The Baker. (2016, September 16). The 100 Club Punk Festival 1976 (Revisited). Retrieved from https://thebaker77.wordpress.com/2016/09/16/the-100-club-punk-festival-1976-revisited/
The 100 Club Punk Festival 1976 (Revisited)
40 years ago, at the end of a red-hot English summer, a highly significant Festival took place at the 100 Club in Oxford Street. Although only several hundred people were in attendance, it was nevertheless a watershed moment in popular music and culture. The 100 Club Punk Festival was the moment when everything changed in Britain and a new era in popular culture was born.
As my own small contribution to the 40th anniversary of 1976 (Year Zero), I have put together a few scraps and glimpses from memory of that momentous gig. Endlessly chronicled and dissected by writers and journalists over the years, this is my own personal view of the show and what was happening then. Being entirely subjective, I'm sure many of you who were around at that time may disagree entirely with the facts I present from memory.
I think what journalists and the media have failed to understand is the precarious state of the nascent punk rock scene back then. The Clash were a tiny troop, just Mick, Joe, Paul, and Terry (to some extent), Bernard Rhodes (the manager) and his 'missus' Sheila, Mickey Foote their sound man, and Sebastian Conran flitting in and out of Rehearsal Rehearsals on his Norton Commando. There was no-one printing t-shirts or making clothes, no record company to call on, no tour manager, no wages.
The only person with a car was Bernie, so when I showed up with the Subway Sect having a functioning motor vehicle, I was very quickly co-opted to run errands, pick up spares, and shuttle back and forth to Bernie\. They were just an idea at the time, fermenting over six months and born from the frustration of the bloated, stagnant music scene. Their existence was balanced on a knife-edge, with success or failure at each show so crucial.
Contrast that with the Pistols who had been gigging for almost a year, had Malcolm and Vivienne successful in their own right, the SEX shop supplying their clothes, Boogie their soundman, Sophie in the office, and the whole Bromley Contingent following them around, providing a supportive entourage.
What the 100 Club Punk Festival did was to solidify the inner core of the top punk rock bands (Pistols, Clash, Damned, Buzzcocks, Subway Sect) and give the concept an identity and meaning. In the weeks following the show, bandwagon-jumpers like The Stranglers and Eddie And The Hotrods would push their hair behind their ears, place rubber bands around their flared jeans, and try to catch the wave that had been created. It was off to the races after the Festival.
Since arriving at Rehearsal Rehearsals sometime in the first half of August as school friend and roadie with the Subway Sect, a daily schedule between us and The Clash had developed. Depending on how early I could get them to Rehearsals (and if The Clash were still rehearsing), we often strolled down to George's Cafe, just over the Camden Lock, for a cuppa' and a sandwich.
There was another closer greasy spoon cafe right opposite Rehearsals, but everyone used George's, not just because it was more agreeable but because of the owner daughter, a doe-eyed teenager, Gabby, who we fantasized over constantly. She worked in the cafe and we would watch her out of the corner of our eye, trying not to make eye contact. A hush would come over the table as she approached and fetched our orders.
Sometimes, if any of The Clash were still at Rehearsals, they would wander down for a cuppa' and we would chat about various things that were going on. It was where we got most of our information back then. Occasionally, a journalist or photographer would accompany them and tea and sandwiches would be coaxed out of their expense budget.
Even though The Clash were being written up in the music papers, they seemed to be poorer than we were! I occasionally had to stand for a cheese-and-tomato sandwich for Paul or egg-mayonnaise for Mick.
Then it would be the Subway Sect\ turn to rehearse in the evening until they\u2019d had enough. Sometimes Sid Vicious, Glen Matlock, or Mad Jane would be hanging around and not much rehearsing would get done. Paul Simonon would often be amusing himself playing with toy guns, practicing his bass lines, or happily breaking something.
I busied myself fixing equipment, picking up spares, or popping over to the pub for a pint and a packet of crisps.
PHOTO: The original Subway Sect - Rob Simmons, Paul Myers, Paul Smith, Vic Godard.
As the day of the 100 Club Punk Festival drew closer, rehearsals for both bands noticeably intensified. The Clash had about a ten-song set by then, although we only heard snatches of it as we came and went through the studio. Their rehearsals were conducted at a driving pace and there never seemed to be much in the way of inactivity. In contrast, The Subways had put together a short five-number set of manically fast, dissonant, jarring numbers.
Being brought up on soul music, I had no ear for loud, inharmonious rock. The high-pitched, cacophonous, jangly guitar and very basic drumming was an assault on my ears, though I appreciated the creativity and motivation behind it. But all the photographers and journalists that saw and heard them loved it and seemed to construe their eccentric behaviour as a planned, staged anti-rock'n'roll stance, laying their own interpretations on the band's meaning, many of which were maybe unjustified.
Much of this was undoubtedly due to Vic Godard's own character and his pseudo-intellectual lyrics that purveyed this image - but to me personally at that time they were still just schoolmates, fucking around with guitars; our shyness and naivety was no act; our introverted nature was just us being ourselves.
The night before the show, Sid Vicious, Steve Havoc (Severin), and Marco Pirroni, the other members of the impromptu band The Flowers of Romance, showed up at Rehearsals for an unplanned rehearsal. Arranged at the last minute with Bernie, we had no idea they would be there and so moved our equipment out of the way while they messed around on The Clash's equipment.
Terry had said Sid could use his kit, thinking that Sid would have his own on the night. The rehearsal didn't last very long as Sid just wasn't interested in rehearsing and it soon dissolved into a mere fuck-around. Once they left, we moved the gear away, replacing it with our own and had a short last rehearsal before the Subway Sect's debut gig.
Next day, I drove the Subways' gear down to the 100 Club in my car as The Clash's equipment was being transported along with the PA and the Pistols' gear. We loaded through the back door and down the stairs of the familiar old club.
Although I had been there many times as a punter, not so long ago back in our soul dancing days, it had always been dark and hot, throbbing with lights and music. To see it in the cold light of day was a shockingly rude awakening - its beer-soaked floors and filthy, sweat-stained walls bore witness to decades of human emotion and exhilaration. The stench of the stinking toilets and the vomit-covered carpets was the first of hundreds of familiar depressive scenes that I would witness in the coming years all over England and Europe's clubs and halls, but like most first experiences, it made a huge and lasting impression.
I would never experience the atmosphere of a club in the same way again, and the frisson of being a paying dance club customer was shattered forever.
PHOTO: Siouxsie Sioux and Steve Severin outside the club before the soundcheck.
After we had hauled our equipment in and stacked it in a corner of the room, we sat nervously huddled around a table as the PA and lights were set up. As time passed the club became a hive of activity, with gear being set up and lights pointed. Various band members and friends began arriving and milling around, many of whom we recognized. The Bromley Contingent was again in full force.
A few came over and spoke to us, but for the most part we sat there by ourselves. I recall Sid shared a few jokes with us and Johnny Rotten gave a few words of encouragement, as did Steve Jones, who Paul Smith seemed to connect with instantly. Mick Jones asked if we needed anything and Paul Simonon would occasionally shoot at us with a small pellet gun he had. We met Boogie, The Pistols' sound man, for the first time and he gave out encouraging words too. Malcolm and Bernie were running back and forth in the club, too busy to even look our way.
We were so totally inexperienced we had no idea of what was really going on.
Each band had staked out a table for themselves in the club like small encampments, while we were sitting waiting for soundcheck. There were a couple of journalists from the music papers doing the rounds and interviewing the bands.
One of them eventually came round to the Subway Sect's table and asked, "Have any of you got any musical experience?" Paul Smith said he'd been in the boy scouts. "I've never heard of them," the writer from the NME said, "Who else was in them?" Paul said incredulously, "What, you've never heard of the boy scouts? They've been around for years!"
The humour of the remark broke the ice for us and we laughed for the first time that day. I'm sure the journalist thought it was all part of their image, but it was true - and ironically, it was that kind of comical immaturity that endeared the Subway Sect to mostly everyone.
PHOTO: Band members and friends at the soundcheck before the show.
As everything began running late with equipment and PA problems, the Pistols decided they wouldn't bother soundchecking, and so it was decided that there was only time for The Clash to do a soundcheck.
Their gear was set up. They strolled on stage, plugged in and immediately fired straight into 'White Riot' at top volume.
Well! I'd heard of the term "wall of sound," but this was like being hit by a sledgehammer over and over again! Played at breakneck speed and full volume, it was as if an earthquake had erupted (the emptiness of the club probably contributed to the effect).
We sat looking at each other, eyebrows raised, and without a word knew we were all thinking the same thing: "What the hell had we gotten ourselves into?" The number finished on a shout and the room was silent except for feedback and crackling, buzzing electrical connections. It was as if we had been confronted with a force of nature and everyone present seemed speechless by the explosion they had just witnessed, most of all us.
If we had been scared shitless beforehand, we were crapping our trousers now. The Subways gathered round and spoke in hushed voices at the dismay and embarrassment of being on the bill with such seemingly professional musicians (and this wasn't even the Pistols!).
There we were, with our tiny little amps, not even able to tune the instruments or have a soundcheck. Bob Simmons was overwhelmed at how proficient The Clash appeared and how bad the Subways were going to look. Paul Smith was convinced the audience was going to think it was a joke. Vic seemed to suddenly realise that he was going to be singing in public for the first time.
The certainty that it was going to end in an embarrassing disaster raised the brief suggestion of pulling out, but was quickly dismissed. There was, of course, no way out - they had been advertised on the bill and Vic had already signed the papers at Malcolm's office behind Edgware Road the week before.
We set up our equipment in front of The Clash's backline as instructed by Mickey Foote and Boogie, then endured interminable hours waiting before going on, unable to eat or drink and scared stiff. The club slowly filled up with the cream of the London club scene, all decked out in their most outrageous outfits and anyone who was anyone, was there that night.
We filled our time spotting various faces we recognised and hovering around the gear on the stage. With five minutes to go to showtime, the Subways were petrified with fear and barely able to move. I helped out as best I could but having no real idea of what was expected of me, I was of little help.
PHOTO: Vic Goddard, Paul Smith, and Paul Myers of The Subway Sect.
Then that heart-stopping moment arrived and on they went. Once onstage they displayed such nervousness that the audience must have mistook it for their signature impassionate demeanor, and actually it ended up counting in their favour.
Bob Simmons stood riveted to the spot, rigid and tense, Fender Mustang guitar slung high up his chest like a young Wilko Johnson. Paul Myers, curling his lip nervously, stood motionless staring blankly, focusing on his bass-lines. Paul Smith ploughed his way through the five numbers using snare and tom-toms, still unable to incorporate the hi-hat into his playing. Vic Goddard slouched, hanging on the mic, a tortured yet expressionless air, his face highlighted by the white makeup he had applied, ignoring the audience with complete indifference.
They got through their set without mishap (much to my relief), and I wasn't called upon to fix anything. The audience reaction was restrained but favourable, seemingly more intrigued than anything else, it not being the mayhem they were expecting.
In a sense, the Subway Sect were the perfect warm-up act - just enough to whet an audience's appetite, and more than enough to captivate it to want more. When the set finished, the gear was bundled off the stage by the PA crew and it was all I could do to keep it all together in one place by the side of the stage.
Having arranged to use some of The Clash's equipment, The Flowers of Romance started to set up onstage. But on seeing Sid wearing a swastika armband, Bernie Rhodes suddenly refused to let him use The Clash's drum kit.
Arguments rang out and accusations were made, with Sid calling Bernie "a fucking old Jew!" Sid needed a kit to play and Paul Smith was more than happy to let his hero use the Subways'.
So Terry Chimes' drum kit had to come off the stage and the Subways' kit brought back on and set up again. It was an absolute shambles with cymbals and tom-toms going back and forth.
I remember asking Sid how he wanted the kit set up - he just sneered and said, "However you normally set it." I realised that he still had no idea how to play the drums.
Siouxsie Sioux and Sid Vicious of The Flowers Of Romance.
After The Flowers Of Romance stumbled through their 20-minute version of 'The Lord's Prayer', with Siouxsie Sioux wailing and howling throughout, I was helped off with the Subways' kit again by Mickey Foote and the other road crew. We then brought The Clash's kit back on to be re-miked a second time.
By then I had forgotten the crowd with all the chaos ensuing. Suddenly, The Clash came out, plugged in, and launched into their first number at breakneck speed.
Watching their set with neck hairs raised and mouth open from the side of the stage, I couldn't help being overwhelmed at the blinding, heart-racing spectacle they made. Guitars flashing, colours blurring, speed-crashing deafening punk rock - The Clash gave it to the audience in torrents, number after number. It was total mayhem onstage and chaos from the crowd with sound problems, broken strings, and equipment breakdowns.
The Clash on-stage at the 100 Club.
The Clash finished their set, I helped move their gear off the stage and stored it close by the Subways' backline. Standing on a chair watching the Pistols from out front, I was for the first time able to detach myself from my previous ambivalence, and became mesmerised by their performance.
I remember thinking at the time that this was what it was all about now - the soul scene was dead and gone and, for the time being, this was the future. Although I didn't quite comprehend or profess to enjoy the music, it was a turning point for me and I unfalteringly got the message - this was the NEXT BIG THING and more than just a flash in the pan.
The Sex Pistols at The 100 Club.
After the Pistols finished their set and the crowd eventually dispersed a little, we moved our own gear out the back of the club and into my car, then helped move The Clash's equipment.
We drove back home to Barnes with a feeling of disbelief at what we had witnessed, and been a part of. At that point, we had no idea that what we had just participated in would become the foremost legendary punk gig of the time, eventually achieving almost mythical status.
With our ears still ringing, we sat in my car and speculated until daybreak, on a natural high, unwilling to let go of the night before. In the following days, we dissected the music paper reviews which were glowing about the festival and intrigued by the Subway Sect; the Subways were just grateful that the press hadn't torn them to shreds for their shortcomings!
It was a moment of clarity in a sea of confusion. The way seemed clear and all things looked attainable; ambition and success appeared assured.
After a brief pause for breath, rehearsals resumed in Camden as before, and I became entwined equally in both bands' fortunes - but the passion, ferocity, and intensity of that first show, where it all finally came together, would be hard to surpass in the future.
The Baker - September 2016
Any comments, ideas for future posts, or topic discussion are welcome.
Mark Refoy
October 14, 2019 at 5:53 am
Baker, I hope this is relevant. In the above blog you talk about Johnny Green and his brilliant book. I remember when I was 17 I saw The Clash for the third time (first was the Anti-Nazi League rally, second at the Lyceum) at Birmingham Top Rank Suite, I think it was 1980.
There was a tour programme, which I think was a copy of the Armagideon Times. Spizz Energi was one of the support bands. Mikey Dread was onstage before The Clash, doing his brilliant toasting. During his set three dudes came skanking onstage, grooving away with their profiles concealed by looking down with hats pulled over their foreheads. No one seemed to bat an eyelid.
I was pretty near the front and after a while it dawned on me: that's The Clash! I think it was Joe, Paul, and either Mick or Topper - I don't think it was all four horsemen. I nudged my mate and said, "I think that's The Clash up there, what do you reckon?" He agreed. We thought it was weird that no one said anything.
In Johnny's book he said that during the whole tour none of the audience noticed who Mikey Dread's onstage partners were - just want to correct him there!
The gig was epic; I'll never forget it. One thing that could've ruined it was the constant gobbing. There was a trail of gob linking Joe to his mic stand throughout the whole gig. Utterly fucking disgusting. Why were idiots still doing it well after it had been established that it was the dumbest thing you could do?
Anyway, after a song about halfway through the gig, Mick Jones came off mic and pointed to me and shouted: "If you don't stop gobbing someone's gonna come and punch you!" I was utterly mortified. I mouthed back, pleading: "It's not me!" Thankfully no one punched me but the spitting didn't abate.
I wouldn't have blamed them one bit if they'd pulled the gig and walked offstage for good. But they didn't, and they endured that for tour after tour. Troopers.
Many years later I was at a party and Mick and Paul were both there. I plucked up the courage to speak to Mick, introduced myself and told him about the Birmingham gig - and he laughed his head off! Boy was I relieved.
He then went on to recount a similar tale that happened to him when he used to go and see Mott The Hoople but I couldn't make out exactly what he said due to the loud music, so I laughed too, shook his hands, and wished him well.
All the best Baker, The Clash for life. Mark
thebaker77 (Post author)
October 14, 2019 at 4:52 pm
Of course it's relevant Mark - it's real, from the mind of a fan, which is always far more relevant than the narrated scribblings of some journalist - which is really what my blog is all about! (And I love your Michael Geoffrey story!)
I may even use your post to open another discussion blog if I have your permission...
None of you have had your say... sure, Sandwich and Patsey have done justice in their own way to the history of El Clash Combo, but as I have said before in some of my commentaries:
The music stopped long ago and after the intervening 33 years, just haphazard scenes and random images remain in my memory - the individual minutiae of each gig is now the property of not only the journalists and photographers who chronicled the events, but more importantly, of the fans who were there each night, who made such memories possible, and who remember it incident-by-incident. Every one of them also had a part to play in the journey.
And just as Joe would announce each night onstage: "WE ARE THE CLASH" - meaning every one of you.
Anyway, back to your question.... the Skankers in question were always an eclectic mix of whoever was backstage, whoever could scrounge up some cool-looking gear, and of course the band.
Most often it included: Jock Scott, Johnny Green. Mark Dunk (Kosmo Vinyl), Joe, Topper, Gluggo, Sometimes Mick or Paul, Donald from Dundee (That bloke who turned out to be a nazi and looked like Sid James).
There were probably many others at various times. I myself always refused, insisting that I would have to be the lone Skanker (but that would ruin the effect).
Johnny told me he first did it: "...for the money [Ol' Bummer bet me £5 I wouldn't do it] - Also Simmo poured lighter fuel on my black boots then set fire with his Zippo - Probably looked neat from the stalls, the cunt - So then I bet Ol' Pixie Ears 'quid pro quo'... What larks!"
As far as your salient comment regarding the gobbing - well, what could you do? It was a purely English punk thing and just had to be endured. Joe took the brunt of it and many times had to swallow back a huge greeny or miss a line of the song, ending up in Western Hospital with hepatitis.
It must have ravaged his liver and who can say what contribution this had to his eventual tragic demise.
Imagine our utter delight and bliss when we went to the US and found to our amazement: NO GOBBING! The audiences were just as manic and enthusiastic, hyped up on PCP, slam-dancing, and doing the worm across the stage - but no gobbing!
Having no explanation, I leave you to draw your own conclusions to this strange and disgusting practice - but it was part and parcel of what had to be dealt with.
Thanks again for your comment, and to everyone else - keep your memories coming!
The Baker
Laurie Gibson
November 11, 2019 at 7:42 pm
Hello and good wishes from California!
First off, merci beaucoup for taking the time to write about what it was like working with The Clash from nearly Day 1. I really appreciate the chance to learn what both the society and the subculture were like.
I was introduced to the band at age 16 by my pen-pal in Manchester, who sent me newspaper articles and photos. Lucky enough to get to the Hollywood Palladium gig in Oct. '79 to see and hear them in person - one of the best nights of my life.
I'd never experienced that kind of power and intensity! But with The Clash, it wasn't just raw visceral emotion... the lyrics made me think, reconsider things. They earned my loyalty because they kicked open a new horizon for me.
Still very proud to be a Clash fan, I've been summoning some of that punk rock energy and spirit to fuel my political action - playing "London Calling" while writing to U.S. senators about impeachment.
Many thanks, Baker, for helping to keep the fire burning! Laurie Monterey, Calif.
thebaker77 (Post author)
November 17, 2019 at 9:14 pm
Thanks for your memories, Laurie. All scraps and glimpses are welcome here.
You touched on many of the things that made the band so special - they inspired young people to pick up guitars AND books.
Keep on writing...
alexclash
September 16, 2016 at 3:45 pm
Wow, Bake, well played for getting it all down! Is this new? You got it - the whole feeling of a movement happening before our eyes and how you/we were propelled along with events - the shyness and naivety, which I think is always there in a new artistic movement - that making-it-up-as-you-went-along feeling, and all just out of school and into the world - and what a world!
thebaker77 (Post author)
September 16, 2016 at 5:24 pm
Thank you, your comments are appreciated and well noted.
Yes, it was all so fresh and naive compared to today - shaven heads, tattoos, piercings... but the public were so afraid - it seems almost quaint now. But corporate globalism hadn't taken over then and individualism still counted for something.
Even 40 years later, I still don't want to look like anyone else...
Cheers Alexclash,
Baker.
David Power
September 17, 2016 at 7:20 am
When did Johnny Green get involved, Baker? DP Camden Town
thebaker77 (Post author)
September 17, 2016 at 10:43 am
Johnny showed up on the Complete Control Tour which started October '78 (the name of the tour has been confused over the years with a tour which The Clash MkII did years later - more on that in a bit).
He was a friend of the semi-driver Johnny Hallaway, who was letting him sleep in his cab overnight. He hung around the gigs, helping anyone he could - an errand, a spotlight, a piece of gaffa tape - he seemed an all-around good guy.
Someone on the lighting crew must have said light-heartedly that there was plenty to do if he wanted a job. That was it for Johnny - he went home, packed his bags, and turned up in Scotland to everyone's amazement.
He continued working with them up until almost the end of the US leg of the 16 Tons Tour in March 1980, leaving in Detroit.
By then Blackhill Enterprises had moved their whole apparatus in, starting with their undercover infiltrator Kosmo Vinyl. Things started to get organised in a big way with tour itineraries and proper food for band and crew.
Johnny's role became diminished as Kosmo had their ear, and the chaos factor had to be eliminated - these were big shows now.
As described in Johnny's book, I'm sure the straw that broke the camel's back was an offhand comment about washed socks... it was like a bullet between the eyes for John - he realised his time had passed.
Adding to that, he was being tempted by visions of a tequila-filled future with Joe Ely in Texas, and thought he could bring the same DIY spirit to Lubbock.
You can read it all in his excellent book A Riot of Our Own.
But touching on The Clash MkII: Does anyone out there have poignant memories of seeing them without Mick Jones? Yes, all the writers and journalists have written it up, but I want to know what the fans thought and felt - that is more relevant.
One fan wrote such a heart-rending comment about what a shock and horror it was, seeing them so changed and twisted, that it almost brought me to tears.
Anyone got memories of those shows?
David Power
September 17, 2016 at 6:59 am
Baker Glare: good piece. I was with Terry McQuade and Big Steve English recently. How is life? DP (Camden Town)
thebaker77 (Post author)
September 17, 2016 at 9:14 am
I am friends with Terry on FB but he keeps his own counsel and rarely responds. Good to hear Steve English is still out there too - he would have several books of exploits were he to write - amazing character!
Thanks again David.
David P
September 17, 2016 at 1:02 pm
Thank you for answering Baker! I never bothered with Clash Mk II; personally The Clash without MJ and Topper was like Led Zeppelin without Bonham!
All good things are always for a fleeting moment in time!
thebaker77 (Post author)
September 17, 2016 at 4:06 pm
Thanks David... I know what you mean.
John
September 16, 2016 at 5:08 pm
Thanks Baker. Well written! After reading this I can feel the sweat on my face and the smell of cigarettes in the air.
Nick Earl
September 16, 2016 at 6:05 pm
Thanks mate - a great read.
thebaker77 (Post author)
September 16, 2016 at 6:46 pm
My pleasure Nick - "big things have small beginnings..."
Tex Sayer
September 16, 2016 at 11:32 pm
Did Keith Levene not play at that gig?
thebaker77 (Post author)
September 17, 2016 at 8:48 am
No, I think his last gig was at the Roundhouse on September 5th.
Thanks Tex.
Jon Wurster
September 16, 2016 at 6:38 pm
Another fabulous read.
thebaker77 (Post author)
September 16, 2016 at 6:48 pm
Thanks Jon.
Mark
September 16, 2016 at 7:49 pm
Amazing read here Baker. The Clash were always a band to consistently excite a crowd in any way they could.
I'm not sure if you're taking suggestions on future articles, but I would love to hear your stories and thoughts about touring the Far East with the band in 1982.
Cheers.
thebaker77 (Post author)
September 16, 2016 at 8:07 pm
Duly noted and thanks for the kind sentiments.
Richard Bowman
September 20, 2016 at 9:09 am
That read was 10 minutes of sweetness!
thebaker77 (Post author)
September 21, 2016 at 2:51 pm
And your comment made all the effort worthwhile Richard... without which there would be no point, so thanks a bunch!
Cheers, Baker
John
September 17, 2016 at 11:08 am
Baker, Would love to hear your stories on The Bond's residency. As a fan, I would consider that quite possibly the pinnacle of their career.
thebaker77 (Post author)
September 17, 2016 at 1:02 pm
Thanks for the input John - Bond's is a great episode... The Yanks had their own 'Bill Grundy moment' and got well outraged by what was happening in Times Square.
I'll have to do it justice sometime. Cheers.
Joly MacFie
September 16, 2016 at 8:34 pm
What happened with the Stinky Toys? Did they play?
thebaker77 (Post author)
September 16, 2016 at 8:49 pm
Thanks for the comment Joly - I certainly have no recollection of them playing or hauling their gear off-stage.
Maybe they got moved to the second night, allowing the Subway Sect on the bill. Don't forget there was a Punk Festival in France a few weeks before (which Malcolm was involved with) that got cancelled, adding to the confusion.
The Stinky Toys were on the bill with us a year later at Mont-de-Marsan - another monumental show. I wonder whatever happened to them?
Thanks Joly.
Joly MacFie
September 17, 2016 at 10:59 am
I was at Mont-de-Marsan in '77, and speaking of Stinky, well, I recall the stinkbomb, and what happened to the culprit. Hope we will get a blow-by-blow of that one too sometime!
thebaker77 (Post author)
September 17, 2016 at 12:54 pm
May well do Joly... once again - Captain Sensible, The Damned - not a fan from the early days, but they had their thing going...
Fabrice
September 17, 2016 at 12:48 pm
I'm not entirely familiar with that French Punk Wave. A) I was too young and B) there's no B...
The singer became a famous solo artist - Eli or Elli. Her ex (no longer with us) had a solo career and produced quite a few bands. I heard him one night on the radio but he seemed totally out of it.
The Stinky Toys belong to a pool of Paris punks - I've no opinion about them... As far as I remember, their contemporaries were Angel Face, Bijou, Marie et les Garçons, Starshooter, Asphalt Jungle and a myriad of other small hopefuls.
Asphalt Jungle stood out for many reasons, having produced a few brilliant singles (in French). Bijou was ace but not punk. I think they played Mont-de-Marsan but can't remember which year.
Anyway, it was before my time. I first saw The Clash in '81 and in them days punk was almost forgotten, until Strummer came up with that "less rock, more punk" thing he told the press in '83.
1981 was the year for me... loved it... The 101ers' only posthumous vinyl had been made available and Sandinista! had just been released. Brilliant music.
Thanks for an excellent read Baker! I always thought very highly of you... the only Englishman who drove a yellow Renault 4 in Camden! I love reading your blog from time to time. Cheers.
thebaker77 (Post author)
September 17, 2016 at 4:02 pm
Great insight there Fabrice on a subject much uncovered.
Let's not forget Les Lou's... those fabulous French girl punks that supported The Clash. They could have gone further if not for Bernie's managerial 'skills'.
Thanks again Fabrice.
Tim Domst
September 16, 2016 at 11:48 pm
I just looked up about half of the bands on the schedule behind Sid Vicious. Thanks for leading me down that rabbit hole - what a time that must have been.
thebaker77 (Post author)
September 17, 2016 at 8:56 am
Like the old saying goes: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." England was going down the drain - strikes all over, half the houses in London were derelict and abandoned, oil embargoes, nothing to watch but Jim'll Fix It.
But like during the war, it was also a time people were having the time of their lives... adversity sometimes brings out the best in humans.
Cheers.
Dave
September 17, 2016 at 2:28 am
Great stuff - thanks for bringing these great memories, especially as most of us never got to be there for this pivotal moment in the punk scene.
For those of us whose lives were changed by punk, I think we all had our moment when we realised this was life changing; there was no going back.
"Becoming a punk" meant changing my whole group of friends at 15 - that was hard but I just knew I had to do it.
Wish I could have witnessed that night at the 100 Club - your write-up really transported me there for a few minutes.
thebaker77 (Post author)
September 17, 2016 at 8:59 am
Nicely summed up Dave - I lost all my 'soul' friends too... they carried on, drifted into Jazzfunk and Boogie.
Isn't it weird that music was so important to us - almost a religion! Thanks again.
Jojo
September 17, 2016 at 3:12 am
Thanks. That's just brightened up my whole Saturday.
thebaker77 (Post author)
September 17, 2016 at 9:03 am
Thanks for the comment Jojo.
thebaker77 (Post author)
September 17, 2016 at 9:05 am
My pleasure Debbie.
Debbie Nixon
September 17, 2016 at 6:26 am
Ah, nostalgia! The best bit of getting older.
Fantastic stuff Baker. I came to London in 1976 to train as a nurse. Society was changing - your article summed it up: the energy and urgency of the time, especially the music...
I was so lucky to experience it - this really did take me back. Thank you!
Shaun Morris
September 17, 2016 at 6:37 am
Brilliantly written piece - love all the descriptions. Wish I was there, but alas a tad too young.
Interestingly, Subway Sect were the first band I ever saw play live, supporting Buzzcocks at Bournemouth Wintergardens in 1978.
thebaker77 (Post author)
September 17, 2016 at 9:09 am
Thanks for the sentiments Shaun... Bournemouth Wintergardens - now there's a memory...
Pete Elliott
September 17, 2016 at 7:30 am
Terrific read. My memory may be a bit stuffed now but I have recollections of talking later to Jeff's Dad (Roger Horton) who, I don't think, had quite realised the enormity of what he had done!
I think the spit and broken glass left behind came as a bit of a shock - but to his huge credit, he stuck by it.
thebaker77 (Post author)
September 17, 2016 at 10:48 am
I don't think any of us realised the enormity of events back then.
Everyone arrived at Rehearsals, at that time, through their own connections and interlacing associates. It was so haphazard - we literally took things day-to-day and at any given moment it could have ended as quickly as it had begun.
Just to get a recording contract was 'mission accomplished'... everything else was icing on the cake.
The fact that they almost made it to the top - singing about injustice, truth, war, and brutality - is a testament to how far they could have gone if they'd sold out and sung about love and happiness.
They could have been multi-millionaires but chose not to.
In the end, they aimed so high they inevitably missed by more than most - and have been derided for having such high ideals.
Like anything in life, when it's over, you know it in your heart - and to keep churning out regurgitated offerings was never an option for The Clash.
For me personally, I was a 17-year-old kid back in '76 - so I didn't know me arse from me elbow (probably still don't)... I had no expectations - no deposit, no return!
Thanks for the memory Pete.
Pete Elliott
September 17, 2016 at 11:49 am
Here's a bit more trivia to add to the mad context of all this!! The club had a big Trad jazz following at that time - many of whom jived (and rather well).
Most were pretty broad-minded and supportive of whatever was being done to keep the club alive and relevant - but I seem to recall some cries of despair and hand-wringing at the "liberties" that were being taken with "their" club!
I write mainly about the blues these days - and all these years later there are still The Blues Police who get excited about all the dangerous new-fangled stuff... Rien n'a changé, eh?
thebaker77 (Post author)
September 17, 2016 at 1:13 pm
Fascinating insight into something none of us probably knew.
The 100 Club's tradition of jazz is well known, but I had no idea there was an "inner core" rebellion about punk rock being played there.
I guess they'd had a similar reaction a few years prior when soul nights were added - DJ Ronnie and Greg Edwards on a Thursday night.
The sight of all the funkers in their mohair sweaters, plastic sandals, and Bowie-dyed wedgies must have put the frighteners on!
Punk was probably the straw that broke the camel's back for some of them.
Write more if you have it Pete...
thebaker77 (Post author)
September 17, 2016 at 10:50 am
Indeed Randal - those who ignore history are condemned to repeat it.
Nick Haines
September 17, 2016 at 8:32 am
Enjoyed the tale... I was at the gig and much of what you say tallies with my memory... EXCEPT... I recall Siouxsie doing Lord's Prayer to general indifference, then Subway Sect, then The Clash, then Pistols?
thebaker77 (Post author)
September 17, 2016 at 10:58 am
Ahh, the haze of memories through the mists of 40 years of time.
I only remember it that way, Nick, because of all the confusion:
-
miking up Terry's kit,
-
Bernie throwing a wobbler over the swastika armband,
-
refusing to let them use it,
-
the slanging match right there on stage and back to the dressing room.
Terry's kit was dismantled and taken off, Paul Smith's kit was hastily put back and re-miked.
Then after The Flowers of Romance had played, Terry's kit had to come back on and be re-miked a second time.
You can see in the photos Sid is using the Subways' kit.
It was such chaos.
Thanks again for the comment.
thebaker77 (Post author)
September 17, 2016 at 11:13 am
"You don't mention the pancake roll vendor!"
Ah yes, the Chinese food...
In the 1970s, there was a makeshift Chinese food cafe at the far end of the 100 Club, fragrantly located between the gents' and ladies' toilets.
Glen Matlock, bass player with the Sex Pistols, recalls a wonderful story that at one of their legendary 100 Club gigs, the Chinese cook got up to deliver Glen's order of Egg Foo Yung - and unceremoniously plonked it on the stage during a blistering performance of Anarchy in the UK!
Hah!
Pete Elliott
September 17, 2016 at 11:52 am
Ah, the Chinese corner.
Before decimalisation, you could get five prawn balls for half-a-crown... Notalotta people know that!!
thebaker77 (Post author)
September 17, 2016 at 1:18 pm
All clubs in London had to have some kind of food on sale to comply with GLC regulations about serving liquor or something.
I remember Crackers sold Chicken-in-a-basket... It was insane - but that's government for you!
Jaz
September 17, 2016 at 8:34 am
Interesting read - never liked the Bromley Contingent, especially swastika Siouxsie.
I thought it was asking why you feel Eddie and the Hot Rods jumped on the bandwagon - I didn't think they did, but I do get why you say The Stranglers did.
Shame you couldn't write about the second night.
thebaker77 (Post author)
September 17, 2016 at 11:09 am
I didn't go to the second night so I can't comment on it.
We felt strongly about The Damned at the time and refused on principle. Silly really, but everyone was so polarised back then...
"He's a punk, he's a hippy, he's a skinhead, he's a ted, he's a greaser" - you could only be friends with your own.
There were so many bandwagon-jumpers - too numerous to name.
I remember seeing Sting at The Nashville in early '76 as part of Cherry Vanilla's backing band... they had no name then, long hair, flared jeans... yet they went and took the credit for introducing the masses to white reggae!!
I guess history is re-written by the victors, Jaz. Thanks for your input.
Martin
September 17, 2016 at 6:56 pm
The first time Sting played with Cherry Vanilla was in March 1977.
The Nashville gig you mentioned was on 6th March. The Police were the support band, then they backed Cherry Vanilla.
At that time Henry Padovani was still in the band before leaving to join The Electric Chairs.
Sting had short hair by then (actually, even in his previous band, Last Exit, he had short hair) and would probably have been wearing his trademark boiler-suit - certainly not flares.
thebaker77 (Post author)
September 17, 2016 at 7:31 pm
You are right Martin, I stand corrected. It was in 1977 apparently.
Thank heavens for Wikipedia, eh?
geppo 84
September 17, 2016 at 8:47 am
The Baker knows!! GRAZIE, great reading - well written and very enjoyable.
You should write as a member of the last gang in town - it's really interesting for all Clash fans.
Cheers from Bologna - Rude / Gh84
thebaker77 (Post author)
September 17, 2016 at 11:20 am
Thanks for the comment Geppo...
Bologna has a special place in the hearts, minds, and the history of The Clash. Grazie...
annetta77
September 17, 2016 at 11:03 am
Great job writing this. Loved your response to hearing The Clash for the first time. You made that come alive!
thebaker77 (Post author)
September 17, 2016 at 12:57 pm
My pleasure Annetta...
Rob
September 17, 2016 at 11:30 am
Wonderful read Baker, brings back great memories of my introduction to punk.
Still around it today but it feels so different to back then - mass-marketed and uniformed. ý˾
Thanks again!
thebaker77 (Post author)
September 17, 2016 at 1:04 pm
Exactly Rob... I don't suppose it could ever happen again...
paulclash
September 17, 2016 at 3:48 pm
Great blog Baker, thanks for putting it all down.
I didn't see The Clash until '78 although I'd been into them since the first album, so it's always interesting to read about those early gigs when it was raw and new. Fascinating to hear about how the different strands that each of the bands brought to the scene all started to weave together into a whole.
You asked for thoughts about The Clash MkII so I will share my experience and views of that period... [Paulclash's detailed and heartfelt description of his experience with Clash MkII - kept the original text, very moving!]
thebaker77 (Post author)
September 17, 2016 at 4:15 pm
Very nicely summed up Paul... you've probably voiced what many were feeling and ultimately were proven right on - you have to go forward!
I love the idea of 'blind faith' and how you could forgive so much before finally giving up the ghost. I salute you sir, and thank you for the time you took to write this. I hope others who felt similarly read this and realise they were not alone.
Cheers.
Rob
September 17, 2016 at 4:25 pm
Hear hear - couldn't agree more.
annetta77
September 17, 2016 at 7:19 pm
I saw The Clash live about 20 times - most of the '77 and '78 tours, plus American and Paris dates. There were a few duff gigs, a few average gigs, but more often than not they played brilliantly and the audiences were driven to the point of ecstasy.
Never doubt the art in this band! I will never "give up the ghost" on one of the greatest bands of all time.
thebaker77 (Post author)
September 17, 2016 at 7:53 pm
Your passion and conviction are to be applauded Annetta.
Yes, there were some duff gigs. Being human, they had their character flaws like everyone else, and anyone can have a bad day. But even at the duff gigs I never saw them give less than 100%, even if it was like flogging a dead horse.
When they supported The Who, the audience were only there to see their heroes. The band played through cruel taunts and open booing but still gave it their all.
Thanks again for your memories.
AnaXaGoRaS
September 18, 2016 at 1:58 am
I was 12 when I heard these bands for the first time. It was '82. Not interested in all the details of who is who (even today not that interested), but the lyrics, the messages, and of course the sound were life-changing.
Thanks for your insights - loved it!
thebaker77 (Post author)
September 18, 2016 at 10:16 am
Thanks for your story Ana - you are right that in some ways the details don't matter... The message is the same today and maybe even more necessary today than then.
As Joe said: "When you take people out of the equation, you got nothing."
Thanks again Ana.
Fred
September 18, 2016 at 3:16 am
Great read, brings back lots of memories.
Saw THE CLASH in '77 when they came over to tour Germany and it changed my life forever. You should write a book.
thebaker77 (Post author)
September 18, 2016 at 10:26 am
That would make Joe and the others feel it was all worthwhile.
Thanks for the comment Fred - feel free to contact here any time. Baker.
Martin
September 18, 2016 at 6:47 am
I don't know if it's relevant to this thread but... sadly The Clash didn't play in the North East in 1976. The first time I saw them was at Newcastle Uni on the White Riot tour in May '77. I was 15. To say it was a brilliant gig is an understatement. As Joe said, "This is the stuff. Absolute mayhem." It was the first major punk gig in Newcastle and the place was heaving.
[Martin's fantastic memories of Newcastle shows, early gigs, and rare moments were kept intact and vivid.]
thebaker77 (Post author)
September 18, 2016 at 10:38 am
Entirely relevant and incredible memories there Martin. Changing lives, changing modes of thinking was the ultimate concept and proved they transcended their medium.
Thanks for the information about the book - Gob On The Tyne. I hope everyone reading this buys a copy and supports the cause... The 99% must do something about the 1% who continue to bring this world to its knees.
If I can do anything to help the book, feel free to ask.
Cheers, Baker.
Martin
September 18, 2016 at 11:26 am
There were several interviews published in a few fanzines in the North East... (Details about The Clash at Newcastle Uni, Mayfair, the busking tour, and a call for memorabilia.)
thebaker77 (Post author)
September 18, 2016 at 5:07 pm
I'm afraid I don't have any memorabilia from that time Martin... shame on me (or blame my mum).
Great stories though - I love hearing the fans' memories. The electronic duo you mention - Flesh - that's fascinating. And of course, Suicide were pioneers... sadly Alan Vega passed just recently.
Thanks again, Martin. [Wikipedia link provided by Baker to Suicide's page.]
Martin
September 19, 2016 at 10:04 am
(Replying off-thread) Yes, I knew that Suicide were hated by The Clash fans. But the band I mentioned was Flesh, a Newcastle electronic duo. Paul Simonon liked their only 7" single. They went down like a lead balloon at the Newcastle Mayfair - but no physical violence, just boos.
thebaker77 (Post author)
September 19, 2016 at 3:07 pm
Great info again Martin - I wonder how many others remember Flesh. Where are they now, indeed!
Martin
September 18, 2016 at 7:23 am
Thanks Baker - a great read. I wonder whatever happened to the CLA5H Renault!
thebaker77 (Post author)
September 18, 2016 at 11:08 am
The car no doubt went to the junkyard at some point. The CLA5H number plate pops up on eBay from time to time!
The Subway Sect drum spares case is now used by a lighting company to hold a mirror-ball! The guitar spares case ("The Pilgrim") still exists but locked in a Midlands garage.
Thanks again for your input.
David Rees
September 18, 2016 at 8:39 am
Excellent read Baker. I was 13 in '76 - loved the music but didn't fully experience the scene.
Question: Who would you say were the real punk bands, and who were the pretenders?
thebaker77 (Post author)
September 18, 2016 at 12:37 pm
Leading question David... and entirely subjective!
Probably only the five originals that night: Pistols, Clash, Damned, Buzzcocks, Subway Sect. Others tried - Sham 69 had it briefly. Some bands (like The Alarm, 999) emulated the spirit but not the origin.
Later on, two-tone took over, and punk faded into the background again. It's all tangled up with politics, economics, culture... unlike today's corporatised music scene.
What do you think, David?
David Rees
September 18, 2016 at 3:30 pm
Thanks Baker. I agree mostly - and yes, music and politics were inseparable.
Buzzcocks over Vibrators. The Ruts were true punk. Motorhead were more punk in '77 than some claiming it! And if we extend the years slightly - Joy Division, SLF, Angelic Upstarts too.
Subjective - but heartfelt.
thebaker77 (Post author)
September 18, 2016 at 4:55 pm
Exactly David - In the end, we go with consensus, otherwise it's endless debates.
Without Malcolm McLaren's influence after his stint with New York Dolls, there may not have even been an English punk scene.
Thank heavens he failed with NYD and succeeded in London!
Cheers.
brian
September 18, 2016 at 8:56 am
Hi there. Thank you for a nice piece of writing and for sharing your memories of an important cultural event and your role in it.
I ask the following, not to be smart, but genuinely interested in your perspective: You mention bandwagon jumpers like The Stranglers and Eddie and the Hot Rods changing their hairstyles, but isn't that what most everyone involved did, to some extent? Isn't that what we all do when we're young, especially when inspired by something that compels us to join in?
Joe Strummer certainly changed his hairstyle and clothes, and so did Mick Jones (I've seen pictures of him in flares and very long hair). Even Lydon was once a long-haired Hawkwind fan, and Sid had a Bowie haircut and flares.
Doesn't everyone, to some extent, jump on a bandwagon if they see something of value?
I'm not criticising - it inspired my own creative journey. But my question is: Was your comment about The Stranglers because you felt their gestures were empty and purely a badge of convenience?
I'm sorry if it seems I focused only on a small part of your article - I really enjoyed it overall!
thebaker77 (Post author)
September 18, 2016 at 3:49 pm
Yes, your conclusions are correct Brian. At the start, we thought (naively) that punk could change not just minds, but the whole music industry.
The originators started out with a sound, a look, and an attitude. Later, bands morphed disingenuously just to cash in on the craze. Record companies, seeing the cash-cow they were missing, manufactured their own bands.
Even bands like The Rolling Stones and The Who trimmed their hair, sped up their records, and made millions. I'd say INTENT was the key.
Thanks for thinking deeply about this Brian - I'm no music expert, I just comment on what I saw and heard.
Cheers.
brian
September 18, 2016 at 8:59 pm
Hi again, Many thanks for your response.
Yes - INTENT. It's about whether it's fashion only, or if real change of thought and attitude accompanies it. I lived by those ideals - it cost me career opportunities, but it was far more enriching.
You seem like a man who held onto his ethics, and I respect that. I'll definitely keep an eye out for your next blog entry.
More power to your elbow, my friend!
thebaker77 (Post author)
September 18, 2016 at 10:15 pm
Thank you for your heartfelt comments Brian - it is a complicated subject. Changing minds, fashions, attitudes - you can't blame people for picking up guitars and joining the movement. It's about intentions and staying true to your ideals, as you say.
For example, a few months ago Bob Geldof charged $100,000 to speak about world poverty! That's disgusting. Link to article about Geldof
The Clash stuck to their principles even under record company pressures - playing benefit gigs, selling multi-album sets for single-album prices. That commitment came at great personal cost.
The Clash taught young people it was alright to give a shit. They dared to question: Why should you waste your life working for a rich corporation? Why die in a war under false pretences? Why accept brutality from your own government?
Of course, human frailty intervenes. To prove a punk band could conquer the world, The Clash had to become the very thing they set out to destroy. It proved too high a price to pay.
As Joe put it in White Man in Hammersmith Palais:
"The new groups are not concerned, With what there is to be learned, They got Burton suits, ha you think it's funny, Turning rebellion into money."
Thanks again for your thoughts, Brian - you're always welcome here.
Andrew
September 18, 2016 at 10:59 am
Siouxsie who... wanker that adopted a Native American name and then wears a swastika... She was crap and a middle-class tosser at that... arty-farty, nothing else.
thebaker77 (Post author)
September 18, 2016 at 4:31 pm
Thanks for that, Bernie...
Max Dyson
September 18, 2016 at 1:23 pm
I was there for one of those evenings and saw The Sex Pistols but can't recall too many other details... Perchance I had seen them at their first gig at St. Martins and then a week later backing Roogalator at Central, so was intrigued they hadn't just disappeared...
thebaker77 (Post author)
September 18, 2016 at 4:41 pm
Yes Max, it's the details that disappear over the years. You were fortunate to see them in their earliest form. The Subway Sect used to really like them at the beginning - when they were chaotic and couldn't tune their instruments. Once they could tune up, the Subways lost interest!
Thanks for the comment.
Vaughn Martinian
September 18, 2016 at 5:46 pm
An excellent read Baker. A page-turner, and I enjoy your commentary from someone who was there. The real makings of a thoughtful book. Next chapter, please...
thebaker77 (Post author)
September 18, 2016 at 6:22 pm
Hah! Yes, the next chapter... "How I met this drunken, homeless bum lying in the street on the Bowery called Vaughn Martinian who ruined my life through drugs, liquor, and gambling." A real page-turner!
Vaughn Martinian
September 18, 2016 at 6:27 pm
Ha, but you're still here to tell the story!
WPOD
September 19, 2016 at 1:53 pm
Great read... My old flatmate was one of the hundreds of drummers who turned up to try and land a gig with The Clash. Not his style, though - he came back moaning about how they wanted him to play like he was in the Glitter Band - and the song was London's Burning! Lol...
thebaker77 (Post author)
September 19, 2016 at 6:20 pm
That's a great memory Steven - that must have been Mick that wanted him to drum like the Glitter Band (ha!). What band did he end up joining, I wonder?
John
September 19, 2016 at 5:40 pm
Ironically, as I sit here reading the posts, I'm standing in one of the venues where The Clash played in 1982 - The Class of '23 Penn Ice Hockey Rink in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I believe it would have been around August of '82, a month before they opened for The Who at JFK Stadium.
We snuck into the rink to watch the warmup, but were caught by the road crew and asked to leave. Outside, we saw members of the band and Ellen Foley hanging out.
We got in first once doors opened and ended up front row - a great show and one of the very last with Topper still drumming. Afterwards we made it backstage to collect autographs. I even left with a finished Joe Strummer Dos Equis beer bottle... which lasted until my mom found it and threw it away! Good times and great memories. God Bless Joe!
thebaker77 (Post author)
September 19, 2016 at 8:54 pm
Very nice memories there John... I think we may have played two shows at the rink - were you at the first or second night? (Burning Spear were very late to the first.)
The sound at those circular rinks was usually dreadful out front, but I'm glad you had a great time. It was a long way from the 100 Club to a 3,000-capacity ice rink, but the band still gave it their all.
Thanks for the comment.
John
September 20, 2016 at 5:22 am
Both shows at the Penn Rink, Baker.
The other shows I attended were:
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Bonds 29 May - 2nd night of the residency
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Penn Rink (both nights)
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The first Asbury Park show in '82 (Terry drumming - possibly one of his very first shows back at the kit)
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Missed the second Asbury Park show
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Finally, the El Paso show in '83 (warm-ups leading to the U.S. Festival)
At El Paso, fans were a little destructive - ripping up seats, etc. This was back when you had to buy tickets through Ticketron - bonding with other fans for hours waiting for the window to open! Today's kids just push a button...
thebaker77 (Post author)
September 21, 2016 at 2:49 pm
Isn't that the truth, John - and part of today's problem maybe... "All at the click of a button." Everything so accessible - and therefore degraded in value. Easy come, easy go...
Thanks, John.
nick haines
September 21, 2016 at 4:36 am
Hi... I know it's late in the day but... I responded to your memories of the 100 Club gig and pointed out a factual error (as I saw it) - ie. Siouxsie played first, then Subway Sect.
You were nice enough to reply, but I wasn't sure if you were agreeing with me or not! I was there... and so was Viv Albertine from The Slits. She writes in her book (page 136, I think): "Siouxsie is on first."
Is it possible that both Viv and I are mistaken?
thebaker77 (Post author)
September 21, 2016 at 2:46 pm
Thanks for the comment, Nick.
As I said in the introduction - everyone remembers things differently. Memory is such a fickle traitor and rarely to be trusted, especially over 40 years.
But I was working on the stage, moving the equipment on and off, and that's how it went down - setting up and dismantling drum kits seven times. Maybe others in the crowd remember it another way - it's so long ago.
I checked sources:
-
Everything online from the Guardian to Wiki lists the bands with Subway Sect first.
-
Literary sources don't help much - Marcus Gray even says The Flowers of Romance used the Pistols' equipment (which is inaccurate).
-
Even the 100 Club's original flyer listed Stinky Toys first (which was wrong).
So you can see how events get distorted.
Either way - the details of the show weren't the focus of the blog. As long as I was able to impart the feel and atmosphere of the show and the era, then I achieved what I set out to do.
Here's to a fantastic memory and an event to be proud to have been part of - whether in the crowd or on the stage. We saw times rarely glimpsed in the average person's lifetime.
Cheers Nick.
Rich
September 23, 2016 at 12:13 pm
Loved the post - thank you!!
I saw The Clash almost every time they played in Philly, including:
The Tower Theater, March '80:
Penn Rink:
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First night: Burning Spear late, fans fatigued.
-
Second night: Burning Spear on time, The Clash energized.
The Who support shows:
-
Awful - the crowd just wanted The Who.
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No soundcheck for The Clash.
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Some audiences shouted "GO!" at Mick during Should I Stay or Should I Go... brutal.
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The Clash still gave 100%.
Mark II at the Spectrum, '84:
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Crowd doing calisthenics and slam dancing.
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Joe came out looking like Jim Morrison.
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First thing he did was smash a TV onstage!
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New songs found a groove (e.g., Clampdown, Mag 7).
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Older songs sounded forced.
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Liked the show - but didn't love it.
thebaker77 (Post author)
September 23, 2016 at 4:35 pm
What a marvellous comment Rich - thank you for taking the time. I'm sure it brings back similar feelings for many others too.
About the Who support gigs:
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They were dreadful stadium experiences.
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The Clash never got soundchecks.
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Stadium security was tight - dressing rooms were sometimes 1/4 mile away!
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Walkie-talkies had to be used to coordinate even the simplest things.
I was against supporting The Who from the start. Joe probably knew it too but felt there was no other choice.
There were other ways they could have evolved - maybe through the new technology like MTV. But the advice from Bernie and Kosmo was clear: "You have to move forward - or you die." Still, evolving didn't have to mean becoming the very thing they were rebelling against. That was the tragedy.
Fantastic memories, Rich - and new insights into The Clash MkII era too.
Thanks again, kind sir. The Baker.
nick haines
September 22, 2016 at 4:27 am
Hi... The devil is in the detail, but I won't press the point about the running order.
Always makes me laugh when people say they were there and how Buzzcocks or The Damned supported the Pistols, or how good/bad Stinky Toys were, etc!
My main frustration has been that people who care about the gig don't believe me - and the rest don't give a damn either way!
There's one photo taken by Caroline Coon which I'm 50% sure shows me at the front of the queue - Siouxsie/Severin etc. posing while I look glum and stare at the ground.
nick haines
September 23, 2016 at 5:07 am
P.S.: The Flowers of Romance didn't play. F.O.R. never played a gig. Siouxsie was billed and performed as "Siouxsie" - check this link: Wikipedia - The Flowers of Romance (band)
thebaker77 (Post author)
September 25, 2016 at 2:47 pm
Spanish translation... Thank you!
([Context: The Baker acknowledging a Spanish article translation linking back to his blog.])
Alan Rider
September 26, 2016 at 5:37 am
I wasn't there - I wasn't in London at the time and was way too young anyhow - but this is such a brilliant first-hand account that I now actually feel like I had been there too.
Maybe I'll even convince myself I was - just like the thousands who claim they were!
It is a bit unfair though to describe The Stranglers as "bandwagon jumpers." They had their own thing going and did some brilliant shows.
Punk was (and is) a broad church. (You've guessed - I was a bit of a Stranglers fan!)
thebaker77 (Post author)
September 27, 2016 at 4:49 pm
I agree Alan - The Stranglers definitely had their own thing going before, during, and after the punk days.
Maybe I was a bit hard on them calling them bandwagon jumpers. It's only natural to want to try and appeal to the prevailing trend - and everyone, no matter who or when, wants to sell as many records as possible.
To this day, Golden Brown remains a spell-binding track to me.
Thanks for the comment, Alan.
Megaleg
September 30, 2016 at 1:30 am
Imagine being there - for £1!
John Lapwood
September 30, 2016 at 7:33 am
Fascinating.
That gig must be one of the most written about in rock history, but nothing I've read before conveys the story from the "other" side so vividly.
You forget how raw the whole thing was:
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The Clash
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Pistols
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Banshees
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Subway Sect
All punk institutions now - but back then, just bands doing their first or near-first gigs - and more or less just another night!
Also loved your passage about seeing the 100 Club during the daytime. I've been there countless times since I was old enough (1983) - and the thing everyone loves about it is it hasn't changed! (Stopping the pissers flooding would probably ruin the place!)
I love punk and what it did - and this piece offers a completely new perspective on something we all think we know - but actually don't.
thebaker77 (Post author)
October 1, 2016 at 5:15 pm
Thanks, John.
Yes - it was all so haphazardly put together - even up to soundcheck there was no real certainty this thing was going to work out.
It was the same with the Midnight Special at the Screen On The Green in Islington. Seemingly out of the blue, a live show arranged by Malcolm McLaren.
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The intensity of rehearsals was notched up.
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We needed extra guitar strings, drum skins, plectrums - and a stage.
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A guy called Laurie helped - providing sectional staging and a van for the equipment.
The night before the show:
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Buzzcocks maybe couldn't play.
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Eyes turned to Subway Sect as possible replacements.
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Paul Smith and I waited all day parked opposite the theatre, gear in the car.
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Inside, Joe Strummer guarded the Pistols' equipment - I gave him a cup of tea and lent him my Crook-lock as a weapon (never got it back, hah!)
In the end, Buzzcocks played. Subway Sect didn't have to jump in - but it was close. We headed home and got drunk!
Thanks again for the comment, John. The Baker.
nick haines
October 3, 2016 at 4:26 am
Actually, The Clash were the least raw of the four bands that night - possibly due to their material, which was very concise and memorable.
They played like dogs straining at a collective leash. Siouxsie was an interesting noise for five minutes... and a bore for fifteen. Subway Sect were a musical Kafka novel... and had some good songs. Sex Pistols were rough... and played a horrible version of Substitute.
You say it's one of the most written about events... funnily enough, although the gig is mentioned many times, there haven't been many accurate blow-by-blow stories told. I was going to do it myself.
thebaker77 (Post author)
October 3, 2016 at 9:01 pm
I think you should, Nick - far better to hear opinions from individuals who were actually there, than from writers and journalists who merely quote others.
Thanks for the comment.
Martyn
December 2, 2016 at 6:17 am
A fantastic read.
I'd love to hear your views on the end of the first incarnation of Subway Sect and the role of Mr. Bernie Rhodes in that.
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[The 100 Club Punk Festival 1976 (Revisited) - The Baker - The Punk Rock Hobo]
Steve
May 10, 2017 at 7:13 am
This is such a wonderful read - not to mention all the follow-up comments too!
Is there any chance you could one day post a stand-alone piece about Les Lou's? The very few scattered recordings are great but there's frustratingly little about them online, let alone in various punk histories.
It would be fascinating to read a first-hand account - especially how it all went horribly wrong under Bernie...
Stan says...
October 17, 2017 at 7:47 am
Great yarn. Beautifully told. Fab pix too!
Norm Lubow
November 18, 2017 at 3:35 am
Hi Baker, This is Rev. Bud Green, well-known American revolutionary and one of the leaders of the legalization of marijuana movement in the USA since the early '80s.
I owe my left-wing political beliefs to being such a Clash fan. Being someone who tried to actually do what the band sang about and try to cause revolutionary change, I could always tell that Joe, especially, was irked by fans who liked the band but never really got into the rebellion part of the music.
I had my own band a few years later - heavy metal and thrash in sound, but just as revolutionary in message as The Clash with songs like Burn the Flag and Rich Pigs. Just like Joe, it irked me that although we were popular, people weren't really taking to heart the real message - smoke the holy herb to wake up to the realities of the evilness of our racist, one-percent-led country, and the need for non-violent revolution.
All I can say is: thank God for The Clash - the only band that ever mattered to me.
thebaker77 (Post author)
March 13, 2018 at 12:56 pm
Thanks for the comment Reverend.
Thomas Jefferson recommended that there needed to be a revolution every 17 years.... I don't know if that would work in the modern world.
But the people get what they want, and if they keep voting the same tribe into power - regardless of whether they wear red or blue - then they'll keep getting the same thing.
"Money goes to money - shit to the dummy."
nickhainesblog
March 14, 2018 at 4:56 am
Sorry Norm, but I have to disagree with your central point - namely the value/relevance of 'holy herb' to punk.
Herb is part of the capitalist plot to keep the masses anesthetized, too stoned to rise up.
Do you think they were smoking spliffs when they wrote White Riot? They were certainly into the Jamaican vibe and members of the band no doubt enjoyed marijuana... but unfortunately it was this numbing of the edge, the anger, that led them to release increasingly boring and irrelevant rubbish.
Legalize speed, acid, coke.... but make marijuana and smack punishable by a lifetime of rejection by anyone who values punk's rebellion.
thebaker77 (Post author)
March 28, 2018 at 4:46 pm
I don't think the global elite care what drug we're addicted to - be it whisky, cigarettes, coffee, sports, politics.... It's all distractions from the realities of real life and the robbery of every shred of wealth and goodness the rich are sucking out of the world.
We have to create culture - Don't watch TV, don't read magazines, don't even listen to NPR. Create your own roadshow.
The nexus of space and time where you are now is the most immediate sector of your universe, and if you're worrying about O.J. Simpson or Hillary Clinton or somebody else, then you are disempowered, you're giving it all away to icons, icons maintained by electronic media so you want to dress like X or have lips like Y.
This is a shit-brained kind of thinking.
That is all cultural diversion, and what is real is you and your friends and your associations, your highs, your orgasms, your hopes, your plans, your fears. And we are told "no", we're unimportant, peripheral. "Get a degree, get a job, get a this, get a that."
And then you're a player - You don't even want to play in that game.
Reclaim your mind and get it out of the hands of the cultural engineers who want to turn you into a half-baked moron consuming all this trash that's being manufactured out of the bones of a dying world.
Cheers, guys.
nickhainesblog
March 29, 2018 at 3:52 am
Read George Orwell's Keep the Aspidistra Flying.
You wanna change yourself... go live as a hermit, eat only what you catch or grow yourself.
If you wanna change society - you're gonna have to get your hands dirty.
thebaker77 (Post author)
April 28, 2018 at 10:12 am
I'm afraid I have to disagree with you Nick Haines about that Orwell book. You are using one instance in the book and turning it into an entire thesis.
The protagonist Stone needs money for his child's life-saving operation. He would prefer to prostitute his wife rather than prostitute his artistic integrity by writing advertising copy. So he refused to get a job to save his child's life.... hmm.
At the time of writing the book (1934) Orwell was working as a part-time assistant in Booklovers' Corner, a second-hand bookshop in Hampstead. He certainly wasn't living as a hermit - practice what you preach!
Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge devotee of Orwell's work, but when he wrote this, the world was far different than today.
If we all treated one another with just a little more kindness, the world would be a far better place.
Marijuana makes you more introspective, reflective, examining your relationships and your place in the world. The globalists DO NOT want that! They want you out there - buying, buying, buying....
And don't call me a junkie - I've never smoked the weed in my life!
Bart
June 26, 2019 at 10:46 pm
Great read, especially as I was only 6 at the time so didn't really have much of a chance to be there at the explosion.
thebaker77 (Post author)
July 6, 2019 at 8:11 pm
I'm glad you found it worth reading Bart, even though you were too young to participate.
It was much the same for us being too young for all the legendary shows and events that occurred in the '60s - Woodstock, the mods and rockers battles, the Summer of Love....
They only live now in the words of the writers and the memories of those involved.
Heavens knows what contemporary generations have to hand down.... It seems no one can get up off their arse and tear themselves away from their iPhone! You could say that music history is finished.
John McGill
July 17, 2019 at 2:11 pm
Baker,
These stories are great and I love the reply to Bart!
But rather than say that music history is finished, I would argue that it's "recorded live" for a lifetime through the eyes of the millennials (lol) with both Android and iPhones.
They may forget how to write and spell with spellcheck and text-to-speech, but you'll have it well documented.
I've been to a few shows where the artist has asked the audience to please put down the phones and enjoy the music.
Keep the stories coming Baker. You have great ability to take us to that time and place. Always a good read.
thebaker77 (Post author)
July 17, 2019 at 5:28 pm
Great reply John, and something to think about.
I don't understand much about this world. Living in anachronistic decay, I'm too dowdy, too simplistic, too irrelevant for this modern world.
I just hope you are right and all these iPhone recordings are playable 30 years from now.
Time was when we recorded on reel-to-reel, then cassette, DAT tapes, CDs, DVDs, MP3s and so on.... I am greatly afraid that just as much gets lost, as gets saved.
Swept up by the cleaners from the cutting room floor of time. But I'm probably entirely wrong as usual....
Thanks for the thoughts and comment!
Two sources
Source 2 - Jordi Valls Punk Tapes book 
18 September 1976
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The Official Clash 
Clash City Snappers
