I agree with there not being many punks around Wigan in 1977, I only remember Chris Harrop and me, and I agree that musically they are dissimilar but the energy and buzz of the best of them had the same energising effect on me. Punks were big on speed, though I'd just about stopped by then and the fast beats of both music styles meant that Northern stompers would have made a better punk musical relation than the politically motivated choice of reggae.