The punk rock movement was shaped by countless tracks that never achieved commercial success but helped define the genre, including an X-Ray Spex classic hailed as a “prototypic example of British punk.”
Talent influences talent, and it was certainly true for Poly Styrene when she formed the punk rock band X-Ray Spex in the late 1970s, when she was only a teenager. Reports claim that she was inspired to join the music scene after watching the Sex Pistols perform live, and it was their second live show that inspired her to write “Oh Bondage Up Yours!”
The track focused on the rousing ideas of the time in the punk rock scene, with its depiction of contemporary capitalist materialism as a brand of servitude. It soon also became a feminist anthem with lyrics referring to sex and bondage. An early 1977 live performance was one of the earliest recordings of the band that led to their record deal with Virgin for one single.
“Oh Bondage Up Yours!” soon became X-Ray Spex’s debut single, which failed to enter the charts. Its impactful lyrics, hard-edged sound, and frontwoman did the job of arousing controversy and attention. The track ended up being banned by the BBC despite being well received by critics.
“Most people think it was a kinky S&M song. But it was about breaking free from the bondage of the material world. I come from a religious background and in the scriptures, the whole idea of being liberated is to break free from bondage,” said Styrene to Mojo.
“I had an idea of the bondage of slavery and all those images in history like the suffragettes or slaves being chained up. When I saw Vivienne Westwood’s shop (SEX) and all her bondage trousers it symbolized all the other bondage elements I’d grown up with.”
It wasn’t only the Sex Pistols who inspired the singer, but also the British fashion designer who brought punk and new wave fashion into the mainstream. Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood had an infamous boutique called SEX that became part of the punk rock scene and a cultural phenomenon in London in the 1970s.
“Oh Bondage Up Yours!” became an iconic song in itself not only due to its lyrics, but also because its message is tied to Styrene’s outlook on individualism and rejecting the idea of a sex symbol. It was even once ranked on Rolling Stone’s list of the best songs of all time.
“‘Oh Bondage’ vibes with me because it takes a very fun and powerful outlook on sex, especially because there was a point in time where sex for me was inherently tied to abuse. To me, it’s all about reclaiming the fun and the power in the midst of the submission and the darkness and the horror. Does that sound insane? Don’t publish this if it sounds insane,” said the frontwoman.
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