This week on CNN.com I read with nostalgic regret that CBGB, the legendary NYC punk club, had finally closed after 33 years. I was in college during the late 70's and fully participated in that music scene, and it was one of the most exciting times of my life. Great times, great bands, and I feel lucky to have been able to be part of a true scene. If you were on PatternReview.com from 2002 to 2004 it was the same type of thing; that special feeling of being really hip and happening and watching the rest of the world catch up.
However - I have to make a public comment to John Wands of Verona, NJ. John posted on the CNN story that his fondest CBGB memory was the night the Sex Pistols played there, and Sid Vicious spat on him from the stage. I must say to you, John Wands of Verona NJ - IT NEVER HAPPENED. The Pistols never played NYC, they never even got close. On their single US tour Malcolm McLaren, their manager, booked them into redneck bars in Austin and Atlanta, and then they played one gig in San Francisco and broke up. Sid Vicious moved to NYC and lived at the Chelsea Hotel with his American girlfriend Nancy Spungen.
I do believe that John Wands of Verona NJ did indeed see Sid play a solo gig in NYC, and I'm sure Sid (or much more likely, Nancy) spat on him too, but it was at Max's Kansas City and not CBGB.
I'm not dissing John Wands of Verona NJ - everyone partied a lot in those days, and maybe his memory is just a bit hazy. I just want to set the record straight, and the info above was verified with friends of mine who worked in radio at the time. So trust me on this one:
posted by Phyllis @ 5:16 PM
3 Comments:
I can second that. I work closely with the Hilly Kristal and actually had asked him about the Sex Pistols. He did say he threw Sid Vicious out a couple of times. He said Sid was a problem. The Sex Pistols have never played CBGB!
I third it.
I was in highschool in the late 70's, and by the time I got to NYC in '83 (to go to art school), nothing much was happening at CBGB's or even in the NYC music scene in general. I missed all the good stuff. Sigh.
I like your blog, btw; I'm glad you're starting to post more & your grandmother's vest is fantastic. How wonderful that you have it.
LMH
www.blackwaterpark.blogs.com
Alas, the good old days of punk are well and truly gone. I never saw the Sex Pistols, at any venue. And none of the bands that I saw at CBGB are at all memorable. But I did see the Talking Heads in '78, the B52s in 80, and lots of others. Sigh..... Thanks for the memories.
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