Well 'punk' is a word of american usage and was used to describe early 60's american 'garage bands' like the Kingsmen. They copied Brit bands like the Small Faces, Yardbirds and Stones who themselves copied from black R n' B so lets call the whole thing off. Its 50/50..most UK bands were influenced by the N.Y. Dolls who again stole from the Stones.....
Their was this punk band called Flectcher that I really liked but when I searched on mysapce I found two bands and they both had the name one was even marked punk but they were both very wrong... therefore I decided to carry on just listening to drum and base.
My sage advice is never allow your lead singer to be too watery/emotional. Ian Curtis RIP Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Kurt Cobain RIP Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Actually I have to agree with Billy on this: NY Dolls were an acknowledged influence at the time, they had the punk ethic (if not the clothes, as I stated earlier), they grew out of bands like Velvet Underground and were done as a reaction to overblown self-indulgent prog rock and guitar solos that lasted for hours and could only be played by virtuosos. N.M.E. (and Snouds (not a typo, tha's what it was known as)- but nobody of consequence ever read that magazine Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! ) did a whole piece on the Dolls sometime around late 77 and their influences on most of the bands starting up.... And "Jet Boy" is still a classic. Punk was about the ethic, not (ever, ever, ever) the clothes, 'til Vivien Westwood and Malcolm McLaren (although after "Fans" I can forgive him much) started their clothing business. I still laugh like a drain when I go to punk rock gigs and see the kids with their mohicans - real punks wore drainpipes, shirt and jacket most of the time. (Joe Strummer? on jeans " Hippies wear loose floppy bell bottoms: like jeans, like mind")
NY Dolls and Sex Pistols had the same man behind them - Malcolm McLaren. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_McLaren
Patti Smith was called variously the High Priestess of Punk and the Transition from Beat to Punk. Her Radio Ethiopia album is a classic, whatever genre you try to fit it into. Some of the cuts, like "Ask the Angels" and "Pumping" would fit just fine in a punk set. Others like the title track are more art-rock. Still others like "Poppies" and "Pissin' in a River" defy categorization but I can't imagine a true punk not being content to claim them. Green Day was more punk when they first came out. Their songs were short and punchy and they played like a garage band. But, sadly or happily depending on your point of view, most people change as they grow older and Green Day is no exception. American Idiot is a true concept album in the spirit of Jethro Tull and Pink Floyd, although they're still only a very well polished garage band. Punk, like grunge, is pretty much dead. All we've got now is post-punk and grunge lite.