When the punk movement reached Montréal in 1977, it ignited the passion of a handful of young people whose lives were changed forever as a result. One of them was Alan Lord, who was an active part of the Montréal punk scene starting in the late 1970s. He played in local bands such as Vex, Maurauders, and Vent du Mont Scharr. In the 1980s, he organized the Ultimatum Festival, a festival for avant-garde music and poetry. Lord also appears in Érik Cimon and Alain Cliche’s documentary “Mtl Punk – The First Wave” (2011).
What was the early punk scene like for you in Montreal back then?Punk really took off in London in 1976. A year later, it was already huge. Here, though, nothing was happening in 1976. It was dead boring. But in 1977, I started buying punk records and listening to them at home, along with everyone else who would later become part of the punk movement here. We thought we were the only ones. We were the weirdos because all our friends were listening to Emerson, Lake & Palmer or that prog rock crap. But in the summer of ’78, I started playing in a band, Alan Lord & The Maurauders. At some point back then, my bandmates asked me, “Hey, do you want to come to a punk rock concert in Old Montreal?” And I was like, “What? A punk rock concert in Montreal?” Of course, I went. The summer of 1978 was when punk really broke through here. What fascinated you so much about punk?
The energy! As I said, Montreal in ’76 and ’77 was just plain boring. Hippie music was playing on the radio everywhere. Everyone had long hair, wore sandals, and those stupid peasant dresses. But there were already a few of these weird guys: one had green hair and another had a safety pin in his face. But then, in 1978, this concert took place at a venue on 364 St. Paul. Suddenly, you saw a whole group of maybe a hundred punks. For me, it was like heaven on earth.
What was that place at 364 St. Paul like?
It was just a small, unassuming bar—an empty room. I remember punk “sculptures,” like a smashed guitar on the wall that had been glued back together from its individual pieces. It was pure chaos—exactly how punk was supposed to be. There was no stage. The band just set up the drums. Everything was totally chaotic: real punk.
Alan Lord plays live with the Marauders | © Alan Lord
Alan Lord is featured in an article in the English-language magazine « Montreal Mirror »! | © Alan Lord
There were bands like The Widows, The 222s, The Normals, and The Chromosomes. They were the founding members of the punk scene. That was what people called the “first wave” in 1978. I joined in early 1979 as part of the second wave.
Were there any well-known punk bands that performed in Montreal?
Yes, the Ramones! At the time, I was managing the band for Lucien Francœur, a rock poet who’s very well-known here—sort of a local Lou Reed. One day he said to me, “Alan, here’s a promoter. He wants us to open for the Ramones. Is that a good idea?” I was like, “Are you kidding me? Those are my heroes!” That’s how I met my heroes backstage. I took photos of each of them and of the whole band—and then I lost all the photos. Or maybe my ex tore them up and threw them in the trash when we broke up.
Did you spend any time with the Ramones?
After our set, we went back to the backstage area. There were the Ramones: Joey, Johnny, and Dee Dee were practicing wildly on their guitars, but without amps. And the drummer was drumming on the armrest of the sofa. They were warming up like athletes! I watched them and thought, “Wow, these guys are like athletes. They do warm-ups because they play so fast on stage.” And us? We were laughing, smoking cigarettes, and drinking beer like idiots. That’s when we saw for the first time how the pros do it. Which was kind of funny, actually, because those guys weren’t really taking punk all that seriously.
Were you familiar with German punk, too?
My favorite band was Der Plan. I discovered them in 1980. Geri Reig was my favorite album. I listened to it constantly with my friend Mario Campo, a punk poet from Montreal. That was our absolute favorite. I also bought records by D.A.F. (Deutsch Amerikanische Freundschaft). But I didn’t know that many German punk bands. I’d heard of Die Toten Hosen, but not much else. D.A.F. was just weird. There was this guy who played a distorted synthesizer and some crazy drums. The beat was great. And Der Plan was like… damn, that was something special, like a Frank Zappa of punk. Really interesting and diverse. We didn’t understand a thing except for “Hans und Gabi,” but we loved it.
Looking back now: What did punk mean to you back then?
Punk was the search for personal freedom and questioning authority. I was already like that before, but punk put it all out there in bold letters, similar to the attitude of Joe Strummer or the folk singer Billy Bragg. It was political for me!
And today?
I’ve always kept that rebellious spirit. There’s still that urge to provoke, to be sarcastic, to question authority, and to be political.