Don Letts has just released his latest documentary film "Punk Attitude". A brilliant documentary that explores the roots and genesis of punk, as well as it's legacy. No-one could be better qualified to make the film than the man who DJed at the legendary punk hang out the Roxy, the man who made the Clash documentary "Westway To the World" and won a Grammy for it. He's also made over 300 videos and formed B.A.D. with Mick Jones. Don is not just a man who was there but is also a razor-sharp cultural commentator and a first-class film maker. He's the person Malcolm McLaren pretends to be.

I got on the phone to him and asked him what prompted him to make the film "Punk Attitude"?

"I was approached to do it and my initial instinct was "Oh bloody hell, not again". There's seems to be a punk revival every few years. They've reduced something that changed my life to Mohawks, safety pins and guitars. My thing was the over-emphasis of the punk movement, the bigger idea was about counter culture.

My documentary begins with Jerry Lee Lewis jumping over his piano, there's Elvis, the birth of the hippy movement. That might surprise some people but it was as punk as anything. It predates music. In my first edit of the film (which was 3 hours), I mentioned the surrealist art movement, Marcel Duchamp - he had a punk attitude, Lenny Bruce. What I'm trying to get across is about an attitude. If you reduce it to safety pin, Mohawks & guitars, you miss the point. The most important thing is it is ongoing.

When you look around, it's almost like punk rock never happened. TV, attitude, dumbing down. People have forgotten about empowerment and attitude."

What about dance music?

"No, what did people do when they do when they left the dancefloor?"

Er, go home?

"No, they recovered! the dance movement seemed a bit more escapist. I can dig that for a while but you can't stay on the dance floor. Punk didn't just create bands, it made poets, artists, designers & people like me film-makers."

Surely, rave culture also gave birth to artists & designers too?

"All I know, for some reason, you don't see people looking at the movement."

Well, it is a younger movement, maybe in 10 years time they'll be making films about it?

"Nah. Don't get be wrong, I liked it. I really liked Alex Patterson, Primal Scream but it just seems escapist. It didn't deal with the real world. That's not a criticism, because sometime things seem so overwhelming that you want to run in the opposite direction. In punk times, we decided to confront out problems. When John Lydon sung "no future", it really felt like it. We decided to take control of our destiny.

Punk is not something to look back on, it's something to look forward to, if you're brave enough. The possibility is always there for empowerment. It's part of an ongoing counter culture. It is possible again and it is necessary."

What do you think of mainstream culture at the moment?

"Pop music is great, I love the stuff. I like Coldplay - they write great songs and are really emotional but I don't know if it would make me Don Lets. Back in the day, people got into the music to be anti-establishment. Now most groups get into the music to be part of the establishment. If you want to be on MTV or in the top 40, you're not anti-establishment."

What was your first step into the music business?

"I had a band called Basement 5 but most people know me from B.A.D. In B.A.D. I was famous for not playing an instrument. I had coloured stickers on my keyboard. I did actually co-write songs the songs with Mick. A good idea attempted is better than a bad idea perfected."

How did you get to know Bob Marley?

"Well, it's a long story so I'll try and sum it up quickly. When he played at the Lyceum, I his followed his coach to his hotel, walked into the hotel and introduced myself. We became friend because I supplied him with something he needed. Last time we spoke, we had an argument about punk rock. I had my bondage trousers on and he took the piss. I think he'd read the stories about it in the Daily Mirror and he said he didn't like them, that they were nasty. I told him these people were my mates and he stuck around in London for another month, checked it out and wrote "Punky Reggae Party" because he recognised what was going on. The whole reggae thing, the punks aligned themselves with it because they were the only rebels around."

Looking back, was there anything you feel you missed in the film?

"It's not just about music. Does the world need any more bloody musicians anyway? We need Doctors and Nurses. People need to see the art in everything they do. Not everybody who saw the Sex Pistols or the Clash, started a band. The attitude informed whatever they did. I want to pass that on. The whole punk DIY inclusiveness, I know that it works."

You covered the U.S. angle well in the film, looking at the likes of the Ramones and MC5. How do you feel about the current American punk scene?

"If you're calling yourself a punk, you probably ain't. People keep associating punk with spiky hair and loud guitars. Bjork is more punk than somebody who calls themselves a Punk."

Because of her desire to innovate and push music forward?

"Exactly. Like the difference between P.I.L. and the Sex Pistols, between early Clash and "London Calling" era Clash. People forget that punk became really stupid in 18 months. It was reduced to gobbing, Mohawks and safety pins. Post punk was far more interesting than people reproducing and imitating the original thing."

Henry Rollins was a brilliant interviewee

"I tell you, the films a lot better for him. At first, all I saw of Henry was the thick neck and the tattoos but he's one of the most intelligent dudes I have met. It's not just about music. He's not disconnected from reality, the real world."

Who do you find exciting in modern music?

"I think that attitude is like the force in "Stars Wars", you can't stop it but if you look at MTV and the top 40, you can't find it. The internet has brought back D.I.Y. culture, look at Arctic Monkeys. Michael Moore, Tracey Emin - I think they have punk attitudes. It's a drag that the stuff people are being force fed is the anti thesis of that: X-Factor, Big Brother, bling culture. It's all about control and pimping the fan. The music I grew up on helped me to be all that I can be. If I didn't understand that, we wouldn't be having this conversation. Punk rock said 'Hey, you can be part of this too'. That's an important message, that you can be part of it too."

Have you been working on any other projects?

"I've been doing a film about Sun-Ra for the BBC. Here it gets funny: he's dead now, a jazz musician but he had a punk attitude. Punk never trivialises."

Interview by Ned Netherwood
Big thanks to Fiona at Brand Nation
Don's film "Punk Attitude" is out now on DVD