Telling us young kids that Punk was horrible, nasty and wrong only made it more desirable, more popular. It added to our desire to be part of the 'movement' and to metaphorically put two fingers up to what we saw as the establishment, including our parents, teachers etc.
UKIP has effectively won the argument on immigration and has been setting the political agenda for most of this year.
Heady days indeed for Mr Farage and his party. Why? Because they're 'in fashion', riding the wave and as the other parties are seeing to their cost, they're pretty much unstoppable at the moment amongst a significant grouping of the population and not just the 'right'.
Politics has always been thus: After 18 years of Maggie and John Major the Tories ran out of ideas, perhaps ran out of big past problems to fix (although there were as always many problems to be fixed) and Mr Blair came along and took advantage of this 'fashion for change' to get his hands on power. He subsequently span his way to staying in fashion to the point where there was almost nothing the Tories could do to turn public opinion against him in two subsequent general elections. Labour's use of Theresa May's ill-advised 'Nasty Party' comment (2002) still has considerable resonance across the country to this day.
They (the Tories) had to bide their time until the fashion changed, until Blair was found out in many ways and until Gordon Brown showed us that Blair was a one-man party really in terms of connecting with the people, and so the fashion moved on again.
And now, despite Dave having rescued the economy to a significant extent - yes it's not a panacea in any way, but his starting point was extremely bleak - there seems to be enough 'stuff' out there in terms of the disconnect between Parliament and the people, to make an essentially anti-establishment ticket fashionable again.
Blair ruled without reference to parliament at all in many ways yet this popular penchant for change didn't arise on his watch. Smoke, mirrors, wars and spin probably account for this and he also did not face the increasingly powerful juggernaut that is 24-hour news and in particular social media that must be terrifying the establishment, more and more every day.
Dave seems to me to be bearing the brunt of a general dissatisfaction with UK politics - Labour voters are realising that the party has as many 'toffs' and career politicians on its benches as the Tories do and that it is no longer a party of 'the worker'. That returning Labour politicians, for decades, to represent them in Parliament has not delivered any kind of uplift to them or their locations.
Similarly the Tories' shift to the left and away from Thatcherism has left many (of us) disillusioned with the values we once held dear.
All of which leaves a gaping hole in our national politics and a hole that is not simply confined to the so-called 'right'. The 'straight-talking normal bloke' (as many see him) Farage is securing popularity amongst many traditional Labour voters as well as from the Tories.
And that's not speculation but fact - whether you think it's the right view or not doesn't really matter - it's about 'fashion' you see, not necessarily logic.
The question for UKIP is can it remain fashionable enough for long enough to gain a serious foothold in British politics? And that means until next May and beyond. The by-election in Rochester and Strood is therefore massive for UKIP and the Tories.
If they can win it, I think UKIP will gain enough momentum in the 'fashion' stakes to be a serious contender in May. And they could then effect real change in our politics. Given my views on the massive disconnect between our parliamentary representatives and us the voters, I think that would be a good thing. I'm not a 'kipper and may well not vote for them, but I do wish them well and who knows, like many millions of others who are fed up with being lied to and duped and only considered for six months every five years, I just might.
Thanks for reading.
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