3 Post-Punk Classics From 1978 You Might Have Missed (But They Forever Changed Rock Music)

In the late 1970s, punk rock seemed to decline as quickly as it had risen in popularity. And as the scene waned nearly as quickly as the breakneck tempos that defined it, a new sound emerged. With post-punk, the tempos slowed, and the simplicity of its predecessor was replaced by blending various musical styles, unconventional song arrangements, and even world music.

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Then, in 1978, three debut albums—and the iconic songs below—arrived and unwittingly ushered in post-punk, forever changing rock music.

“Public Image” by Public Image Ltd from ‘Public Image: First Issue’

John Lydon abandoned his stage name, Johnny Rotten, after quitting the Sex Pistols in 1978. The exit followed the release of his previous band’s seminal punk debut LP, Never Mind The Bollocks, and these changes began a transformation away from punk and into its “post” phase. “Public Image” is a rebuke to Lydon’s former persona, to his former band, and to Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren. He sings, “What you wanted was never made clear / Behind the image was ignorance and fear.”

Lydon changed rock music by rejecting it with the Sex Pistols. Then he changed it again by rejecting the Sex Pistols with Public Image Ltd and yet another groundbreaking debut album.

“Overground” by Siouxsie & The Banshees from ‘The Scream’

Siouxsie & The Banshees’ debut album, The Scream, helped pioneer post-punk with angular guitar riffs and a rhythm section more akin to electronic music than rock and roll. Meanwhile, the drummer Kenny Morris constructed grooves using toms while often avoiding the cymbals. It gave the music a machine-like and hypnotic quality. A slow and dark masterpiece co-produced by Steve Lillywhite, The Scream inspired Joy Division, The Smiths, The Cure, and many others. Moreover, “Overground” features an example of how the guitarist John McKay established a new playing style outside the blues-rock tradition.

“The Light Pours Out Of Me” by Magazine from ‘Real Life’

The third post-punk debut album to utterly change rock music, Magazine released Real Life in 1978. Following Howard Devoto’s departure from Buzzcocks, he formed a new group with guitarist John McGeoch, and, like John Lydon, abandoned the high-speed punk of his former band. With McGeoch, Devoto provided a blueprint for post-punk but also for future groups like The Smiths and Radiohead. (You can hear a direct thread between “Shot By Both Sides” and Radiohead’s “Just”, both produced by John Leckie.)

Meanwhile, McGeoch, who would eventually join Siouxsie & The Banshees, remains one of the most influential guitarists, counting Johnny Marr, Jonny Greenwood, and Robert Smith as musical descendants. In “The Light Pours Out Of Me”, McGeoch’s riff punctuates a persistent groove before culminating in a wall of string bends that became a signature part of Greenwood’s playing, as well as Thurston Moore from Sonic Youth.

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