Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s Socrates

Breaking History

The Free Press

History

4.8 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 12 November 2025

⏱️ 40 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

We are coming up on the 50th anniversary of punk, the genre that smashed the old rock gods and stripped down the music to its essence. In this episode of Breaking History, we examine the examined life of the original punk: the loudmouth philosopher who defied the authorities, refused to conform, and paid the ultimate price for speaking the truth. Yes—it can only be Socrates. Grab your leather jacket and your hemlock, we’re going hardcore philosophical. ----- CREDITS Executive Producer: Poppy Damon Associate Producer: Adam Feldman Sound Designer and Composer: Tony Peer Original theme songs by Eli Lake Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, listeners.
0:01.4	First of all, I want to thank you for rating and commenting on the last podcast.
0:06.5	It really made a huge difference.
0:08.1	This episode is a little bit different than our normal ones.
0:11.5	We reflect on the 50th anniversary of punk rock.
0:16.5	And then we dive into the life and times of the first punk, a man who prowled the streets of the city and questioned everything and everyone, mocking authority and ultimately he died for his beliefs.
0:29.2	Am I talking about Sid Vicious or Johnny Thunder?
0:32.5	No.
0:33.4	This episode is about the first punk in history.
0:36.6	Socrates.
0:37.9	Keep it locked. What happens once happens again?
0:57.2	When news are fears of history,
1:00.0	soon into great history.
1:05.8	50 years ago this month, on November 6th,
1:12.6	four young, angry amateurs took the stage at the common room at St. Martin's Art School in London. They were the opening act for Bazooka Joe. This was their debut.
1:16.6	Even though they had been practicing for a few months in a nearby loft,
1:20.6	none of the so-called musicians knew how to really play their instruments.
1:24.6	They bombed.
1:25.6	The group was so unknown that the promotional poster called them
1:29.9	support band, but in a few months, the whole world would know who they are, the sex pistols.
1:38.7	No recording of the St. Martin's gig exists, but we can extrapolate that this is more or less what the band sounded
1:45.3	like. This is from February 1976.
	...

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