For a brief, shining six months in 2002-2003, the UK punk scene was at the forefront of the teenage mind. P-Rock, the short lived music channel, lived fast with its seat-of-your-pants ethic and boots-on-the-ground philosophy, and died before its time - a victim of the brutal competition that characterised the noughties TV market. Now, finally, its explosive role in UK punk is explored via ‘P-Rock: the doc’.

This is a 90-minute love letter to a specific time and place, the era where you heard about a band via a crumpled zine someone stuffed into your palm in the queue outside a show; when you waited to see which posters were to be plastered outside the local all-ages rock bar to plan your weekend; and when a home-burnt CD of ‘that band you were told you’d love’ became your prized possession. The spirit of this window – when social media was in its infancy and DIY punk bands were gnashing their teeth to be noticed – is crammed into this documentary. The mysteries surrounding P-Rock (was it a psy-op from Fat Mike? Did it really broadcast from a ship? Where did it go?) are affectionately cleared up as much as they are presented in the spirit of the teenage speculation that created them. 

What beams from this documentary is the connections that lasted from P-Rock’s rise and premature fall. Bands like [Spunge], King Prawn and Sonic Boom Six, who were filling their shows but achieving no recognition on MTV when compared to the likes of Blink-182, found themselves able to reach out to fans, with their stories afforded the same weight as memories from their founders and viewers alike. It’s invigorating stuff, especially considering how this fleeting boom fuelled their passion for the following two decades and beyond, slicing through the entire experience to expose how every part of the scene slots together. 

Arguably, the examination of the channel’s legacy is the best moment in ‘P-Rock: The Documentary’. That’s because, even if you don’t have the same memories of skate parks and oversized hoodies, you cannot help but respect the impact that these six months had on DIY scenes today. We hear from people who found lifelong friendships forged by connecting at viewing parties, from bands who got what they deserved and made something of it, and from the founders who reminisce fondly on that crazy time when they were musical upstarts. The last ten minutes, dedicated solely to asking the interviewees what punk means to them, is genuinely inspiring to kids of the subculture who grew up with this music. 

There’s been loads of documentaries about punk rock, especially of the American variety, but ‘P-Rock: the Doc’ feels pleasingly like we’ve come full circle. For an hour-and-a-half, a uniquely British phenomenon is displayed to the world, both in the form of a little channel that turned the spotlight on us, and via our favourite bands taking centre stage. It’s an evocative film that fills you with the feeling that anyone can make in impact, no matter how small – as was the case when a band who looked like you in 2002. While P-Rock may have been short lived, this movie proves that the DIY punk ethos lives on in the UK.

Kate Allvey

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‘P-Rock: the doc’ is released on 28th November, with cinema screenings 3-9th December.

For full details, go to https://www.prockthedoc.co.uk/