Post-punk was a musical movement beginning at the end of the 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock "explosion" of the mid 1970s. For the more recent "p
Post-punk was a musical movement beginning at the end of the 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock "explosion" of the mid 1970s. For the more recent "post-punk" movement in rock music, see post-punk revival.
During the first wave of punk, roughly spanning 1974–1978, bands such as the Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Ramones, and The Damned began to challenge the current styles and conventions of rock music by stripping the musical structure down to a few basic chords and progressions with an emphasis on speed and attitude. Yet as punk itself soon came to have a signature sound a few bands began to experiment with more challenging musical structures, lyrical themes, and a self-consciously art-based image, while retaining punk's initial iconoclastic stance.