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Ten of the toughest, angriest punk, garage and new wave songs

Raw and elemental guitar-based tracks have featured regularly in The Life of a Song series

Punk fans at the Rainbow Theatre, London, for a ‘Jam and Clash’ gig in 1977 © Getty Images

Louie Louie — why the influential garage classic was investigated by the FBI
The Guns of Brixton — The Clash’s track was inspired by Jimmy Cliff in The Harder They Come
The punk group’s bassist Paul Simonon wrote this sneer of defiance after seeing the classic Jamaican gangster movie
Blitzkrieg Bop — how the Ramones’ big, dumb chant went global
One of the earliest punk tracks, the 1976 song has become a favourite in sporting arenas
Gloria — Van Morrison’s song became an anthem for punky young singers
Punk Prayer — Pussy Riot’s howl of outrage reverberates a decade on
Members of the Russian collective continue to protest against Vladimir Putin’s regime
‘Ça plane pour moi’ was a burst of Belgian punk with a dark twin

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