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Braincapers
Anybody watching the BBCs punk britannia season?
Some really good stuff including the Pistols and Bill Grundy which is always worth a watch.
One question that did occur to me was who was the most succesful punk? The Clash and the Stranglers did really well for a long time but watching the punk TOTP it occured to me that it might have been Billy Idol! He was huge in the 80s and sold millions in the States. Did any other punk manage that?
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stonesnow
Billy Idol never played Shea Stadium like the Clash, and his music never evolved album by album like the Clash, and his legacy is not influential like the Clash. I'm from the States, and by the time his clever little pop tunes made it onto radio and MTV he was punk in costume only. My vote is for the Clash.
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BraincapersQuote
stonesnow
Billy Idol never played Shea Stadium like the Clash, and his music never evolved album by album like the Clash, and his legacy is not influential like the Clash. I'm from the States, and by the time his clever little pop tunes made it onto radio and MTV he was punk in costume only. My vote is for the Clash.
In terms of legacy and influence it's the Clash every time. It just occured to me watching Idol in Generation X that he'd gone from punk band to platinum albums and I couldn't think of anybody else that had. I suppose if we are talking about new wave you'd have to include the Jam and Elvis C but they weren't punk really.
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GravityBoy
I don't ever think of Billy Idol as a real punk for some reason.
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iggy.pop
.. Who cares about who was the biggest seller.
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Rockman
......yeah real punks don't wave
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Edith Grove
I think there's a difference between Punk & New Wave. New Wave is like "Punk gone Pop."
I would call Blondie "New Wave."
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Braincapers
I'd forgotten Blondie they might well be the best sellers.
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stonesnow
Billy Idol never played Shea Stadium like the Clash,
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loog droogQuote
stonesnow
Billy Idol never played Shea Stadium like the Clash,
Without judging the merits of Idol, I think your argument is a bit misleading since the Clash at Shea were the opening act for The Who.
If I said, "Bob Marley never played Anaheim Stadium like Peter Tosh" it would imply that Tosh was more popular, even though he played there as opening act for the Stones.
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stonesnow
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I don't mean to be negative about Idol, but I think the legacy of the Clash is stronger.
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loog droogQuote
stonesnow
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I don't mean to be negative about Idol, but I think the legacy of the Clash is stronger.
Agree 100%