Everyone knows that the first UK punk groups pre-dated Margaret Thatcher's rise to Prime Minister.  Once she took power, though, and set the agenda, it seemed to rejuvenate and radicalize a second wave of bands. Probably Crass's screed against the Falklands War was the most directly confrontational, but what were some of the other well-known British political punk groups/songs of the era?

Out of interest has the disilusionment changed since then? Britain seemed tidier under Blair though it seems to have been all a debt party with the hangover now and a bunch of wars to show for it. 

naz nomad said:

And there's an Exploited song giving one of their typically insightful political views in a barely audiable vocal track. Maggie You Cunt. It's kinda funny because those guys are pretty right wing, Wattie was a squaddie and punk aside would have looked on paper like a typical Tory supporter in the 80s.

 

Wattie like the rest of us, was disillusioned with the whole thing, But he spoke his mind. His aggravation at the wars in the world & whatever else pished him off...he could really tell it like it was. Opening lyric to politicians was "left this country in a mess"... heavy stuff
naz nomad said:

Try Let The Country Feed You By The Anti Nowhere League. Ha Ha Ha Theres a bit that says "The education isn't needed, Just sign your name & you've succeeded. Thatcher reduced the country to that.....ha ha ha C^~£!

naz nomad said:

The Blue Giant Zeta Puppies said:

by the way...UK based internet radio station Dandelion Radio are running a one hour 'Thatcher Special',  broadcasting daily until the end of the month, times vary but there is a schedule on their website:-

http://www.dandelionradio.com/index.htm

...a couple of the tunes people have posted here feature.....

Plus this one....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-BZIWSI5UQ

And there's an Exploited song giving one of their typically insightful political views in a barely audiable vocal track. Maggie You Cunt. It's kinda funny because those guys are pretty right wing, Wattie was a squaddie and punk aside would have looked on paper like a typical Tory supporter in the 80s.

Wattie like the rest of us, was disillusioned with the whole thing, But he spoke his mind. His aggravation at the wars in the world & whatever else pished him off...he could really tell it like it was. Opening lyric to politicians was "left this country in a mess"... heavy stuff
naz nomad said:

Try Let The Country Feed You By The Anti Nowhere League. Ha Ha Ha Theres a bit that says "The education isn't needed, Just sign your name & you've succeeded. Thatcher reduced the country to that.....ha ha ha C^~£!

naz nomad said:

The Blue Giant Zeta Puppies said:

by the way...UK based internet radio station Dandelion Radio are running a one hour 'Thatcher Special',  broadcasting daily until the end of the month, times vary but there is a schedule on their website:-

http://www.dandelionradio.com/index.htm

...a couple of the tunes people have posted here feature.....

Plus this one....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-BZIWSI5UQ

Try Let The Country Feed You By The Anti Nowhere League. Ha Ha Ha Theres a bit that says "The education isn't needed, Just sign your name & you've succeeded. Thatcher reduced the country to that.....ha ha ha C^~£!

naz nomad said:

The Blue Giant Zeta Puppies said:

by the way...UK based internet radio station Dandelion Radio are running a one hour 'Thatcher Special',  broadcasting daily until the end of the month, times vary but there is a schedule on their website:-

http://www.dandelionradio.com/index.htm

...a couple of the tunes people have posted here feature.....

Plus this one....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-BZIWSI5UQ

The Blue Giant Zeta Puppies said:

by the way...UK based internet radio station Dandelion Radio are running a one hour 'Thatcher Special',  broadcasting daily until the end of the month, times vary but there is a schedule on their website:-

http://www.dandelionradio.com/index.htm

...a couple of the tunes people have posted here feature.....

Plus this one....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-BZIWSI5UQ

by the way...UK based internet radio station Dandelion Radio are running a one hour 'Thatcher Special',  broadcasting daily until the end of the month, times vary but there is a schedule on their website:-

http://www.dandelionradio.com/index.htm

...a couple of the tunes people have posted here feature.....

Plus this one....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-BZIWSI5UQ

....The ironic thing is that "I'm in love with Margaret Thatcher" was (according to the BBC) the subject of a campaign by Thatcher supporters to stop "Ding Dong The Witch is Dead" making it to number 1 on the week of her funeral....

Tom Robinson is a saint...(he picked our track "Martians Don't Surf!" For his "BBC introduces Mixtape" show on BBC 6 Music the other week.)...

Also maybe not punk rock as such, but a protest song nonetheless and one that came out of the Tory government that set Britain back about a decade in terms of tolerance. 

My favourite haha!

And there's an Exploited song giving one of their typically insightful political views in a barely audiable vocal track. Maggie You Cunt. It's kinda funny because those guys are pretty right wing, Wattie was a squaddie and punk aside would have looked on paper like a typical Tory supporter in the 80s.

LA Times just did a story on anti-Thatcher songs. 

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-margaret-thatcher-british-pop-music-loved-to-hate-20130408,0,2217445.story

It's not "punk" at least in form, but Richard Thompson's "Mother Knows Best" is a classic

......this one says it all for me....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFU6EF8vJAc

The Clash...Something About England

There were a few political songs from the Ska bands that were around,"Ghost Town" by the Specials, "Stand Down Margaret" by The Beat,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-K6YWX4OL0o

to name a couple, and my favourite.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzNUAT3GUEs

The Specials - "It doesn't make it alright"

The whole punk thing in Britain pre dated Thatcher and the old fucker Callaghan before her. Britain was a fairly grim place post war. mass unemployment, the unions fuckin it up at every opportunity for honest workers A tax level at 95%. Successive governments seemed to have scant or no regard for people and their families. No different to today really. 'Thatch' just came along and gave it a face and an icon to hate. She was a real c**t but in a sea of real c**ts that have shit on us for years. The unrest in the inner cities in the 80's proved a real undercurrent of hatred and misgiving in the country. She did what every government does when they face this.... She went to war. The Pistols spouted anarchy. The british public couldn't even get that right. If you want to know how truly how we felt back then, listen to the album 'Never Mind The Ballots'. Chumbawamba for all their faults really hit it on the head with this one. Strummer and all his middle class schoolboy cohorts were spouting ' In God We Trust' by this time. as Lydon said... hahaha! Ever get the feeling you've been cheated?