‘Young Turks’: The song that saw Rod Stewart attempt to go “punky”
In the 1960s, Rod Stewart was a part of the defiant mod generation, one which sought to challenge the status quo of stuffy old England. However, it did not take long for Rod the Mod to become a part of the musical establishment himself. By the mid-1970s, a new musical revolution was on the cards, and Stewart was one of the many figures it sought to tear down. Nevertheless, the ‘Maggie May’ singer was keen to embrace the sounds of this radical new music, with some truly embarrassing results.
You could ask 100 different people what punk means to them, and you would likely get 100 different answers. On the whole, though, punk music arose from the anger of young people, who found themselves disenfranchised by the soulless, corporate rock music dominating the pop charts during the mid-1970s. Especially in the United Kingdom, the 1970s was a remarkably depressing era, storied by economic downturn, political instability, and a widening social divide. Punk was an opportunity to discuss those issues that were being ignored by rock stars like Rod Stewart.
Inevitably, as the underground punk scene gradually broke into the mainstream, thanks to groups like the Sex Pistols, The Clash, and The Damned, its initial manifesto became increasingly diluted. By 1978, the defiant rebellion of punk had become a fashion sense more than anything else. This mainstream appeal, aside from betraying the original DIY ethos of the genre, also opened up more established pop artists to the commercial potential of the abrasive punk sound.
In 1981, Rod Stewart attempted to recapture the essence of his rebellious youth by adopting a sound closer to punk than he would typically go for. According to Stewart’s regular collaborator Carmine Appice, “Rod said, ‘I want something that’s a bit punky, a bit young and feverish.’”
Speaking to Smashing Interviews, Appice continued, “So Duane and I came up with ‘Young Turks,’ gave it a try, and he loved it. We did it with mostly keyboard and a drum machine. I did a hi-hat and cymbals.”
The more perceptive you are, the more you will notice that keyboards and drum machines are not regularly featured within the punk rock repertoire, and you will be correct. ‘Young Turks’ is worlds away from the revolutionary sounds of groups like The Slits, X-Ray Spex, or Buzzcocks; it is unrecognisable as punk music. In fact, the 1981 track adheres much closer to the conventions of synth and electropop than punk, but Stewart was seemingly happy with his self-identifying “punky” track.
Audiences seemed pretty receptive to the endlessly bland song, too. In the United States, ‘Young Turks’ peaked at number five in the singles charts, and it managed to reach 11 in Stewart’s native United Kingdom, too. Of course, it is worth noting that, by 1981, the punk age had largely dissipated, with synthpop, post-punk, and the new romantics picking up where punk’s DIY ethos had finished.
Rod Stewart’s ‘Young Turks’ was particularly important for the singer, as it meant he was one of only a few figures from the swinging sixties to continue their mainstream success into the 1980s. The quality of his output witnessed a steep decline by the time the 1980s rolled around, but that certainly did not stop mainstream audiences from rushing out to buy patronising and derivative tracks like ‘Young Turks’.
It might be one of his most popular efforts, but the wannabe punk track smacks of an ageing rocker desperately trying to remain relevant within the changing landscape of rock and roll music despite a complete lack of imagination. Whether or not the song had the punk energy that Stewart was searching for is unknown, but it is difficult to imagine him complaining about the incredible level of success and revenue the single brought in.
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