Posted on Jun 11, 2017
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It seems millions of people claim to have been at Woodstock when only 500,000 or so were really there, but the biggest pop-culture event of the 1960s has nothing on one of the most pivotal of the 1970s: the Sex Pistols’ appearance at the Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester, England, on June 4, 1976. Proportional to the actual crowd in attendance, perhaps no event in the history of pop music has enjoyed greater retroactive audience growth than the one that’s been called “The gig that changed the world.”
By June 1976, the Sex Pistols had been playing together under that name for only seven months, and though their look, their sound and their nihilistic attitude were already in place, they and the entire British punk scene were still a few months away from truly breaking out. They had drawn just enough attention in the British music press, though, to inspire two young men from Manchester named Howard DeVoto and Pete Shelley to go down and see them play in London in February. From this experience, two things happened: DeVoto and Shelley arranged for the Sex Pistols to come up north and play the Lesser Free Trade Hall; and then they formed their own new band, called the Buzzcocks. News of the June 4 gig in Manchester spread mostly by word of mouth, such that on the night of the show, perhaps as few as 40 people showed up in a room that could hold hundreds. In that small crowd, however, were some names that would help shape the course of pop music over the next decade:
Howard DeVoto and Pete Shelley: Their band, the Buzzcocks, would go on to enjoy enormous popularity and influence in the UK both during and after the punk era.
Ian Curtis, Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook: The very next day, Hook would buy his first guitar, and the three young Mancunians would become a band. That band—originally called the Stiff Kittens and later Warsaw—was Joy Division, one of the best-known and most influential of all the early New Wave bands.
Mark E. Smith: Following the Sex Pistols gig, he started The Fall, a post-punk band that never had a true hit record but influenced generations of followers from Nirvana to Franz Ferdinand.
Steven Patrick Morrissey: The last of these notables to make a name for himself, but one of the most successful, both as leader of The Smiths in the mid-1980s and as a solo artist thereafter.
Tony Wilson: Manchester TV news presenter who would be inspired to start the record label Factory Records, which would help create the thriving Manchester scene of the 1980s and early-90s.
Just a few days after the Sex Pistols stormed Manchester on this day in 1976, they returned to London for gigs on July 4 and 6 that featured two brand-new bands as opening acts: The Clash and The Damned. Three weeks after that, their return gig at the Lesser Free Trade Hall (featuring opening act the Buzzcocks) drew hundreds, as the punk era unofficially opened.
By June 1976, the Sex Pistols had been playing together under that name for only seven months, and though their look, their sound and their nihilistic attitude were already in place, they and the entire British punk scene were still a few months away from truly breaking out. They had drawn just enough attention in the British music press, though, to inspire two young men from Manchester named Howard DeVoto and Pete Shelley to go down and see them play in London in February. From this experience, two things happened: DeVoto and Shelley arranged for the Sex Pistols to come up north and play the Lesser Free Trade Hall; and then they formed their own new band, called the Buzzcocks. News of the June 4 gig in Manchester spread mostly by word of mouth, such that on the night of the show, perhaps as few as 40 people showed up in a room that could hold hundreds. In that small crowd, however, were some names that would help shape the course of pop music over the next decade:
Howard DeVoto and Pete Shelley: Their band, the Buzzcocks, would go on to enjoy enormous popularity and influence in the UK both during and after the punk era.
Ian Curtis, Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook: The very next day, Hook would buy his first guitar, and the three young Mancunians would become a band. That band—originally called the Stiff Kittens and later Warsaw—was Joy Division, one of the best-known and most influential of all the early New Wave bands.
Mark E. Smith: Following the Sex Pistols gig, he started The Fall, a post-punk band that never had a true hit record but influenced generations of followers from Nirvana to Franz Ferdinand.
Steven Patrick Morrissey: The last of these notables to make a name for himself, but one of the most successful, both as leader of The Smiths in the mid-1980s and as a solo artist thereafter.
Tony Wilson: Manchester TV news presenter who would be inspired to start the record label Factory Records, which would help create the thriving Manchester scene of the 1980s and early-90s.
Just a few days after the Sex Pistols stormed Manchester on this day in 1976, they returned to London for gigs on July 4 and 6 that featured two brand-new bands as opening acts: The Clash and The Damned. Three weeks after that, their return gig at the Lesser Free Trade Hall (featuring opening act the Buzzcocks) drew hundreds, as the punk era unofficially opened.
Four dozen people witness “The gig that changed the world” - Jun 04, 1976 - HISTORY.com
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Thanks for reminding us TSgt Joe C. that on June 4, 1976 approximately four dozen people witness “The gig that changed the world” as the Sex Pistols performed.
The Sex Pistols formed in London, England in 1975. The Band originally consisted of Johnny Rotten (vocals), Steve Jones (Guitar), Glen Matlock (bass) and Paul Cook (drums). However Glen Matlock was replaced with Sid Vicious.
Early Days
The Sex Pistols evolved from The Strand, a band formed in 1972 with Jones on vocals, Cook on drums and Wally Nightingale on guitar. By 1973 the band members were spending time at Don Letts's Acme Attractions and the more upmarket Let It Rock, a 1950s-themed clothes shop in the Kings Road, Chelsea, area of London. Let It Rock was owned by former New York Dolls manager Malcolm McLaren and his partner Vivienne Westwood; the shop specialised in "anti-fashion", selling the drapes, slashed T-shirts, brothel creepers and fetish gear later popularised by the punk movement. McLaren took over management of the band around this time. Renamed The Swankers, they began rehearsing at the Crunchy Frog, a studio near the London Docklands. In 1974, they played their first gig at Tom Salter's Café in London.
Glen Matlock was recruited as bass player in early 1975. Around this time Jones and Nightingale began to argue over the band's musical direction, and Nightingale departed soon afterwards. In August 1975, John Lydon (Johnny Rotten) was spotted by Jones at the now renamed and restyled SEX boutique. According to Jones, "He came in with green hair. I thought he had a really interesting face. I liked his look. He had his 'I Hate Pink Floyd' T-shirt on. John had something special, but when he spoke he was a real asshole—but smart." Though he had never considered singing before, after miming along to Alice Cooper's "I'm Eighteen" on the shop juke box, Rotten was asked to join as vocalist. Rotten and his circle of friends were by now dressing in the torn-shirt, S&M-inspired clothing promoted by Vivienne Westwood. The band's core group of followers—including Siouxsie Sioux, Steve Severin and Billy Idol, who would go on to form bands of their own—came to be known as the Bromley Contingent, after the neighbourhood several were from. Their radical fashion ignited a trend that was adopted by the new fans the band attracted.
One of McLaren's first acts as manager was to rename the band. Among the options considered were Le Bomb, Subterraneans, Beyond and Teenage Novel. The band's first gig as the Sex Pistols was arranged by Matlock, who was studying at Saint Martins College. The band played at the school on 6 November 1975. The plugs were pulled before they finished their set. This gig was followed by other performances at colleges and art schools around London.
In early 1976, the Sex Pistols began to play larger venues such as the 100 Club and the Nashville. On 4 June 1976, at the invitation of Howard Devoto and Pete Shelley (who would soon form the Buzzcocks), the band played their first gig in Manchester. Their performance at the Lesser Free Trade Hall inspired a punk rock boom in the city. Two newly formed London punk rock acts, The Clash and The Damned, made their live debuts opening for the Sex Pistols on 4 July and 6 July, respectively. On 3 September 1976, the Pistols played their first concert outside Britain, at the opening of the Club De Chalet Du Lac in Paris. Their first major tour of Britain soon followed, lasting from mid-September to early October.
http://punk.wikia.com/wiki/The_Sex_Pistols
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. LTC Ivan Raiklin, Esq. Capt Seid Waddell Capt Tom Brown SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL SFC William Farrell SSgt Robert Marx SSgt (Join to see) SGT John " Mac " McConnell SP5 Mark Kuzinski SPC (Join to see) SrA Christopher Wright Maj Marty Hogan PO1 William "Chip" Nagel SP5 Robert Ruck SCPO Morris RamseyCPL Eric Escasio SPC Margaret Higgins
The Sex Pistols formed in London, England in 1975. The Band originally consisted of Johnny Rotten (vocals), Steve Jones (Guitar), Glen Matlock (bass) and Paul Cook (drums). However Glen Matlock was replaced with Sid Vicious.
Early Days
The Sex Pistols evolved from The Strand, a band formed in 1972 with Jones on vocals, Cook on drums and Wally Nightingale on guitar. By 1973 the band members were spending time at Don Letts's Acme Attractions and the more upmarket Let It Rock, a 1950s-themed clothes shop in the Kings Road, Chelsea, area of London. Let It Rock was owned by former New York Dolls manager Malcolm McLaren and his partner Vivienne Westwood; the shop specialised in "anti-fashion", selling the drapes, slashed T-shirts, brothel creepers and fetish gear later popularised by the punk movement. McLaren took over management of the band around this time. Renamed The Swankers, they began rehearsing at the Crunchy Frog, a studio near the London Docklands. In 1974, they played their first gig at Tom Salter's Café in London.
Glen Matlock was recruited as bass player in early 1975. Around this time Jones and Nightingale began to argue over the band's musical direction, and Nightingale departed soon afterwards. In August 1975, John Lydon (Johnny Rotten) was spotted by Jones at the now renamed and restyled SEX boutique. According to Jones, "He came in with green hair. I thought he had a really interesting face. I liked his look. He had his 'I Hate Pink Floyd' T-shirt on. John had something special, but when he spoke he was a real asshole—but smart." Though he had never considered singing before, after miming along to Alice Cooper's "I'm Eighteen" on the shop juke box, Rotten was asked to join as vocalist. Rotten and his circle of friends were by now dressing in the torn-shirt, S&M-inspired clothing promoted by Vivienne Westwood. The band's core group of followers—including Siouxsie Sioux, Steve Severin and Billy Idol, who would go on to form bands of their own—came to be known as the Bromley Contingent, after the neighbourhood several were from. Their radical fashion ignited a trend that was adopted by the new fans the band attracted.
One of McLaren's first acts as manager was to rename the band. Among the options considered were Le Bomb, Subterraneans, Beyond and Teenage Novel. The band's first gig as the Sex Pistols was arranged by Matlock, who was studying at Saint Martins College. The band played at the school on 6 November 1975. The plugs were pulled before they finished their set. This gig was followed by other performances at colleges and art schools around London.
In early 1976, the Sex Pistols began to play larger venues such as the 100 Club and the Nashville. On 4 June 1976, at the invitation of Howard Devoto and Pete Shelley (who would soon form the Buzzcocks), the band played their first gig in Manchester. Their performance at the Lesser Free Trade Hall inspired a punk rock boom in the city. Two newly formed London punk rock acts, The Clash and The Damned, made their live debuts opening for the Sex Pistols on 4 July and 6 July, respectively. On 3 September 1976, the Pistols played their first concert outside Britain, at the opening of the Club De Chalet Du Lac in Paris. Their first major tour of Britain soon followed, lasting from mid-September to early October.
http://punk.wikia.com/wiki/The_Sex_Pistols
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. LTC Ivan Raiklin, Esq. Capt Seid Waddell Capt Tom Brown SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL SFC William Farrell SSgt Robert Marx SSgt (Join to see) SGT John " Mac " McConnell SP5 Mark Kuzinski SPC (Join to see) SrA Christopher Wright Maj Marty Hogan PO1 William "Chip" Nagel SP5 Robert Ruck SCPO Morris RamseyCPL Eric Escasio SPC Margaret Higgins
The Sex Pistols formed in London, England in 1975. The Band originally consisted of Johnny Rotten (vocals), Steve Jones (Guitar), Glen Matlock (bass) and Paul Cook (drums). However Glen Matlock was replaced with Sid Vicious. The Sex Pistols evolved from The Strand, a band formed in 1972 with Jones on vocals, Cook on drums and Wally Nightingale on guitar. By 1973 the band members were spending time at Don Letts's Acme Attractions and the more...
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TSgt Joe C., I freely admit that I did not attend Woodstock or the Sex Pistols’ appearance at the Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester, England, on June 4, 1976! LTC Stephen F.
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LTC Stephen F.
Neither did I my friend LTC Stephen C. although I certainly went to a fair number of other musical venues back in the day :-)
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