King Crimson and Emerson, Lake and Palmer founding member Greg Lake slammed punk rock in a new interview, calling it a fashion trend instead of an artistic one.
Speaking to the Montreal Gazette, Lake disparaged the musical value of punk. “The punk thing wasn’t a musical movement,” he said. “It was a fashion movement. It was a hyping, marketing movement. There was no real music there, no cultural revolution there.
"Punk was [Sex Pistols manager Malcolm] McLaren trying to whip up some media hype to create a genre so that everybody could ride on the crest of another marketing wave," Lake added. "It was only a question of a few idiots wearing tartan kilts and putting gel in their hair so it stood up like spikes.
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In some ways he is right, ie, the Daily Mirror punks. However, in many ways he is wrong. Just look at the non-commercial underground scene at that time, Stonehenge free festival, Greenham Common peace camp etc. He has probably never heard of the likes of Poison Girls and Crass.
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