The musical era I grew up in was the 80s. It wasn’t until about 1982 or 1983 on that I reached an age at which I really started to take more of an interest in music.

As such, there are a lot of bands and songs from the 1980s that will always mean a lot to me.

However, if I’m being honest, I can’t help wishing that my musical coming of age had been in the late 70s – the dawn of punk rock and the New Wave.

There was a raw energy and honesty about so much of the music of the time, from bands that genuinely had something to say about their generation and the society they were growing up in, which increasingly got lost behind the big hair and image-obsessed shallow superficiality that defined much of 1980s music (even the good stuff).

Here’s a couple of classic songs from one of the most influential 70s punk bands, Sham 69.

Somewhat surprisingly, there’s very little proper vintage archive live material from the band available at the usual online video sources.

So here, from a 2003 DVD release of a gig filmed at Concorde 2 in Brighton on April 10th 2002, is “the best song we ever wrote”, according to the band’s singer/founder Jimmy Pursey, If The Kids Are United:

Here, as a taste of the band in their 70s heyday, is a 1979 Top Of The Pops (probably mimed, unfortunately) performance of Hersham Boys:

Et ça continue. Hier c’était donc Hadopi day la suite, devant l’Assemblée fantoche. Les quelques résistants sur tout les bancs ont encore tenté de faire entendre la voix de la raison aux godillots de l’empereur et ses Vador d’opérettes. Nada. On y va tout droit donc. Rien d’étonnant en soi d’ailleurs dans un système où le parlement ne sert à rien. C’est presque une avancée d’ailleurs que cela éclate à ce point au grand jour:  les pouvoirs ne seront bientôt plus reconnus. L’UMP régimaire soutient sans moufter la goebbelisation mise en branle par le nano kapo de l’Elysée pour les amis de son Eva aussi rasante qu’un vieux Braun.

Quoi faire donc ? Et bien faire chier. Car comme va dire Jimmy Pursey, avec son accent cockney, et ses Sham 69 : il va juste falloir que les kids – de tous âges, amateurs de musique, de ciné… – soient unis.

Et après on peut toujours contourner. Juste par principe. Il suffit que ceux qui savent comment le fassent savoir. Et que ceux qui ont appris, l’apprennent…

Для тех, кто тебя еще не знает, расскажи о The Proxy.

Меня зовут Женя, мне 24 я из грязной Москвы. Я начал писать музыку в 2000 и в то же время играл в местном клубе.

Какое оборудование ты использовал тогда в 2000 году, и какое сейчас?

Моим первым синтом был Roland SH 32, ужас какой был звук. Затем я купил еще синтов: Roland JP 8000 Alesis, Andromeda Roland SH101. И в конце концов, я заполучил мой любимый Roland V-Synth, у которого просто невероятное звучание! Я его просто обожаю! Самый настоящий звук Proxy – УАУ УАУ УАУ.

Какие треки ты написал на Roland V-Synth?

Да почти все свои треки, вот как я его люблю.

Если у тебя в студии случится пожар, что ты в первую очередь вынесешь из огня?

Конечно же V-Synth! А еще мониторы - Dynaudio BM6A и M2.

Кто на тебя больше всего повлиял?

The Prodigy

Твое самое большое достижение?

Я пишу музыку, которую люблю не только я, но и другие.

Ты уже думал о полноценном альбоме?

Пока еще рано, но я каждый день о нем думаю.

Сложно ли это – жить в России и при этом играть по всему миру?

О да! Это действительно тяжело!

Думал ли ты посотрудничать с кем-нибудь?

Ага, может быть скоро. Может быть с Tiga или SebastiAn, с Les Pitits Pilous было бы здорово. Но я точно не уверен, получится или нет.

У тебя есть фирменные The Proxy футболки?

Хехе, пока нет, но возможно скоро!

Proxy – Raven (If The Kids Are United Remix) (alt)
Proxy – Destroy (Polymorphic Remix) (alt)

English version:

For those who don’t know, tell us about The Proxy.
My name is Zhenya, I am 25 and from dirty Moscow. I started producing music in 2000, and used to play some local dirty club, I was the DJ there.

What sort of equipment did you start making music with in 2000?
I bought my first small synth, which was a Roland SH 32, really shitty sound, I then bought more synths (such as the Roland JP 8000 Alesis, Andromeda Roland SH101). After I bought all of those synths, I bought my FAVORITE Roland V-Synth, it had such a great sound! I love it! Very Proxy sound like WAU WAU WAU.

Have you produced any tracks with your favorite Roland V-Synth?
I have practically made all of my tracks with it, that’s how much I love it.

If your studio was on fire, what piece of equipment would you save?
Haha, I would just want to save the V-Synth of course! and my monitors (Dynaudio BM6A and M2 monitors).

What artists influence The Proxy?
The Prodigy

What has been your biggest musical accomplishment?
Being able to make music that not only I love, but others do too.

Do you have a name for your upcoming album yet?
Not yet, I’m thinking everyday.

Is it hard to tour around the world because you live in Russia?
Oh man!! YEEAAHH!!! It’s really hard!

Have you ever considered doing a collaberation?
Yeah, maybe soon. Maybe with Tiga, or SebastiAn, a collaberation with Les Pitits Pilous would be cool. But I am not sure if it will happen or not.

Do you have any “The Proxy” T-Shirts coming out soon?
hehe, not yet. But possibly soon.

When I was a teenager I was interested in finding out what life was all about. I loved listening to people debate important topics. I found that it helped me to make a decision on the issue. As I look back and reflect on those years I think I was looking for two things. I wanted a way of life that was first of all true, but also livable or satisfying. I didn’t just want to adopt any old religion or philosophy, rather I wanted one that was actually true. And I hoped that whichever way of life turned out to be true would also be a good and worthwhile life to live.

From a young age I suspected that Christianity was true. God really did exist and Jesus really did die for my sins (there is a lot more to Christianity than this of course). The problem was that Christianity did not seem to be an enjoyable lifestyle. As a teenager I was quite attracted to the punk lifestyle. Oddly enough, I discovered that much of what I heard coming from punk bands lined up well with many of the teachings of Christianity. The great part was that I loved the punk lifestyle. So it looked like I could have both truth and a satisfying lifestyle.

Of course, punk rock doesn’t really have a lot to say about the ultimate things in life. What happens when we die? What does God expect from me, if anything? What should a human being really do with their life? In the world of punk rock the answers to these questions are as diverse as the colour of people’s hair.

In the end, Christianity satisfied my quest for truth. After a year or so of being a Christian I also realized that it had satisfied my quest for an enjoyable lifestyle. Sure, I had to make some changes but they have been for the better. I am quite convinced that Christianity is both true and livable.

One topic that seems to be important to both punks and Christians (of course many punks are Christians and many Christians are punks) is unity. I just spent a semester at school studying a letter that Christians have passed on to each other for the last couple thousand years. It is a letter from Paul to the Ephesians. You’ll find it as part of the collection of writings called the New Testament. Unity is a pretty important theme in this letter. But unity is not just necessary between fellow humans, but between humans and God. I think that Christians need to work on being better united, but that’s an issue for later.

Unity is also the theme of many punk songs. I’ve posted a couple of them below. Rancid and Operation Ivy are a couple of my favorite punk rock bands. As a Christian, some of their songs still inspire me.

Rancid – If the Kids are United

Operation Ivy – Unity

Some tunes for this Tuesday afternoon: If The Kids Are United.