“Power pop is what we play,” declared Pete Townshend in a 1967 interview to promote the Who’s ‘Pictures Of Lily’. Although the term power pop did not gain much traction at the time, it re-emerged at the beginning of the 70s after the Beatles had dissolved and music began to fracture into various camps. In the USA, bands that remained true to the Beatles tradition began to be referred to as power pop. The Raspberries set the ball rolling in 1972, and young bands began to spring up who really only wanted to sing about girls and having a good time on Saturday night. As the 70s wore on, the new wave had an ever-growing influence on the movement, and even the Ramones donned skinny ties long enough to back up harmony pop masters the Paley Brothers on a thrilling update of Ritchie Valens’ ‘Come On Let’s Go’.
