to me the origins of punk existed long before it was commodified into a unitary movement. bands like the Stooges, Velvet Underground & MC5 helped propel the music community outside of its inorganic, messy arena rock of the 1970s.
while bands like the Sex Pistols, the Ramones & the Clash were certainly instrumental in developing the 'punk' theme into a movement, they represent to me nothing more than a stepping stone in the path of an inevitable return to musical roots. and they certainly weren't alone. Television, Richard Hell and the Voidoids, Wire, the Damned, Johnny Thunders & many more were there at the same time and rarely receive anywhere near the same credit as the aforementioned three.
to suggest that there was a definite "first" punk band or, alternatively, a "most important" punk band seems to be along the same lines of exactly what those artists were trying to eschew with the music industry.
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