Contrary to popular belief, the latest “Shock Rock” bands and artists have not created anything new. If we take a look back at the history of popular music, more so Rock n Roll, it all started long, long ago………….
From the very beginning, rock music has shocked people. Its driving beat and often hard-hitting lyrics (often containing sexual innuendo) have been around for years. Elvis Presley’s gyrating hips were banned on national TV and left him with the nickname, ‘Elvis the Pelvis’. Eventually this increased his record sales and created frenzy each time he appeared live, to the extent that he was only filmed from the waist up (most notably on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1956)
Alice Cooper
Screamin' Jay
Marylin Manson
In the 1960’s the focus was on youth rebellion. Screamin' Jay Hawkins was possibly the first act to actually shock rock. Hawkins reportedly had a stage show where he would emerge from a coffin and sing to a skull. There were many other gimmicks including smoke bombs. Another act from the 60’s was Arthur Brown. He quickly became known for his outlandish performances, which included the use of a burning helmet whilst performing "Fire" and he is also reported to have performed some gigs in the nude!
A more subdued band emerged in the 60’s but nevertheless developed a hard image during their time in Hamburg and at the Cavern Club in Liverpool. The Beatles dressed in leather while on stage and their wild antics made them many fans in Germany even though Lennon took great delight in mimicking Hitler, on stage. It was not until the big time that the image was toned down and they appeared in suits.
Madonna and Brittney
The Who became famous as wild rockers following Pete Townsend’s accidental smashing of a guitar on stage. It went down like a storm and soon it became ‘trendy’ to smash instruments. The, Who had moved on but their audiences still demanded the ritual at their gigs. Jimmy Hendrix was inspired to set his guitar alight during a rendition at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 and not only aimed to shock the audience but used this stunt and the smashing of guitars to actually experiment with sound (in true Hendrix fashion)
The late sixties was a time of peace, love and hippies but it did inspire some pretty good stuff, even if it was the complete opposite. The early 70’s saw the introduction of the official ‘shock rock’ artists. Songs about the devil and the occult were the trademarks of such bands as Black Sabbath. Ozzy Osborne was launched to rock n roll fame by biting the head off a bat, live on stage. This made him a ‘rock god’ among fans and outraged the general public. Soon his shows were full of it, even though this time they were fake animals! Alice Cooper and the rock theatre evolved with faked violence on stage. ‘Shock Rock’, ‘Rock Theatre’ and outlandish costumes combined to create inspiration for bands like Kiss, where lead singer Gene Simmons spat blood and fire during the act.
Shocking theatre gave way to ‘Punk’ and acts like Iggy Pop and the Sex Pistols. Iggy would appear on stage half naked and smeared with blood (sometimes his own) and the Sex Pistols would openly abuse audiences and often fight with them. Many riots were caused and tours cancelled because of this. ‘Scum Punk’ tries to mix a ‘hard living’ philosophy with equally hard sounding punk music. Scum punks usually exhibit a general disregard for hygiene, morality, or respect for anything at all, including themselves.
During the 80’s ‘Shock Rock’ took on a different guise. Video had made it possible to widen the audience but Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ was tame in comparison and more of a tribute to B-grade movies than Shock Rock. Madonna used sex as her theme during the 80’s and managed to offend most Catholics with her use of the crucifix. Some of her stage shows were just short of the limit but pushed the envelope none-the-less. Kissing Britney Spears at the MTV awards show certainly made the headlines. Wasn’t little Britney that cute girl on TV only last year?
Madonna
Kiss
Now days we have Marilyn Manson with shock costumes and anti-everything lyrics (mostly religion) and even punk rockers like GG Allin (who incidentally died in 1993) who go to the extreme of including excrement as a stage prop. Courtney Love, bless her cotton socks, often strips for the audience in between spitting on them!
So where will it all end? If indeed it ever will? The envelope is constantly being pushed and there is always someone who manages to go one step further. Whatever happens in future, I say, good for you Alice, Ozzy, Kiss and the like. Without you there would be no ‘Rock’ and without ‘Shock’ there would be no E-News!
Steve Shorter: January 2007.
Sources: Wikipedia, Media KnowAll: Popular Music, Piero Scaruffi: History of rock music, Encyclopedia Britannica 2002, BBC Online – Music.
