-decreed Old Wave in sound and look signings are now putting out their second or third albums, contractual commitments have to be honored... adding to the fustiness is that the papers have yet to redesign, they still have the look of pre-punk graphically...