"Pink Flag" is the debut album by the British post-punk band Wire, released in November 1977 through Harvest Records. The album was critically acclaimed upon release and is now considered a landmark in the development of post-punk music, highly influential in the genre's evolution.
Upon its release, Pink Flag received strong reviews. Robert Christgau, reviewing for The Village Voice in 1978, described the album as a "punk suite," praising its rawness and detachment and noting its rock-and-roll irony, which he considered "grimmer and more frightening" than that of the Ramones. Ira Robbins of Trouser Press observed that Wire pushed minimalism to new heights, calling the album a series of "short fragments of impressions set to music" with no easily identifiable structure or meter, and noting that it was challenging but intriguing.
Though not a commercial success, Pink Flag was highly influential. It was ranked number 412 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2012 and climbed to number 310 in the 2020 edition. It was also ranked number 378 on NME’s list of the same name in 2013 and included in 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Pitchfork listed it as number 22 on its "Top 100 Albums of the 1970s."
The album’s influence can be seen in the work of numerous artists, including R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe, who cited it as an influence, and Britpop band Elastica, who incorporated a riff similar to Pink Flag’s "Three Girl Rhumba" in their song "Connection." Blur’s Graham Coxon also named Pink Flag as an influence on his album A+E.
