Punks Not Dad are a British comedy

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

band who formed in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

, Wales in late 2008. The name is word-play on the album ''

Punks Not Dead ''Punks Not Dead'' is the first studio album by the Scottish punk rock band The Exploited, released in April 1981 on Secret Records. Working class and loyal to the first impulses of the 1970s punk movement, the album was a reaction to critics wh ...

''. The four band members were all in their mid to late 40s when they formed and their songs are written from a middle-aged father's perspective referencing sheds, flat-pack furniture and

Man flu ''Man flu'' is a colloquial term referring to the perception that men experience more severe symptoms when afflicted with the common cold or flu-like illnesses. Primarily British, it is frequently used in a self-deprecating manner. This term ...

. The music they play is described as "Dad Punk". They are one of the leading bands of the mature musicians "Rock-Til-You-Drop" movement, and were heavily featured in an article on the subject in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' in mid 2010. Several of their videos have featured the Welsh TV presenter and actress,

Lisa Rogers Lisa Rogers (born 7 September 1971) is a Welsh television presenter. She has appeared in films, television programmes, theatre and radio. Early life While at school, she took jobs in a chocolate factory, as a farrier, and, while studying drama ...

Career

The band was formed in 2008 by Sid Life Crisis and Johnny Cardigan. The former is also a member of the

skiffle Skiffle is a music genre, genre of folk music with influences from American folk music, blues, Country music, country, Bluegrass music, bluegrass, and jazz, generally performed with a mixture of manufactured and homemade or improvised instruments. ...

band, Railroad Bill, and the latter had been one half the comedy duo the Tracy Brothers alongside the novelist and actor

Mark Billingham Mark Philip David Billingham (born 2 July 1961)"BILLINGHAM, Mark Philip David"

. The Tracy Brothers presented the Children's BBC TV series ''What's That Noise!'' and appeared in several of the original

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

series of ''

The Mary Whitehouse Experience The ''Mary Whitehouse Experience'' is a British topical sketch comedy show that the BBC produced in association with Spitting Image Productions. It starred two comedy double acts, one being David Baddiel and Rob Newman, the other Steve Punt an ...

''. Cardigan and Life Crisis were brothers in law and discovered a shared love of 1977-style British punk rock. They started writing together via email as Cardigan lived in

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

, England and Life Crisis in Cardiff. The other members, Joe Strimmer and Adrian Viles joined after the band was offered its first gig. Strimmer is also a member of Railroad Bill. Punks Not Dad quickly recorded their first album ''We Are The Dads'' (2010) and were signed by the independent record label, Boss Tuneage. The songs all deal with aspects of the middle-aged male condition, borrowing riffs from punk bands such as

The Clash The Clash were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they are considered one of the most influential acts in the original wave of British punk rock, with their music fusing elements ...

and

Sham 69 Sham 69 are an English punk rock band that formed in Hersham in Surrey in 1975. They changed their musical direction after seeing the Sex Pistols play live in early 1976. They were one of the most successful punk bands in the United Kingdom, ac ...

in an attempt to speak for the same generation thirty years on. The album's title track expands the idea that the original punk generation now feels just as marginalised by young people, as they once did by their own parents. :''"The kids don't understand us,'' :''They think we're full of sh*te,'' :''But we are the Dads,'' :''And the Dads are alright!"'' Several songs from the album received radio play including "Gaye Adverts Eyes", played by

Tom Robinson Living people Thomas Giles Robinson (born 1 June 1950) is a British singer, bassist, radio presenter and long-time LGBT rights activist, best known for the hits " Glad to Be Gay", " 2-4-6-8 Motorway", and "Don't Take No for an Answer", with hi ...

for

BBC Radio 6 Music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It primarily plays a wide range of alternative music, from established and emerging artists and bands. In 2002 it was the first national music radio station t ...

, and dealing with Life Crisis' teenage crush on the bass player of 1970s punk band

The Adverts The Adverts were an English punk rock band formed in 1976 that existed until late 1979. They were one of the first punk bands to achieve mainstream success in the UK; their 1977 Single (music), single "Gary Gilmore's Eyes" reached No. 18 on the ...

. The album was described as "Genius" by

TV Smith Timothy "T. V." Smith (born 5 April 1956) is an English singer-songwriter who was part of punk rock, punk band The Adverts in the late 1970s. Since then he has fronted other bands, as well as pursuing a solo career. Biography Smith and Gaye Ad ...

the Adverts former lead singer. In mid 2009, the band released their first single "In Me Shed", which was accompanied by a promotional video featuring TV presenter Lisa Rogers, whom they met whilst being interviewed on Radio Wales in December 2009. The song won the award for Song of the Year at The Rock-Til-You-Drop Awards. The song was also made the 'Official Anthem of the Shed of the Year 2009, by the Readers' Sheds website and was cited as the campaign song for novelist Chris Cleave's 'Down with Kids' column in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' in January 2010. During 2010, they performed at

Glastonbury Festival The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (commonly referred to as simply Glastonbury Festival, known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts held near Pilton, Somerset, England, in most su ...

and played regular gigs with bluegrass act

Hayseed Dixie Hayseed Dixie is an American band formed in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2000. Their first album was '' A Hillbilly Tribute to AC/DC''. The band performs bluegrass cover versions of hard rock songs and also original songs of a mostly satirical or ab ...

. In their live shows Punks Not Dad are noted for encouraging their audience to assemble an

IKEA IKEA ( , ) is a Multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in Sweden that designs and sells , household goods, and various related services. IKEA is owned and operated by a series of not-for-profit an ...

bedside table during their performance. The audience is also encouraged to write graffiti on the assembled table. In July 2010, they were heavily featured in an article in ''The Times'', which dealt with the emergence of new middle-aged rock and punk bands. Three of their song lyrics ("The Boy Looked at Johnny", "Gaye Advert's Eyes" and "Where is My Love Song?") were also included in the publication ''Punk Rock Saved My Ass'' - an anthology edited by Terena Scott and Jane Mackay. In February 2011, a new video for the song "I Can't Get It Up" (an intentional double-entendre title, the song dealing with the erection of flatpack furniture) was released - again featuring Lisa Rogers. This video was intended to promote the band's four-track "Retail Therapy EP" released in March 2011.

Discography

* "Allen Key in the UK" (2008) - band-produced, four-track EP * ''We Are The Dads!'' (2009) - album released by Boss Tuneage * "In Me Shed" b/w "Father's Day" (2009) - single released by Boss Tuneage * "Retail Therapy EP" (2011) - four-track EP released by Boss Tuneage

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://www.punksnotdad.com/
Wales OnLine broadcast, 20 June 2009
Welsh punk rock groups Musical groups established in 2008