Before You Were Punk

Before You Were Punk is a compilation album released in 1997 by Vagrant Records.  It consists of a number of mid-1990s punk rock bands (most of them from southern California) covering songs that were popularised during the 1980s "new wave" musical movement.  It was an ambitious release for the label, which was still in its early stages, and proved to be a success by selling over 70,000 copies.  It was followed by an equally successful sequel, Before You Were Punk 2, in 1999.

Because Vagrant Records did not yet have an extensive roster of artists, the compilation relied mostly on contributions from bands on other record labels.  Only Face to Face and Automatic 7 had previously released records through Vagrant.  By contrast, Before You Were Punk 2 would feature more bands that had signed to the label between 1997 and 1999.