Street punk (alternatively spelled
streetpunk) is a
working class-based genre of
punk rock which took shape in the early 1980s, partly as a
rebellion against the perceived artistic pretensions of the first wave of British punk. Street punk emerged from the
Oi! style, performed by bands such as
Sham 69,
Blitz,
The Business,
Angelic Upstarts,
Cockney Rejects and
The Exploited. However, street punk continued beyond the confines of the original Oi! form with bands such as
GBH,
Chaos UK,
Discharge,
The Anti-Nowhere League and
Oxymoron. Street punks generally have a much more ostentatious and flamboyant appearance than the
working class or
skinhead image cultivated by many Oi! groups. Street punks commonly sported multi-coloured hair,
mohawks,
tattoos, heavily studded vests and leather jackets, and clothing, especially plaids, adorned with political slogans, patches, and/or the names of punk bands.