If you’ll excuse the shameless self-publicity, anyone looking for a podcast to fill up the next 30 minutes, or ideas for a walk around the heritage sites of punk rock, might like to listen to this which I knocked together recently with Paul Gorman. It’s the first I’ve tried doing, literally recorded on my phone, but there’s another to follow soon on David Bowie’s Beckenham, all hosted by the nation’s favourite website for retired civll servants.
http://clublife.csmaclub.co.uk/review.php?a-walk-around-punk-london
Alias says
An interesting and well put together podcast. A good friend of mine was at the first Pistols gig, she was a student at St Martins at the time, but never went to another! It s such a different world today, It seems like just the art college and the odd pub remains. It must be at least 25 years since I went down the Kings Road and then it seemed like any other shopping street in any city, depressing.
Martin Horsfield says
Hey, thank you. What are the chances of knowing someone who went to that first gig – they weren’t even billed. And there were only 15 people at the first headline show, too. An amazing moment in time, and as Paul says at the end of the podcast, something of which London can be justly proud.
Junglejim says
Nicely done Martin. It evoked for me a much scruffier, cheaper & ‘wilder’ time & place.
I was far too young for any awareness of what was being fomented behind closed doors but I spent a lot of my teen and pre-teen weekends around Soho Market ( long gone) Berwick St & Wardour St just arseing about with friends & going to comic shops.
A little sad but not surprised to hear that most of the sites visited bear no trace of even existing. It was ever thus. None of London’s legendary original Mod sites (which are numerous) show any signs either.
My only direct connection with your subject matter is that I bought a ‘ Cowboys’ t shirt at 430 Kings Road, just before it was reborn as Seditionaries. I was on my way to the football. It wasn’t an impulse purchase as it cost £7 I think ( a fortune) & I’d wanted one since seeing it in the window. I was the most outrageous thing I could imagine at the time & I hid it for years at home.
Martin Horsfield says
Ha! Excellent. I was reading about that design on Paul’s blog today. Someone was stopped by police for wearing one the very first day they went on sale. Mind you, it’s nothing compared to McLaren and Westwood’s gay orgy shirt. That’s an eyeopener.