Post punk

Although punk continues to exist, post punk generally refers to the particularly fertile and creative time that followed the initial UK punk rock 'explosion', roughly spanning 1978-1982. If the first wave of punk bands such as The Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Damned, etc tore up the rule book, then the bands that followed were able to explore, experiment and innovate in the spaces they opened up. Typically more introverted, arty and experimental than classic punk rock or the more pop oriented New Wave music, post punk laid the groundwork for "alternative rock" by broadening the idea of what punk and underground music could do, incorporating a variety of older styles and inventing new ones. It found a firm place in the 80's college rock scene, and left behind several major sub genres (notably, goth rock). However, post punk's biggest influence remains in the vast variety of sounds and styles it pioneered, many of which proved very influential in the later alternative rock scene.

Championed by late night BBC disc jockey John Peel and record label/shop Rough Trade (amongst others- including Postcard Records, Factory Records, Fast Product, Mute Records, etc, etc), "post punk" could arguably be said to encompass many diverse groups and musicians. In the list that follows, it should be noted that some of these groups were contemporary with or predated the period given above for the punk music proper. Also, many have also considered as being members of other genres in addition to post punk, such as punk and new wave amongst others.