Gender Bender , what Bowie had taken from Isherwood was “the physical spirit of society in
decay, pushing the Weimar parallels.” 2
The rapid emergence of punk in Britain in the mid-to-late 1970’s, most prominently The Sex
Pistols in 1976, provoked a huge change in the music industry shocking the media and
inspiring a form of youthful rebellion which lead to a dramatic change in the aesthetics of
popular music. It became more politicised under the influence of punk, and it’s shock factor
allowed it to be driven into the popular consciousness of the British public.
All of which is reflected in the language of declinism and crisis which encompass various
political and cultural events of this era including, the strikes that led to the ‘Winter of
Discontent’ (1978-79). Paul Bradshaw, the editor of the Young Communist League’s
Challenge magazine stated that “new forms of culture, especially through music”
3
would
“give expression to the problems facing youth” 4 . Much like in the Berlin of the 1970’s where
culture became a more dominant form of discourse. This is born of the social, political and
economic hardships present in the era. The alternative culture of resistance in the 1970's, to
Bradshaw, was seen as a “lively, viable alternative” 5 to the more traditional, institutionalised
political discourse that both the British and German governments of the 1970’s had to offer.
2
Jon Savage, Time Travel (London: Vintage, 1997).
Matthew Worley, "Marx–Lenin–Ro tten–Strummer: British Marxism And Youth Culture In The 1970S", Contemporary British History , 30.4
(2016), 505-521 .
3
Matthew Worley, "Marx–Lenin–Rotten–Strummer: British Marxism And Youth Culture In The 1970S", Contemporary British History , 30.4
(2016), 505-521 .
4
Matthew Worley, "Marx–Lenin–Rotten–Strummer: British Marxism And Youth Culture In The 1970S", Contemporary British History , 30.4
(2016), 505-521 .
5