From 1977 (I think). Not all punks were snot nosed. The Jam brought some style to the scene, but don't let the clothes fool you, they still brought anger and a driving guitars to their songs. Paul Weller was tough! Reportedly he beat up Sid Vicious cuz he thought the Sex Pistols copied his songs. I'm dropping another song in the comments.
The Jam kinda got lost in the States, but they were huge in Britain. From 1977-82 they had 18 consecutive top 40 songs, including 4 Number Ones. When I saw the video below, it blew me away how many people were there. Also check out the lyrics, written nearly 40 years ago and still relevant today if not more so
Free, if you haven't seen the doc About The Young Idea, I highly recommend it.
Thanks E, I hadn't. Now I need to track it down.
Obligatory
YOOF EXPLOSION!
I don't know. I've never have anyone tell me how important they are (unlike the Clash).