I had tickets to see the Sex Pistols at Derby Kings Hall on 3rd December 1976 but this concert , and most of the band’s tour, was cancelled in the wake of the furore over the band’s infamous TV interview with Bill Grundy two days before.
I find it ironic that Derby was the venue for BBC’s Question Time where one time ‘enemy of the state’ Johnny Rotten (now plain John Lydon) was invited to air his opinions on topical current affairs issues.
Among the weighty subjects debated were bank fraud, the British citizenship test, proposed cuts in the UK armed forces, drug laws and whether Moors murderer Ian Brady should be allowed to starve himself to death in prison.
In true democratic fashion, Lydon was joined on the panel of ‘experts’ by one MP from each of the main parties and journalist Dominic Lawson. He was dressed in a designer boiler suit to denote his role as the wild card of the bunch, a calculated risk on the part of the Beeb to boost ratings and provide some much-needed contrast to the tedious party political mudslinging.
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While Anarchy In The UK may be the defining statement of Brit-Punk, God Save The Queen is the best Punk single ever. I still vividly recall taking a sharp intake of breath as the needle hit the groove for the first time and the blast of rage-fuelled venom struck home.
