Rhino Factoids: Sex Pistols Make an Impression on Manchester

It’s been said of The Velvet Underground’s debut album that it might not have sold very many copies, but everyone who bought one went on to start a band. It’s not true, of course, but it’s a great story. Still, it’s not as good as this one: 39 years ago today, the Sex Pistols played a gig at Manchester’s Lesser Free Trade Hall, and in attendance were members of the Buzzocks, Joy Division (and, later, New Order), the Fall, and the Smiths. Some of them liked it, some of them didn’t. Who’s who? Keep reading to find out.

Pete Shelley (The Buzzcocks): "I was in the box office selling tickets for Malcolm (McLaren), and he went outside to find an audience for the show. Apparently Steve Diggle, who we'd never met, had answered a newspaper advert placed by a guitarist who needed a bass player. By sheer chance, they'd agreed to meet outside the hall that night. So when Malcolm, who knew that me and Howard (Devoto) had placed our own advert for musicians, got talking to Steve, it became clear that he'd answered an advert. Well, Malcolm just assumed that this was our new Buzzcock. He brought him into the hall and introduced him to me as my new bass player. That's how I ended up with the wrong musician! Then, while we were trying to work out what was happening, Malcolm comes back in with the guy Steve should have originally met and announces: 'Here's your new guitarist'. When the penny had dropped, I said to Steve: 'You might as well hang around and watch The Sex Pistols'. He stayed and then came to rehearse with us the next day; it was just one of those ridiculous quirks of fate." (The Quietus)

Peter Hook (Joy Division / New Order): “After seeing the Sex Pistols perform at the Lesser Free Trade Hall in 1976, Barney and I formed a band. First we were called Warsaw, then Joy Division. When the line-up settled, it was me on bass, him on guitar and Ian Curtis as our lead singer.” (The Independent)

Mark E. Smith (The Fall): “I thought, my lot are not as bad as that. We’re better. We just need a drummer.” (Renegade: The Lives And Tales Of Mark E. Smith, Mark E. Smith with Austen Collings)

Morrissey (The Smiths): “I pen this epistle after witnessing the infamous Sex Pistols in concert at the Manchester Lesser Free Trade Hall. The bumptious Pistols in jumble sale attire had those few that attended dancing in the aisles despite their discordant music and barely audible lyrics. The Pistols boast having no inspiration from the New York / Manhattan rock scene, yet their set includes, "I'm Not Your Stepping Stone", a number believed to be done almost to perfection by the Heartbreakers on any sleazy New York night and the Pistols' vocalist / exhibitionist Johnny Rotten's attitude and self-asserted 'love us or leave us' approach can be compared to both Iggy Pop and David Johansen in their heyday. The Sex Pistols are very New York and it's nice to see that the British have produced a band capable of producing atmosphere created by The New York Dolls and their many imitators, even though it may be too late. I'd love to see the Pistols make it. Maybe they will be able to afford some clothes which don't look as though they've been slept in." (New Musical Express)