The Adicts may have been the first band to capitalize on the imagery from Stanley Kubrick’s “A Clockwork Orange,” with bowler hats, white outfits and makeup. If you want to telegraph “sociopathic thug” — that’s a pretty good way to do it, along with sneering lyrics, driving beats and crunching guitars.
Next year marks the 40th anniversary of the release of the Sex Pistols record, an event that critic Greil Marcus has claimed was of world-historical significance.
The Adicts, also from England, released their debut 35 years ago, in 1981, and they had a sense of history from the start, thumbing their noses at musical history in particular. They did the twitchy punk version of Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy,” and they also have a song about the charms of “Rossini,” all of which is very droogy.
The factional discord among segments of the world of music might no longer be a reality — punks, dancers, hippies, rockers and classical fans can all get along in the 21st century — but there are certainly stores of untapped rage for a band like the Adicts to plug into.
The Adicts perform at Fairfield Theater Company’s Warehouse, 70 Sanford St., Fairfield, on Sunday, June 26, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $28. 203-25901036, fairfieldtheatre.org.
