Monks, London

Monks biography

This is the 1960s garage/proto punk rock band called Monks. For the band of the same name formed in the 1970s by former members of The Strawbs, see The Monks (punk band). And upon their discharge from the army the band had an extremely distinctive musical style, and took up a distinctive name and image to go with it. At the beginning of 1965, Dave Day and Roger Johnston, on a whim, got their heads shaved into monks' tonsures. The rest of the band followed their lead, and to complete the image, the band took to wearing a uniform - all black, sometimes in cassocks, with nooses worn as neckties. Eddie Shaw later claimed in his band autobiography "Black Monk Time" that the nooses were symbolic of the metaphorical nooses that all humanity wear. His explanation of the symbolism is unclear and confusing, but regardless, dressed as black monks, The Monks undoubtedly made a shocking visual impression.

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