A
1977 45, nominally by
Bob Marley and the Wailers, but including members of
Third World and British reggae band
Aswad, et mucho alia, as producer/co-writer
Lee "Scratch" Perry tinkered with and tweaked the song in studios from
London to
Kingston to
Miami. The international release (on
Island Records) was as the B-side of "
Jamming", but
Marley released it as an A-side in Jamaica on his
Tuff Gong label, while Perry released a remix on his Black Ark label; a live version (with
The Wailers proper) appears on the
1978 Babylon by Bus LP.
The song was an outgrowth of Marley's time in London, getting exposed to the sometimes-inity between the punk and reggae scenes: The Clash with "Police and Thieves" in their set; other bands incorporating reggae into their punkitudes, like The Slits and The Ruts, and the latter's debut 45 coming courtesy of the efforts of reggae band Misty in Roots, and the former's debut disque being produced by Dennis "Blackbeard" Bovell.
A further show of solidarity was Rock Against Racism, and bands like Steel Pulse sharing the stage with various poonk and nieuw wavey bands from time to time. We're all niggers on this bus, "rejected by society". Might as well dance :)
Said you gonna punky, punky, punk
New wave, new waves
New wave, new waves
Going to a party
And I hope you are hearty
So please don't be natty
For it's a punky reggae party
New wave, alright, new waves
New wave, new waves
It takes a joyful sound
To make the world go round
Come with your heart and soul
Oh c'mon, c'mon rock your bone
It's a punky reggae party
And it's tonight
It's a punky reggae party
And it's alright
What did you say?
Rejected by society
Mistreated with impunity
Protected by my dignity
A sort for reality
New wave, alright, new waves
New wave, new wave, new waves
I'm sayin': The Wailers will be there
The Damned, The Jam, The Clash
Maytals will be there
Dr. Feelgood too
Ooh, no rumour force, no rumour force will be there
Singin' no rumour force, no rumour force will be there
Well it's a punky reggae party
And it's tonight
It's a punky reggae party
And it's alright
A tip from a gypsy
She said: man you got on tipsy
Hiding from reality
In your world of hypocrisy
In your world of hypocrisy
In your world of hypocrisy
In your world of hypocrisy
In your world of hypocrisy, look out
A bubble we a bubble
We ain't looking for no trouble
But if you trouble trouble
We'll give it to you double
Let me tell ya
It takes a joyful sound
To make the world go round
It takes a joyful sound
So c'mon, c'mon rock your bone
'Cause it's a punky reggae party...
In a few years, as the
70's became the
80's, the
black musics of choice with which to meld new punky forms would be
disco,
funk, and
hip-hop (The Slits would straddle the fences between
dubby funk and dubby Africana;
The Pop Group, having split by this time, had been long
ahead of this particular curve) -- think
New Order,
A Certain Ratio,
Gang of Four, or
The Clash in their "
Magnificent 7"/"This is
Radio Clash"
Gothamphilia phase (in which
Mick Jones was given the nickname "Wack Attack", in pseudo-honor of his attempt to channel some random
125th Street B-Boy --
but I digress). A slightly-more-mainstream take on this was
Talking Heads with
Fear of Music and
Remain in Light, and
Simple Minds, with
Real to Real Cacophony and
Empires and Dance.