1976 was the year punk first washed up on UK shores, now 50 years on – a new exhibition has opened in the heart of Manchester exploring its impact on our culture, artistic sense of being, and influence on our major cities.
Unveiled by The Modernist Society, ‘TALKIN’BOUT 1976’ is a love letter to all things punk. Designed and curated by independent graphic designer, Craig Johnson, the exhibition guides spectators through the seminal genre’s impact within post-industrial Manchester.
A product of its time, punk found a spiritual home in the UK at a time of high unemployment, social transition and new means of expression in the 1970s. By 1976, the subculture was firmly asserted as the ‘anti-establishment’ modus operandi, whose popularity was driven by the disillusioned and idealistic youth of the day. Punk, a movement as much as a subculture, rejuvenated the UK’s cultural landscape and remains a widely created means that gave a voice to marginalised groups.
Johnson’s exhibition revisits some of the scene’s most notable events that took place in 1976, from the release of the first British punk single by The Damned, to landmark Sex Pistols gigs at the Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester city centre. The latter is famously regarded as igniting the city’s notorious music scene, drawing a crowd of youngsters that went on to form a large part of the musical, cultural and creative heritage of modern Manchester.
Numerous local visionaries credit pivotal moments like the infamous Sex Pistols gigs with their raw energy and Do-It-Yourself ethos for influencing their works, from The Buzzcocks, Joy Division and The Fall, to Tony Wilson creating Factory Records and The Haçienda, and onto The Smiths, The Stone Roses and Oasis – punk’s influence still defines much of our cultural landscape.
Johnson explains: “Those stories are well documented, this is what was happening beforehand, the beginnings of the cultural revolution that was punk.The exhibition showcases 1976 Manchester in all its glory; acknowledging the places, the music, and the people that formed the movement.”
Exhibits on display include scans of fanzines, records and posters that will take either attendees on a nostalgia tour or give newcomers a dive into a pivotal period of Britain’s cultural past. Selected Images sit alongside a narrative built from first-hand accounts of those who were there, including Jon Savage, Paul Morley, Malcolm Garrett, John Cooper Clarke and Peter Hook.
Whilst designing the exhibition, Johnson said it was important to portray the rough and ready aesthetic of the year through his display; “To maximise the space I decided not to have physical memorabilia in the exhibition, but have printed panels with images and explanatory copy and photocopied cards with quotes from people, all held together by bulldog clips, paper clips and masking tape in tribute to the D-I-Y culture of the punk movement.”
Co-founder of The Modernist Society CIC, Jack Hale, said: “It’s a pleasure for us to host an exhibition that explores a period so woven into the history of our city. Punk, and its lasting influence on our national identity as integral to what Britain sounds, seems, and looks like today – when we were afforded the chance to unveil it, we leapt at the opportunity.
“Whether you grew up in this period, are an avid fan of punk, or perhaps have never known much of the period before, everyone is welcome to visit.”
