Oi! and the Rise of Working‑Class British Punk

This episode digs into Oi!'s birth in late‑70s Britain, tracing how football terraces, cheap rehearsal spaces, DIY labels and all‑ages pubs forged a distinctly working‑class punk movement. We examine key bands—Cockney Rejects, Sham 69, Angelic Upstarts—and the tensions between skinhead politics and anti‑racist factions that shaped Oi!'s reputation. The story reveals how raw, chant‑style songs reflected real life on the streets, how grassroots record stores pressed small batches of 7" singles, and how fanzines chronicled both the myth and reality of a scene caught between mainstream press sensationalism and underground solidarity.

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