The end of the Rock and Roll in the 60’s paved way for a new form of music called plain rock, or more specific like hard rock and alternative rock. Rock was seen as the ultimate identification benchmark for liberated youth with a ‘higher’ calling. This type of music was viewed as the main cause of moral degeneration in society. As is typical with teenagers, the fact that this kind of music was seen as ‘bad’ or ‘immoral’, they took it on in full. Most of these rock bands were not signed to major record labels and the production of their music was more or less underground based.

This is what gave rise to the term, ‘independent music’ or ‘Indie’ in short. The UK independent music network suffered a back lashing from the media, which did not make things better, as more and more young people found it appealing as a mode of expression of their dissatisfaction with situations in the society. The UK independent music bands and fans were not necessarily aligned to any political affiliations, but that changed for some bands like the Skrewdriver, which changed from being a punk rock band into a skinhead band almost overnight.

It is debatable as to whether Indie is a genre in its own right. This is because it has been said that what makes music independent is the elimination of recording contracts by multinational labels. Obviously, this would make any genre of music Indie, as long as the musician decides to take the DIY approach. Punk rock was a new additional to the UK independent music scene as a way of life and music. It is identifiable with its particular characteristics in that members are in opposition to the conformity in social, political, and economic ideologies of a society.