Unlike the people interviewed in this programme, I don’t have any old tickets, posters, stashed NMEs, diaries. But I do have a few scratched memories. And this third episode of BBC4’s sporadic series, The People’s History of Pop, covering 1976-85, is my history of pop. It’s a history of tribes (and tribal warfare): punk, post-punk, reggae, rock, racism, rock against racism, new wave, 2 Tone, skinheads, mod revivalists, new romantics. And then, a big gathering at Wembley, everyone and every tribe brought together by Saint Bob, peace via a higher cause: feeding the world.
The show doesn’t waver very far from the mainstream, the familiar and the charts. But these People’s Histories make a refreshing change from the usual Friday night BBC4 music docs. No experts (boo) here; no pretentious music journos filmed in front of their enormous alphabetically arranged vinyl collections; no greying guitarists reminiscing with a chord picked out here and a name dropped in there; no portly producers at their massive mixing desks. Just regular fans, with their stories, their reminiscences and their stuff.
Like Kevin with his amazing illustrated diaries and his records for the day. And Pervez and his Muslim punk band (not as bad as he says they were). And Dene, now an animal rights campaigner, who auditioned to sing on the Sex Pistols’ Great Rock’n’Roll Swindle and who kept a tambourine that was punched through by Sid. And Brummie Empress on what it meant to have homegrown roots reggae in Handsworth (Steel Pulse, of course). And Sam with his dad with the lovely paintings that his dad, Ray Lowry, did on tour with the Clash. And Penny with a treasured memory of one night out with the Blitz Kids and Steve Strange, RIP. It’s scary how many of these people are dead.
Pauline Black, presenting, is very much alive and looks amazing. She tells the story like she danced (still does, I’m sure): with energy, spring and joy. Yeah, she was there, on stage, singing with Coventry band the Selecter (that clip is one of the highlights, I wanted more, and more 2 Tone in general, it was one of the more interesting stories, and some of the best music of the time). But she’s also a fan (of the Clash, mainly), she’s allowed. Lovely.
