Oi!
Oi! is a type of punk rock that was started in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s.[1] The people that started it wanted to connect punk with a working class street-level following.[2] Oi! is a mixing of the styles of early punk bands, such as The Clash, Sex Pistols and the Ramones. It is also influenced by early British rock bands (such as The Rolling Stones and The Who), football chants, pub rock and glam rock bands. The music is often very simple, and the lyrics are blunt (brutally honest, without tact).[3]
| Oi! | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins | Punk rock, glam rock, pub rock, drinking songs, football chants, folk music, ska |
| Cultural origins | Late 1970s United Kingdom (particularly the east end of London) and Australia |
| Typical instruments | Vocals, drums, electric guitar, bass |
| Derivative forms | Street punk |
Punk rock began to become popular in the 1970s. Some perceived that it was becoming more and more commercialised. This was the kind of thing that punks were against. Oi! began partly as a response to this perception. It was also partly a response to stereotyping that others made about punks. One stereotype was that many people in the early punk rock scene were young people using big words and trying to be artistic, but failing.[2]
Early Oi! bands such as Sham 69 were around for years before the word Oi! was used to describe their style of music. The word was first used as a name for the new genre in 1980, by journalist Garry Bushell. He took the name from the way the Cockney Rejects used "Oi!" during live shows to introduce their songs.[4] "Oi! Oi! Oi!" was the title of the third track on their second album.[5] The word is an old Cockney expression, meaning "hey" or "hello". Other bands that were labelled as Oi! bands in the early days of the genre included Angelic Upstarts, The 4-Skins, The Business, Blitz, The Blood, and Combat 84.[6] More recent punk bands such as Rancid and Dropkick Murphys have credited Oi! as a source of inspiration.[7]
References
- ↑ Dalton, Stephen, "Revolution Rock", Vox, June 1993
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Robb, John (2006). Punk Rock: An Oral History (London: Elbury Press). ISBN 0-09-190511-7.
- ↑ Glasper, Ian (2004). Burning Britain (London: Cherry Red), p. 282.
- ↑ "Cockney Rejects: History and Pictures / Oi Music / Punk Rock". Punkmodpop. Archived from the original on 2009-08-28. Retrieved 2010-03-24.
- ↑ Bushell, Garry. "Oi! – The Truth". Archived from the original on 2008-07-31.
- ↑ Marshall, George (1991). Spirit of '69: A Skinhead Bible (Dunoon, Scotland: S.T. Publishing). ISBN 1-898927-10-3.
- ↑ Petridis, Alexis (2010-03-18). "Misunderstood or hateful? Oi!'s rise and fall". Guardian. Retrieved 2010-11-18.
Other websites
- OiOiMusic.com Weekly updated site with interviews and reviews
- Punk and Oi! in the UK Archived 2011-05-07 at the Wayback Machine includes interviews and news about Oi! bands
