‘People who were affected by punk still are’: Pauline Murray on rage, life on the road and doing things her way

‘It felt real. I was willing to have a go’ … Pauline Murray and Penetration pictured in 2005. Photograph: Barney Britton/Redferns

This summer, as we all watched swathes of the planet on fire, Britain’s vocal nature punk, Chris Packham, pinned a video tweet in support of NoNewOil.com. He urged his 617,000 followers to demand from our political leaders “current and aspiring” policy-led action on climate breakdown. “It’s time for all of us to stand up,” he declared, “shout above the noise, and be counted.”

Shout above the noise. Packham watchers know that phrase: it’s the title of a song he wants played at his funeral, released by punk pioneers Penetration in 1979. Forty-four years later, the woman who wrote and sang the lyrics, Pauline Murray, is contemplating her impact on the famously teen punk Packham.