The Beautiful and the Damned: Sheila Rock’s Punk Gods

From Eater to the Clash, from the lipstick of Siouxsie Sioux to the staff of Sex, photographer Sheila Rock caught the faces of punk just as it all went haywire

All photographs: Sheila Rock

The Clash

‘This photoshoot was done in [their manager] Bernie Rhodes’ offices in Camden in 1978. Their effortlessly cool aura made for great photos.’ Sheila Rock’s book Young Punks is published by Omnibus Press on 9 April
Buzzcocks

‘They were radical innovators who created the early independent music scene. This was taken in Soho near the Marquee’
Siouxsie and the Banshees

‘A shoot for the Face in a makeshift studio in Holland Park. At the time, Siouxsie was moving from punk to a more new romantic style. She was a rather quiet subject but I thought her exquisite: her trademark dark eyes and red lips and an icy stare’
The Moors Murderers

‘Taken at a rehearsal studio under the railway arches near London Bridge in 1977. I was invited to photograph Steve Strange’s short-lived punk band with Chrissie Hynde on guitar, before she became a singer’
The Damned

‘Singer Dave Vanian and guitarist Bryan James of the Damned. Fast music and theatrics made them the first punk band to release a single. The most popular band to play the Roxy’
The Cure

‘I was asked to do a photoshoot by their record company. They were post-punk innovators, and I used the Thames to reflect some of the band’s gritty mood’
Paul Weller of the Jam

‘It was clear even then that he would go far. A huge talent and his mod style was iconic. He was not part of the punk elite. He was not a follower’
Subway Sect

‘Managed by Bernie Rhodes, Subway Sect were all still at school. They were one of the first punk bands and were influential in the indie music scene. These photos were shot in Camden. I liked their quirky, highly individual style’
Jordan

‘Photographed in Sex, the shop on King’s Road, Chelsea. The face of punk. A rule-breaker. A total original sweetheart’
John Lydon of Public Image Ltd

‘Taken in his flat in Kensington. I remember seeing this wonderful red coat by the entrance and I asked him to put it on. He always had great personal style and was charismatic. He can be confrontational, but I seem to have escaped his sting’
Eater

‘Eater branded themselves with a youthful energy. Safety pins and zips decorated their clothes – and held them together’
The Photons

‘I knew them as John and Steve. Punks who identified with the attitude and energy of 1977’
Boy shop

‘Home to the emerging DIY punk look, this was a meeting place for young punks in King’s Road’
Staff at Boy

‘Textured mohair jumpers and provocative eye makeup were expressions of rebellion against conformity that you could buy off-the-peg’
Chelsea

‘Early beginnings in Manchester for Billy Idol and Tony James who later formed Generation X’