Welcome to the 41st insertion of DEMUR®, an analytical series highlighting the intricacies of the artistic world and the minutiae lying within. In this episode we trace back to the roots of punk rock to 430 King’s Road - “SEX”, a landmark known as the birth of Seditionaries, Sex Pistols and grunge.
Punk rock is a branch of classic rock that permits the blatant disregard for excess, composition or traditional musicality. Emerging in the mid-1970’s, London, as a successor to the “garage-rock” era, punk music influenced generations of adolescents through gritty riffs and lackluster vocals, inspiring millions of youth to revolt against the aristocracy. The lyrical content frequently spoke in opposition of social and political norms, promoting an ideology of a self-governing or “anarchist” standard.
The hub for this generational movement resided at 430 King’s Road, London, England, known today as Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren’s notorious “SEX” botique. Here, faces like the Sex Pistols were dressed (or rather revealed), among prostitutes, outcasts and the elite. The premise of social class was abolished and oddities were embraced, cementing itself as a common ground for grunge and punk rockers.
Before the hot pink “SEX” lettering bled onto the streets of West London, the shop went through many transitional phases. First established in 1971 under the namesake “Let it Rock”, the boutique was then changed to “Too Fast to Live, Too Young to Die”, and then in 1974 was once again altered to the beloved “SEX” motif. The sex shop lived on for two more years before McLaren rebranded to “Sedaitionaries”, ripping down the originating graffiti coated interior and replacing such with perforated walls and live rats.
Aside from the building, the true influence was found in the garments co-designer by Westwood and McLaren. The “Seditionaries” collectives plastered sexual taboos, Swastikas and rapists, from afar, seemingly glorifying each. Easily mistaken, the graphics were intended to shed the power each symbol assumed with careless intent, but fittingly ended in prosecution under obscenity laws.