FAKE PUNK BANDS: S/D

It was Freestone not Freeborn I think :P

It is impossible to have "fake" punk. Fake punk is punk, by def'n.

Clayson and the Argonauts, John Otway and Wild Willy Barrett, Gruppo Sportivo all did stuff more or less in this area, though I can't remember titles. But yeah, early punk was full of self-parody.

Anarchy 6 was a parody straight-edge band with Steve MacDonald from Redd Kross, amongst others.
http://www.surrealistic.org/reddkross/images/a6_01.gif

Chumbawamba did at least one fake record as a skinhead band. I can't remember the name but the song lyrics were "I'm thick" repeated many times.

Crass also posed as Creative Recording And Sound Services for that flexi disc of "Our Wedding" that they got into some bridal magazine.

Good call on that Freestone single also.

I remember reading a MRR piece on a parody straight-edge group called Crucial Youth, who did songs about the importance of good dental hygene and getting your five food groups in.

other jokers just having a laugh

What was Roseanne Barr's punk band called again? Something ribald, no doubt.

REGGIE AND THE FULL EFFECT

just about anything on epitaph.

Chumbawamba did at least one fake record as a skinhead band.

I forgot about Hard Skin!

I once got kicked off the Bus and out of a band for saying Blondie. Now I would probably say McLusky or The Jesus Lizard. It changes weekly.

By which I mean, favourite fake punk bands. Sorry.

I remember reading a MRR piece on a parody straight-edge group called Crucial Youth, who did songs about the importance of good dental hygene and getting your five food groups in.

I have a Crucial Youth record, it's pretty cool. Good Clean Fun did basically the same thing 10-15 years later. I think Chumbawamba did a record pretending to be a Christian hardcore band as well

"Art Attacks - I Am A Dalek"

Despite the day-jobs that a couple of the people involved had or later had (vocalist Edwin Pouncey was aka illustrator & Sounds' cartoonist Savage Pencil, and bassist M.S. was actually one Marion Fudger, regular contributor to the feminist mag. Spare Rib) and despite what many of their lyrics might suggest, I believe the Art Attacks were actually for real.

They certainly gigged hard enough, playing all the usual toilets infested by the punk scene in and around London in '77 / '78, with bands like Generation X, The Lurkers, 999 and The Motors (Motors drummer Ricky Slaughter was in an early incarnation of The Art Attacks).

I don't know if there's much difference in authenticity between the examples given by Colonel Poo and the likes of The Stranglers, Vibrators etc who 'went punk' in 76. In all cases the records were made because punk happened and so they're....punk.

I suppose you could distinguish between the following :

1. They went punk (e.g. Vibrators)
2. They were never punk, and in fact probably hated punk, and did a punk piss-take (e.g. Norman and The Hooligans 'I Hate Punk', Ritchie Hale and The Stormers 'Punkski')
3. They'd been around for years and just changed enough to be included broadly as punk (Fabulous Poodles, Radio Stars etc). But they weren't really punk.
4. They did a one-off record in the punk style, but were really trad-rock or prog or something (can't think of a great example apart from Public Zone's 'So Naive', or maybe The Monks 'Nice Legs Shame About The Face'?)

Some of the examples I have given are on :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/White-Dopes-Punk-Various-Artists/dp/tracks/B0007W0KKQ/ref=dp_tracks_all_1/026-9710985-6890041#disc_1

I wasn't really talking about "authenticity" as such, or about bands being "poseurs" or whatever, so bands like the Vibrators or those on Epitaph aren't what this thread is about.

In Dr C's list only types 2 and 4 would be what I'm looking for. I guess the Pork Dukes would be a good example of type 4?

How about:

5. They were essentially a comedy act creating a parody of punk(Alberto Y Lost Trios Paranoias).

Not sure whether The Pork Dukes belong under 2. or 4.

(x-post)

I guess my point is that I don't really recognize the term 'fake' here, except for category 2.

What about some of Ian Dury's more obv. punk numbers: "Plaistow Patricia", "Blockheads"

not punk, but i've just learned about this.

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