Sandi Thom I wish I was a punk rocker (with flowers in my hair)

Scottish singer Sandi Thom (born as Alexandria) linked her nostalgia-filled chart-topping single, “I wish I was a punk rocker (with flowers in my hair)” with a music video filmed on the streets of Bethnal Green in London. The 2 minutes 40 seconds music video opens on a London street. An actor posts an envelope into a postbox adorned with a poster with the words, “Never Mind the Balance”, a subtle reference the Sex Pistols 1977 album, “Never Mind the Bollocks”. In the background an advertising bus shelter poster portrays a young couple naked but for their shoes. A double decker bus takes on passengers.

Sandi launches into her song, singing into the camera as she walks on the pavement. Behind her people throw flowers, play guitar, play with a soccer ball. Passers-by struggle with the pressures of a hectic lifestyle. A woman speaking into her cellphone bumps papers out of the hands of a distracted executive man. A male streaker runs by and rolls of paper stream on to the pavement.

I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker Credits

“I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (with Flowers in My Hair) was written by Sandi Thom and her manager Ian Brown (credited as Tom Gilbert). The song was first released as a CD single on Viking Legacy records on October 3, 2005. The track was re-released on May 22, 2006 on Sony’s RCA label.

The inclusion of the two dates, 1969 and 1977 indicates an attempt to include the spirit of the punk movement (1977) with the flower power movement (1969). Flower power was a phrase used in the late 1960s to symbolise a non-violent alternative to participation in war. Scott McKenzie’s 1967 song, “San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers In Your Hair), resonated with Allen Ginsberg’s coining of the phrase during the 1965 protests against the Vietnam war. Baby Boomer UK Prime Minister Tony Blair played electric guitar in a band, Ugly Rumours, during his time at Oxford University in the 1970s. English punk band The Sex Pistols released their track, “God Save The Queen” to coincide with Queen Elizabeth’s silver jubilee in 1977. English progressive rock band Procol Harum released “A Whiter Shade of Pale” in 1967.

Credits

The Sandi Thom music video was directed by Mark Adcock via Alchemy Pictures, London, with producer Hiywet Abate.

Accompaniment is provided by Stephen Darrell Smith and Paul Beavis.

Sandi Thom became an international phenomenon when marketers spread a story of her concerts broadcast on the internet from her own basement. Apparently thousands of people had logged into the vodcasts. It seems, however, that the story was merely a marketing ploy and that public online interest only grew after press releases were sent out. David Lockhart, another Scottish singer/songwriter, claims that marketers stole his original story of an online concert broadcast.

Lyrics for I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker

[Chorus:]
Oh I wish I was a punk rocker with flowers in my hair
In ’77 and ’69 revolution was in the air
I was born too late into a world that doesn’t care
Oh I wish I was a punk rocker with flowers in my hair

When the head of state didn’t play guitar
Not everybody drove a car
When music really mattered and when radio was king
When accountants didn’t have control
And the media couldn’t buy your soul
And computers were still scary and we didn’t know everything

[Chorus]

When pop stars still remained a myth
And ignorance could still be bliss
And when god saved the queen she turned a whiter shade of pale
My mom and dad were in their teens
And anarchy was still a dream
And the only way to stay in touch was a letter in the mail

[Chorus]

When record shops were still on top
And vinyl was all that they stocked
And the super info highway was still drifting out in space
Kids were wearing hand me downs
And playing games meant kick arounds
And footballers still had long hair and dirt across their face

[Chorus]

I was born too late into a world that doesn’t care
Oh I wish I was a punk rocker with flowers in my hair