Sheer Heart Attack & "punk"

The back cover of SHA looks like it's been scored with a blade and it occurred to me this predates similar images adopted during the punk era in the UK. Since we know the song SHA dates back to around 1974 and it has a punk sound (and the lyrics may be a critique of punk music)* I wonder could it be said that Roger or Queen predicted the movement or at least tapped into it before it became popular? It's possible maybe even to make a case for Modern Times Rock 'n' Roll being a proto punk/thrash song

*I think Fight From the Inside is also a critique of punk.

I agree about 'Modern Times Rock 'n' Roll.'

I think Roger was likely the member most enthusiastic about punk.

Modern Times R&R is probably more about glam rock than anything else.

MTRNR seems to be Taylor having a crack at rewriting Bowie's Spiders From Mars set opener from 72/73 'Hang Onto Yourself'. Certainly the more uptempo live version that he would've seen a few times early on.

Punk was shit. I hate everything about it. Johnny Rotten is the luckiest man who has ever made a living out of music.

[QUOTE] [b]mooghead wrote:[/b]

Punk was shit. I hate everything about it. Johnny Rotten is the luckiest man who has veer made a living out of music.[/QUOTE]

What about The Ramones? These guys were great!

Also, Ultravox had a punk period, with John Foxx. Very interesting period for the band.

[QUOTE] [b]oligneisti wrote:[/b]

I think Roger was likely the member most enthusiastic about punk.

Modern Times R&R is probably more about glam rock than anything else.[/QUOTE]

I was thinking more how it sounds rather than the lyrics. You're probably right about the lyrics being about glam though.

Based on the lyrics to SHA and Fight from the Inside, Roger's attitude to punk seems hostile rather than enthusiastic.

Far as I know, he didn't like The Clash and that sort of thing. I doubt anyone in the band was actually a punk fan, although classing Queen as a punk band would've been way more accurate than the usual label they're given as an opera/rock band (the 'rock' part is spot on, the 'opera' one is not).

"What about The Ramones?"

Were they? I have seen them on t-shirts... their biggest hit was so punk.....

[QUOTE] [b]mooghead wrote:[/b]

"What about The Ramones?"

Were they? I have seen them on t-shirts... their biggest hit was so punk.....[/QUOTE]

Were they what? Were they punk? Uh, yeah....that's almost like asking if Black Sabbath was metal....

One thought about SHA, though...someone mentioned it on facebook, and I never thought of it before, but I'll be damned if that's not a Beatles reference in the lyrics!


I Saw Her Standing There: "Well she was just seventeen/And you know what I mean"

Sheer Heart Attack: "Well you're just 17 and all you wanna do is disappear/You know what I mean there's a lot of space between your ears"

[QUOTE] [b]dysan wrote:[/b]

MTRNR seems to be Taylor having a crack at rewriting Bowie's Spiders From Mars set opener from 72/73 'Hang Onto Yourself'. Certainly the more uptempo live version that he would've seen a few times early on.[/QUOTE]

For sure - the intro of Modern Times especially sounds like the intro of Hang Onto Yourself reworked into a minor key. Both utilised chugging on fifth-heavy 'power' chords in the pre-punk era.

The Damned were awesome, as were the Dead Boys. Definitive statements like "punk was shit" are stupid.

The Saints were awesome too. An Australian band who released the first punk-rock single "Stranded" (pre-dating the Sex Pistols).

Punk was largely Shiite, those that were any good sold out and virtually went mainstream.
Johnny Rotten advertising butter indeed. A far cry.