The 100 Club

100 Oxford Street, Fitzrovia

The 100 Club is a music venue that has been in existence for our 70 years, and in the 1970s it became inextricably linked with punk rock. Nearly every major UK punk band of the 70s played in the venue, and in 1976 they hosted the first Interantional Punk Festival, with performances from the likes of the Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Buzzcocks, and Siouxsie and the Banshees. Here's Steve Jones on the infamous Punk Festival:

“Anyway, back to the punk festival at the 100 Club. All the insiders who’d been hanging around for a while were starting to get their own bands together by then. As well as The Clash, there was the Subway Sect, who’d seen us at the Marquee the time Rotten heard himself for the first time, and an early version of Siouxsie and the Banshees where Siouxsie and Steve played with Sid (on the drums – best place for him) and Marco, who ended up in Adam and the Ants. Of course, they were no good, in fact they were awful – none of them could play a note – but that didn’t seem to matter much back then.”

St. Martin's College

Granary Square, Kings Cross

In 1975 the Sex Pistols performed their first gig in a small room of the London art college. They were young, unpolished, and they exploded onto the scene.

“The gig was only in a small room and once that amp was cranked up it was so fucking loud it was like having a jumbo jet landing in your living room. I was so nervous that I had a couple of pints and a Mandrax beforehand to calm me down. The Mandy came on during ‘Did You No Wrong’ and I remember looking at John and leaning on him for a second as we were playing. He kind of pushed me away a little bit and at that moment I was thinking, ‘This, right now, is the best thing in the world.’ He was the singer and I loved playing in the band with him and the whole thing felt fucking great. Sadly, that feeling wouldn’t return too many times, but at least I’d always have the memory.”

36 Causton Street

Westminster

Originally a converted rubber factory/garage building (and now a church), it played host to The Clash in 1979 when they wrote and recorded their landmark album London Calling. The building is no longer there, although the location is now next door to one of the Penguin random House UK offices.

“I liked The Clash once they got going. And The Damned, Buzzcocks – even The Stranglers, though they never really got accepted because they were older. It was great to have some decent new bands around for a change. We were the tip of the spearhead, but they weren’t far behind, and I never looked down on them for starting after us. After all, there was fuck all else going on, so I never blamed anyone for gravitating towards their version of what we were doing.”

Virgin Records

24 Oxford Street, Fitzrovia

What began as a small record shop on Oxford Street grew into a world famous record label, and it was punk that helped it get there. The record label side of the business launched in 1973 with Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells to huge critical acclaim, however they became the home of many punk bands in the late 70s after Richard Branson was the only one willing to sign the Sex Pistols after their infamous TV appearance.

“[Richard Branson] was the only one out of all the label bosses we dealt with who you could actually talk to. All the others were just blokes in suits you never saw, who would probably cross the street to avoid you if your paths crossed outside the office. Even though Branson was a public school toff, he was definitely approachable. We went on his boat up by Maida Vale and he didn’t seem to mind us taking the piss out of the way he looked by calling him Catweazle. Fair play to him on signing us as well, because a lot of the other fuddy-duddy labels wouldn’t touch us with a shitty stick by then, and if it hadn’t have been for Branson, Never Mind the Bollocks . . . might never have found a home.”

6 Denmark Street

Soho

Denmark Street in London’s Soho was the ‘Tin Pan Alley’ of Britain, housing multiple music publishers offices.  And number 6 was, infamously, a rehearsal space used by the Sex Pistols. Now a musical instrument store (along with much of Denmark Street), it’s now a Grade II listed building, preserving it as an important part of Punk history.

“Luckily – probably in the nick of time, looking back on it – Glen saw an advert which this guy who used to tour – manage for Badfinger had put in the paper for a rehearsal space to rent at 6–7 Denmark Street. It was right in the heart of the old Tin Pan Alley, where all the guitar shops were. Malcolm promised him a load of money, which he may or may not have finally given him. I hope he did, because he was a really nice old guy.”

Notre Dame Hall

Leicester Square

Now the home of a Leicester Square theatre, in March 1977 Notre Dame Hall played host to the Sex Pistols first performance with their new bassist: Sid Vicious. Things would never be the same after he joined the band.

“At first he did at least attempt to fit in on the musical side. He tried hard at the rehearsals and for his first few gigs he started out with his bass held up really high so he could actually play it, not down by his knees where it ended up in America. Unfortunately, that horrible bird came along with the heroin, and from then on all he was interested in was getting high. It wasn’t totally her fault either – no one was twisting Sid’s arm to make him put a spike in it, not even Nancy.”