This type of music has probably had a bigger influence on politics than any other. Though never mainstream and only popular among a few from the end of the seventies until about the mid 1980s.

For example it is very unlikely that the anti-roads protests of the 1990s, the anti-capitalist and anti-globalisation movement, and now the anti-climate change campaign would have existed or at least not on anything like the scale they do today if it had not been for the anarcho punk bands who vigorously promoted social causes and intorduced the automonous anarchist way of organising to so many people all those years ago.

It all started with a small group of middle class life style anarchists who had been influenced by the hippy movement a few years before called Crass. In 1977 inspired by the song Anarchy in the UK they decided to form a band to spread their ideas.

In their wake several other punk bands were inspired to take up the banner of anarchism such as Anti-system, Conflict and Discharge and promote social causes from nuclear disarmament to animal rights to anti-capitalism. Before these bands came along anarchism had a very small following.

The first big event these bands organised and inspired with the help of older anarchists was the Stop The City actions. The first took place on September the 29th 1983 and attract 3000, the second in March 1984 and attracted 3500. Numbers dropped sharply after that due to high arrest numbers and apathy, but the idea spread to other cities such as Leeds and Edinburgh.

In 1980 Crass played the Stonehenge free festival and brought thousands of urban punk squatters into contact with the festival scene who came back year after year. These people mixed with the older hippy travellers to form the hybrid The New Age Travellers who would be at the forefront of the 90s anti-roads movement.

In 1977 punks were already involved in the squatting scene but the emergence of anarchism in the punk scene led to loads of squats being opened as anarchist book shops and social centres. Though most of these didn't last long.

Crass: Featured on TV programme on anarchism. 1979.
Conflict: Live in concert. 1985.
Discharge: On TV programme with live clips. 1983.

Hey thanks for the interesting post, i am a punk and love my music, and living in belfast i know a lot about street politics and protest.

There is a good book and documentary on the movement too. Which came out about a year ago. It has a couple of images on the cover of the Stop The City protests.