Enjoyed this video. It made me subscribed. Very well put together. I did not know what happened to the Brombley Contingent until watching this. The photos of them from the 77-78 period were so powerful, just still shots that had a big effect on me when I was younger. I am curious to know more about your personal history about why you went to London during the '77 period and more of your personal stories from that era. I also enjoy your other videos too, like the Dawn of The Dead mall vid etc...
Thanks for watching and subscribing! I really appreciate it. I went to London in August of 1977 because I was on vacation with my mother. This is when I delivered a jacket to Steve Jones from their U.S. rep and I went to Malcolm's office. I explain that time in my Sex Pistols on Tour video. Then I later moved to England from 1978-1980. This is when I met Sid Vicious at his show, and I also saw lots of other bands during that time, like Joy Division. Thanks for being curious about my life. My next video is about The Germs, an L.A. punk band that I saw a few times in 1977 and 1978. Hope you like it.
Thanks for the video - I really enjoyed it. The girl in the peaked cap is Sharon Hayman. She lived in Baston Road, Hayes in Bromley, where the other members of the group used to visit (and Philip Salon, who once turned up in a black leather mini-skirt and green hair in 1975). I know this because I knew her brother between 1981 and 1983 (and am still in one-liner email contact every few years now). He gave me the Anarchy in the U.K. fanzine with the Bromley Contingent on the cover which I still have here in Bangkok now.
Wow, that's great info! Thanks you for that. Phillip Sallon in a mini skirt and green hair must have something in 1975! Even now! Do you have any other info on Sharon? Did she get out of punk early on? Just curious. Glad you kept that fanzine. Thanks for watching! Please subscribe for more.
@@WhyNotGoPlaces I have no idea, unfortunately. The only time I saw her was at the Marquee in 1981. I went with her brother to see Berlin, as in Bertie Marshall, perform. Before he came on, she was dancing to Talking Heads' Once in a Lifetime amongst the small crowd of people waiting for the show to start.
I really appreciated the discussion about Helen feeling liberated by the punk movement, and suggesting that this is associated with the principles of the movement itself, as many people also felt that way. In Steve Jones's book, he mentions the Cloak of Invisibility, which is extensively explored in the "Pistol" miniseries, echoing the theme of liberation allowed by the punk movement.
I really liked Steve's book and the "Cloak of Invisibility" which helped him to steal. Helen's words about punk giving her the freedom and strength to welcome the stares was very inspiring to me. I can't imagine how difficult it must be to have a physical issue that makes people stare at you when you walk out the door. She sounds like a very intelligent woman. Thanks again for watching the video!
Thank you for putting names to all these faces that I would only see in pictures from my far-away vantage point in Western Oregon. These people were so original and creative and I am happy that you could finally introduce me to them and give me a little insight into their lives. The music, the fashion and the artwork were all so incredible back then. Thanks for tracking down the backstory on the people who made it all crackle with electricity.
That's a good way of putting it.. they made it crackle with electricity! Yes, I know I mentioned some big names, but the purpose of the video was to talk about some of the early people that are not household names. But they still made an impact on young people like me. Thanks again for watching!
This is weird...I was just wondering an hour ago what happened to the rest of the Bromley contingent. Besides the ones I already know. How weirdly specific.
I'm from the midlands in England and was at school '76 '77 '78. I got into punk for a bit in 1981 at collage, and read about the Bromley Contingent in books on punk and the Sex Pistols. I though Bromley was in Birmingham in the midlands, a few miles from me, and like 100 miles form London. Years later I'm dog n a degree in physics and go to some Sociology lectures on counter culture and youth sub culture. One is about the rise of punk in London. I interrupt the lecture and say "No! The bands were from London but the movement began in Birmingham! Everybody looked at me and was like "Its ok he's doing physics or something". I stand corrected! Cheers!
@@harveyyoung3423 it's funny I'm from Boston MA and I had a couple of friends who lived in the Bromley-Heath Housing Projects (council estate?) In Jamaica Plain. I've always thought of them as "The Bromley-Heath Contingent"
What a wonderful time machine your video was! Thank you!!! 🥰 I remember a few of these stories from older teens than I knew during my musical formative years! ❤️🪩❤️☠️❤️
Lived all my life in Bromley and loved punk during this era bumped into them all back in the day at Bonaparte records in market square Bromley spent all day Saturdays listening to 45s being played in the shop bought two singles every week for years gutted I sold my collection in the 90s I’m no 60 and still go to gigs Punk rules
That was excellent a well researched video. I’m originally from North London but have lived in Bromley for about 6 years now. I remember those days very well especially the Bill Grundy interview it was actually on my twelfth birthday. I watched it with my older brother who was a punk rocker at the time he was born in ‘58 so probably similar to yourself. It was a funny thing to watch, it was an evening show called Today from 6 to 6.30 a current affairs programme. Apparently it was meant to be Queen booked in but were unavailable so EMI sent The Pistols instead. The outrage the next day all over the papers was incredible and catapulted the Pistols in public enemy number one. Sadly there are no heritage ‘blue plaques’ to commemorate this in musical history. Siouxsie was from Chiselhurst a very posh exclusive part of Kent the next town along from Bromley. Very famous for its caves where a number of gigs were held inside including Jimi Hendrix and The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Bowie. Billy Idol was originally from Stanmore again a rather nice place just outside North London. I’ve been a London Black Cab driver for over 25 years and had the pleasure of picking up Steve Severin once had a really interesting chat with him. As a side note when they refer to David Bowie living in Bromley I live almost opposite his parents old house it a modest three bedroom terraced house commemorated with a blue plaque. He attended Bromley college at the time with his friend Peter Frampton. Thanks again for the video. Sounds like you yourself have had an interesting life being in London during those heady punk days. Being around during this time even as a young kid myself it’s something* that never leaves you.
Thanks for all that interesting info. How great that you're a Black Cab driver. The first time I was ever in one, I thought it was like a limo! Regarding Bowie, I thought he was from Brixton. One of the first times I went to London, I went to Brixton to find the terraced house. Maybe his parents lived a couple of places. It makes sense that he lived in Bromley though, since he went to school there with Peter Frampton. Thanks for watching! Please subscribe for more.
@@WhyNotGoPlaces he lived in Brixton from a very early age but he and his family moved to Bromley. When Bowie left his parents home in Bromley he moved to Beckenham just the next town along still in Kent.
I am loving your videos! I’m so fascinated with punk rock and the whole punk scene. Unfortunately, I was born in 1975 so I missed out. Bummer! Anyway, I absolutely love your stories. I look forward to hearing more! Thank you for sharing!
Just want to thank you very much for this!!! I’ve always followed this movement and bought the books, movies and researched articles and what not through various interviews etc. Most of it was physical media so i’ve spent a lot of time flipping pages and touching the pictures or hitting play on a vcr/dvd player. I have wondered for a very long time what ever happened to these people and you covered it extremely well and included more then I expected. It’s such a shame all the lives cancer took and I guess that’s just how it is for everyone. Shame about Jordan really. I truly hope Helen is happy wherever she may be in her life. I could only imagine the stories you could tell. It’s great you’re sharing them : )
You should frame that photo , and Jonesy was quite the ladies man from what I heard always liked Jonesy 😊 he was an underrated guitarist and his riffs were definitely a Pistols trademark ™️ excellent 👍🏼👍🏼 ❤❤❤ Great video 👏🏼👏🏼😊
Thanks for watching and subscribing. Yes, he was, and probably still is, a ladies man. Thanks for the compliment. This video was a labor of love for me.
This was fun to watch-makes me miss the punk years ❤Thanks and keep these videos going! BTW I’m in St Louis and seeing Adam Ant tomorrow night 💪 🏴☠️!!!
I was at school in Bromley at this time. Didn’t get it at the time, but classmates like Ian Stone, Mark George, “Rochester” (shut up Rochester) did. There was a kid called Williams, a year or two older than us that was in some of the early footage of the Pistols/Banshees. Opposite Bromley South train station, there was an escalator down to a basement café frequented by Siouxie et al.
There was an interview with Soo a few years ago. She was speaking out against The Great Rock N Roll Swindle. As Malcom had the girl in the film have her hair cut and dyed exactly like Soo, so people thought it was her. Jordan definitely wasn't part of the Bromley Contingent as she was from Seaford near Brighton and would commute up to London every day to open Sex.
Its odd watching punk videos that portray punk as a past fad but im one of those old sods from the 70s that is still going to see bands, and there is some really good ones out there playing ''punk' in many different styles. The UK is still home to some great bands
Yes, it is the land for great bands that's for sure. I saw many great bands in the 90's when I lived there again. Thanks for watching. Please subscribe for more.
Thank you so much for this information, I was a young girl punk in the mid 80’s , and the Sex Pistols were one of our favorite bands , Punk gave us social misfits a tribe , a place to belong ❤
Im class of 78 from yorkshire n missed all this, but i seen the pictures and hurd the music whrn i was a kid, but these people made me lol... still punk rock at 57. really enjoyed this vid . Thanx for the memories and putting life to the faces :) x
Another great video! I hope you keep making punk/Pistols videos because it's really interesting to hear from sombody who was there, without an agenda. You come across as very genuine, nothing to sell, nothing to prove, just sharing thoughts and memories. I'm from the UK and i live just a stone's throw from London, but i'm just a little bit too young to have seen the Pistols first time round. I could have gone to the reunion in Finsbury Park in 96 but sometimes life gets in the way oh well. You mentioned you were living in London at the time, did you go? If so that would surely mean another video for us 😀
Yes, I did go see the Pistols in Finsbury Park in 1996. I believe Iggy opened for them. It was a great show but I'm not sure I have much to add to the history of that event. I remember it was outside and they were very far away, at least from where I was standing. It was great to hear the songs again though. Thanks again for watching!
I idolized Siouxsie in my youth -- hell, I still do. Thanks for this. I had always wondered who the other members were. One thing, you didn't mention is that Jordan was one of the main characters, Amyl Nitrate, in the1978 movie “Jubilee”.
I used to idolize her too! She's so original. I remember Jordan being in that movie. I kind of cut it short when talking about her and Adam Ant etc, rightly or wrongly, because I figured most people know about them. I tried to concentrate on the unknown names. Thanks again for watching!
As an art student in 1977 I remember some of these faces from the Greyhound in Croydon, the nearest venue to Bromley and home venue for the Damned (Captain Sensible lived in Edith Rd, South Norwood). Never heard of the Bromley Contingent though, I suppose it was a media term. David Bowie was brought up in Bromley too, a town so dull all that was left was creative rebellion.
@@WhyNotGoPlacesdavid bowie grew up in brixton not bromley there even a mural in brixton on wall of house ,after watch the film that come out last year showing his childhood an rise to stardom it was just after the world war 2 it was grim depressing place an jobs were shite , i what i gather about bromley in 77 it was posh middle upper class area brixton in the 1980 was like the uk of the bronx in new york in 70 , it was hell hole full crime drugs prostuation squats abandoned building an if ya you was white it could be very intimating i first went to concert in brixton in 1987 i was 19 i thought cross between the bronz an mad max, itaint to bad went back in 2016 first time since 1999 looked a totally different place lot money spent on it
I loved going to gigs at The Greyhound. I remember jumping on the Green Line bus and travelling up from Guildford to watch brilliant acts like The Adverts, X-Ray Spex, XTC and many more. Happy days!
@@WhyNotGoPlaces david Bowie didn’t come from Bromley he did go to Bromley art college though he actually lived in beckenham which was a little town a couple of miles from Bromley and use to drink in the same pub as my uncle which was the 3 runs on the high street in beckenham and even think 🤔 he performed in there in his early days? Great video though even though I grew up liking the clash and the jam 😂👍
Love the video and your commentary about the Sex Pistols fans - The Bromley Contingent I lived through this great punk period in the 70s and was a Pistol fan and then a Siouxsie and the banshees fan too living in England 🏴 Good luck to you and I look forward to seeing more videos
Thank you so much for explaining and giving names to some of these people that I’ve seen so many times in sex pistol clips and pictures. I always wondered who they all were.
Really enjoyed this video 😁😁👍👍 it's great to get an update of the Bromley Contingent 👌 I had the Sex Pistols file back in the day and loved to see photos from the squats 🤩 very sad to hear of Debbie Juvenile's passing! 😞 it's great to hear a first hand account from someone who was right in the moddle of that scene 👍 thanks for sharing some of your incredible artifacts 😁😁👍👍
Thanks for watching! Please subscribe for more. Well, I was way over in Southern California, but I sure loved the band and was always fascinated by their fans and the people around them.
Great video. I missed the fruition of Punk by about 4 years, but the whole scene made a huge impact on my attitude to life. Let's say without it, I would probably be a very different person. Thanks for the upload. I think the other girl in the photograph was called Sharon Hayman. Cheers from a miserable grey rainy South Wales.
Thanks again for watching! Yes, someone else said the same thing. That her name was Sharon Hayman. I never knew that. Thanks again from a too-hot and sunny Florida. :)
So happy to find your channel. So great, going back to my early teens, and what an Amazing time it was back then! Thanks so much, very cool stuff.......
Thank you for continuing to watch my videos! I really appreciate it. It was an amazing time. I didn't know how monumental it all was until many years later.
Its good to see this, being from that time and generation in north london. So amazing to see how this has all passed into history and the stories (and myths) that have arisen over the years. Like you, I have a few old fragments long kept from back then. We were just kids doing our thing - the time was right. Another John
Thank you John! Please subscribe for more. I wish I had kept more fragments from that time. If I could give advice to a younger person today, I would say don't throw anything out if you can help it. You never know what sentimental, or real, value it might have in the future. Thanks again for watching!
I remember when punk hit the nightly news in New York City. I was 10 in 1977 and a huge KISS fan, but The Pistols looked so cool and I started seeing people dressed that way in The Village. I especially liked it because the newscasters made such a big deal over how the punks acted and that made my parents angry. LOL My punk phase really started in 1981 when Hardcore became an underground movement in the US, but that's a different scene & story. Thank you for the video!
Enjoyed the video very much and thank you for your time and effort not forgetting the work and research, it took me back a very long way so many different memories I was in London in 77 locked up in borstal there , being from Manchester and my first time away with such a long distance it was hard at first , I remember new prisoners coming in every week with crazy hair styles from different parts of the country mainly London , I remember doing a runner and living in some girls flat in soho for two days crazy times , strange how musical tastes changed so quickly I was in to Roxy music and northern soul before the punk thing started I’m 67 this year and I’m into every kind of music there is going I have collected rare 45s for many years , I found myself reliving those years for a short time watching the clip
Your second bedroom looks very organized, congratulations! I can see Steve Jones's book in the background, as well as the cover of Johnny Rotten's book, among others. 1:17
Since she lived in England, I didn't recall that show. Yes, it sounds like she had a very interesting life. So sad that cancer took her when she was only about 50. Thanks for watching!
I really enjoyed the video. It's very interesting, with information that shows excellent research. I'd like to add a note: Jordan passed away in April 2022, just weeks before the premiere of the Pistols series. In episode 2, they pay tribute to her at the end. You probably already know.
A friend of mine was Jordan’s Partner and she regularly attended gigs in Brighton up to her death so saw and spoke to her frequently, she was in fact an advisor on the Pistol production mainly of course to Maisie Williams who played her. very tragic she never got to see it broadcast.
when myspace was a thing I put up some of my songs and i had a response from Jordan...it was something like 'I was known as Jordan on the punk scene years ago' that was about 2008
Interesting to see these pictures. Went to a school in Chelsea during the height of Punk. However I was only 13, looked about 10, so had no chance of going to concerts, hardly anybody in the school liked the music, so felt part of it yet to young to be in it. And it had moved on when I was old enough. It was such an exciting time.
@WhyNotGoPlaces I watch anything about the old punk scene. I've caught myself in a couple of films from the US. Never the less Debbie was adorable and I was very sad to here of her passing.
I remember some of the bromley contingent coming to Stafford venue top of the world when generation X billy idol played there September 1977 many punk bands played there except the ones that were banned ie the clash .love your videos and I’m reliving my youth aged 16/17 watching them
I and a couple of mates had the pleasure of meeting Helen on the tube in London 1980, she was on her way to the US via Heathrow airport. We had a great little chat before we had to change tube. She was lovely. 😎
She seemed pretty down to earth in jeans and a t shirt, with her well dressed manager. We talked new music, she knew all the latest alternative bands in the UK. She probably knew some of them personally. She was very confident was the over-all feeling I got, ready to take on whatever came next.
Helen used to hang out in the Hilmarton Rd cafe & Castle pub between Cally & Camden Roads, N7 Holloway. she was always friendly & chatted to everyone. I assumed she lived local. Johnny Lydon went school Cally Rd, lived in Holloway & Finsbury Park.
I always found punk girls quite sexy but I was always scared of them just incase they bit me. They were completely different almost looked aggressive and miserable.That was the thing at the time I guess. Hey love your post it’s very sad that some of the girls are no longer with us. I was the Bass Player in the Daleks and we done a gig at the Caterham community centre! Lots of Bromley Punks came over it was a really good memorable night.1979 3 years after it all kicked off.The boat had long left the harbour and we were very much too late for the party but it was fun trying to jump on the punk wagon. Keep your posts going you are as cool as hell ! Go girl go xx
Really enjoyed your story. 😊 I still go to punk gigs.. punk played a fantastic part in my life after being bullied. And a not nice upbringing. I found the punk scene the music something to believe in.. met some fantastic people in the scene. I loved my visits to seditionaries. For years I tried to get to chat to Jordan. She just glared at me.
Thanks for watching! I never met Jordan. She did seem very intimidating. I loved Seditionaries. Punk is still fantastic. It's been 50 years since The Ramones first played CBGBs and started to change music around the world. I just listened to Marky Ramone talk about it on his radio show. Thanks again!
Cool Video! I remember reading about the Sex Pistols and all the ruckus they were causing. But, didn't really discover their music until later. American radio suppressed them. The style of the BC and pink had a big influence on pop culture. It wasn't many years later when spiked hair and other fashions were common.
What I love is that you were present during a significant moment in Transatlantic cultural history. I'm envious! Hope you don't mind, but I think I'm roughly 10 years your junior. I remember the names 'The Sex Pistols', 'Sid Vicious', 'The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle', but they were never on the TV or radio here in the UK. As a 7/8 year old I had nothing to attach such things to. And by the time I hit my teens (in 1983) all that stuff was in the past and all but forgotten (unbelievably!). Then in 1986 Channel 4 here in the UK broadcast an evening of programming dedicated to Punk. I recall watching the various shows and thinking 'wow ... this was all happening ten years ago; why is music so rubbish now?' I fell in love with The Sex Pistols and the whole story 10 years too late!
Was only a little guy in "76, more of a Wombles fan than the Sex Pistols. Was old enough to catch the Post Punk thing though, saw the Banshees in their prime. I'm glad they stuck with it their legacy is huge, along with Bob Smith they were complete workaholics and they deserve all the recognition they received.
thank you for your personal experience as a fan. it is the small story's of peoples interactions that really flesh out the true legacy of the punk timeframe.
This was a fun and great update about the Bromleys. I was surprised and happy to se my edit of the Bill Grundy interview from my John Lydon account. UA-cam did not allow me to us the full music video but I was able to fly in more of the outro of the program. Thanks for the updates.
I like your channel! Thanks for that edit. I didn't want to put in any live music either. Thanks for watching my channel! Are you going to see Lydon on any of his talking tour dates in May and June, if you live near an event?
Great stuff, many thanks ..I wondered what happened to Simone. I had a picture of her with Siouxsie taken in 1976 outside a gig and they both looked stunning with the early punk look. Steve Jones was the Pistol I was facinated with, funnily enough he is the only one I havent met yet. I have managed to see the Pistols 1996 reunion twice so I have seen him live playing those songs. What an era for music and fashion.
Yes Simone and Siouxsie were certainly very stunning young women. I saw that 1996 reunion tour too. In Finsbury Park. It was so great to hear those songs again. Thanks for watching!
Very interesting. Just subscribed. I live a few hundred yards from the former cinema in Caerphilly South Wales where the Anarchy Tour called into.. I was outside the gig (only 12 years of age so too young to get in). Sex Pistols are my favourite band and I went on to join a band. Great times.
The gig did go ahead, its featured in the Great RocknRoll Swindle film. I can send you a photo of the old cinema site as it is today. Its an estate agents. I Sang in a few local punk bands from 1980. Great times.
I know those faces for so many years among my numerous books, documentaries, etc...) It's a fascinating hommage to the Bromley Contingent (now we can put a name and a bit of story about 'em). Thank you so much for you work and memories
Thank you so much for all these memories... brilliant times long missed... I was a very young UK Punk Rocker, think I was 7 or 8 when I got into it all...
25.12.1973: Steve Priest from Sweet used a swastica on top of the pops ("Blockbuster") . Here we can find it again behind the Sex Pistols.The Swastica symbol is forbidden in Germany ( exeption: I saw some of them in an indian restaurant years ago). I love punkrock since 1977 and played in my own punkbands. Thank you for your interesting video.
Fantastic stories 😃 especially as you were there at the time! I always thought Helen was great! So different and unexpected. I met Jordan on her book signing tour, lovely lady! I believe Severin lives in Edinburgh now and is an visual art director 😀 great video.
Wow, I'm actually surprised... I didn't know that. I live in Bromley now, Im still a big fan of punk and brit post-punk bands and I love that eventually some places I choose to live or work naturally have some connections with that. I remember renting an art studio in London Fields in Beck road and I just found out it was in the same street that Throbbing Gristle had a rehearsal studio❤. I really appreciate ur videos!
Thank you so much! I have a Sex Pistols playlist now. I have never been to Bromley, but I'm sure it's very nice. I've been to Chislehurst, I think that's close by. I love London and the surrounding areas. I still miss it.
Really enjoying these videos. Brings back so many memories. Didn’t know Debbie had died. The fans stories are as great as the bands. Love to know what they got upto after punk. Was good friends with paul fox from the ruts in the early 80s. Lost touch with him in the 90s. I lived a few hundred yards from the Astoria in 98. Such a shame it’s gone.
Thanks for watching my videos! I really appreciate it. Wow, you really lived in central London if you were close to the Astoria. Yes, I bet that whole block looks different now. I still correspond with a friend I knew from that job and she tells me it looks very different around Tottenham Court Road tube now.
@@WhyNotGoPlaces yes was right next to Shaftesbury avenue. Left London at the end of 98 and now in Devon. Loved that area around the Astoria,soho and Covent Garden
Great video . I have seen these photos for years but didnt know who they were exept for souxsie but now i have names for faces 😊 good to be curious. Thankyou
Amazed to hear you worked in the Astoria in the 90s! That was a great story about you asking Phil Sallon if he was on the guest list lol. :-) I saw the Damned in the Astoria in May 1994, perhaps you were at the door that evening? Also... changed days, with glitterbest entrusting a fan to deliver important documents to the Sex Pistols U.S office. But to be honest, you seem quite trust worthy and they had already trusted you with Steve's leather jacket. That jacket is more likely to have potentially gone awol :-) Quick question: Did you ever visit the Roxy, in Covent Garden? Its now a clothes shop. It would be great to hear your stories about the famous Roxy!! Great job with producing these videos 👍👍
Thank you so much for the compliment! Every time I do a video and look at it later, all I see is what could have been better. But that's me I guess.:) I was definitely working there at the time, but I was mostly downstairs at London Astoria 2(or Busby's). Same management so sometimes I was at the bigger venue, but mostly I was downstairs. The bigger acts like the Damned would have been upstairs. Sometimes if there was a big show upstairs and I wasn't too busy, I would run up and catch a few songs. I don't remember seeing the Damned there so I don't think I caught them. Wish I had. :( I'm from California, so I didn't go to the Roxy or the 100 Club. I did live in London from 1978-1980, but I didn't go to the Roxy if it was still going then. Thanks again for watching!
I used to take my dog to get treated at the vets where Pamela worked a lovely lady . I all so see Charlie Harper from the UK subs walking around .for a little seaside town we have quite a punk heritage in seaford 😁
Thank you for the info! I forgot that she lived in Seaford. I knew she lived on the coast. How wonderful that you saw her at the vet's office. And Charlie Harper is a legend too. I bet Seaford is a very pretty town. I miss England. Thanks for watching! If you haven't yet, please subscribe for more.
A fabulous look back at a group of people slightly older than my friends and I buy undoubtedly a huge influence on our outlook on life in a boring provincial village x
The Bill Grundy interview was only shown locally in London area, but I remember all the newspapers the next morning on the front cover of all of them, it was the talk of the school. I also used to get my mum to go into punk shops but she loved it.
@@WhyNotGoPlaces ….no , it was definitely a London only regional thing. I only got to see it when they included it in the Swindle film. Many of the early “punk” performances that you see on UA-cam now were only shown to a small audience within that regions broadcasting scope …….in 77 we had only 3 channels , BBC1 , BBC2 and ITV (independent television) , even the BBC who broadcast nationally would often just broadcast locally for the local regional news where the local producers could put out whatever was of intrest to that immediate area …… So if an up and coming local band who no one had heard of yet , let’s say for example The Jam , got a little coverage for playing a local gig in Folkestone then for the local BBC news it would only be broadcast to the area that encompassed Folkestone
I was at college in Harlow, Essex, in 1976 and watched it in my student digs with my landlord and landlady, who devout churchgoers. They were not amused! :)
It was an exciting time to be young and grateful for a very different kind of music. The Bromley Contingent were so fascinating to observe. People were talking about the Pistols appearance on The Bill Gundy Show in Toronto, Canada. I didn't get to see what exactly happened until The Sex Pistols released a DVD decades later.
hello, i write from Italy...i'm an old 65 years man...many thanks for your videos with the SEX PISTOLS memories and memorabilia...i have also a large collection of SEX PISTOLS records and books...my first punk single who i have bought in 1977 was the italian pressing of "God save the Queen"...i was also in Milano at the absolute cinema prèmiere in Italy of the film "the Great Rock'n'roll swindle"... ciao... Antonio p.s. i have subscrived for the youtube channel...
Thank you Antonio, for watching and subscribing! I love the fact that the Sex Pistols touched so many lives around the world, not just in the English-speaking countries. I bet you will always remember when you put that S.P. single on the turntable for the first time. Thanks again!
Great video, really interesting about Debbie's work as a set designer and heartbreaking what happened to Tracey, the one you didn't know is Sharon Hayman, a very exciting time in history.
Great work on this video. I was surprised there was no mention of Chrissy Hines of The Pretenders. I heard she was always hanging out with the Pistols in the early days.
Yes, I should have put her in. There were several people that hung around the shop and the band that I could have also included. My mistake, though, that I didn't mention her.
Thanks for this. Really interesting stuff. You are so lucky to have been not only in the scene but aware of what was going on. And being able to retell it for all of us today is really refreshing. Feels like I was there too. Although I was hidden away in the countryside of Atlantic Canada at the time. Closest thing we had to Punk Around Here was Stompin Tom Connors
My mum was part of the anarcho-punks, my parents traveled around following Crass in Europe. My Mum was an original member of Conflict, her record is here on UA-cam, its Conflict-I've had enough - My dad wrote the lyrics and my mum sung. My dad was in a less know band called -The Pitiful, on Spotify they have a live set from a pub in south London in 77. Ps Love the channel, when i see my mum on the weekend I'm going to show her this (she's 65 now 😊
00:21...por que es tan difícil conseguir esta presentación en TV? Todas las existentes (de este show) están cortadas. Seria genial encontrar la versión completa algún día. Me encantan tus videos!!! Felicitaciones!!!
I’m 72 the punk scene here never took off till 78/79 .. but I remember seeing the Pistols in 76 on TV on the Thames singing God Save The Queen, I hated the disco garbage. I got a Mohawk hair cut, I mostly had no shirt leather pants & studded belt, tattoos, I guess I looked a bit rough, but punk was all about attitude, I never picked a fight. But it was a very self destructive time in my life, if I knew I was going to live this long I would have taken better care of myself😂 Enjoyed your video, I’m like you I wonder what happened to people, just watched a video on the Slits Johns stepdaughter, who sadly died of cancer.
I always found it funny to see a number of their photo's where Philip Sallon went and gatecrashed the shoot. According to Berlin Bromley, they'd make a point of not inviting him but He had the networking side of things down to a fine art and was the ultimate foot in door merchant. Top bloke!
Oh that's funny! He's very assertive, so I'm not surprised. To me, he's a national treasure. Much like Oscar Wilde, Quintin Crisp and Boy George. I'm so glad he's still around and dressing flamboyantly. Thanks for watching!
Thank you for this video. I didn't know this group of fans had a name. I've seen many of them in photos and videos of the Sex Pistols and of course I always recognized Souixie Souix in the Bill Grundy interview. I agree with you that the interview with BG is very short and the comment that he makes to Souixie is really quick and Steve Jones picks up on this "dirty old man" trying to pick up the young punk girl. I've seen PiL three times and once got to meet John Lydon. I told him it was a great show and that he was one of my heroes and he shook my hand and said, "Oh, thanks. Good on ya!"
Thanks for watching and subscribing. Bill Grundy did come across as sleazy when he made that comment "we'll meet later then." Glad you met Johnny. As controversial as he can be with his political comments, and how rude he can be to some people, I think that he is truly nice when it comes to his fans. I think he loves and appreciates us. Thanks again!
This was wonderful, thank you! The Pistols burned brightly and briefly but all those around them were touched by that flame. Philip Salon was a great influence on the New Romantic scene as you rightly say. Boy George often references Philip in his autobiographies. So envious that you once met him! I’d recommend Steve Jones’ autobiography ‘Lonely Boy’ to anyone interested in the punk scene.
Fascinating and interesting video. I was a couple of years too young when all this happened, not coming out of my shell until late 1979/80 when the British metal bands became prominent. However, I remember seeing photos of these guys back then and thinking Wow!
Hi. I was into Punk in the late 1970s. I can remember getting my hair colored and done in a spiked style. I felt afraid at first sporting this new look. People like Sue Catwoman and the others were very brave dressing punk back then.
Yes they were brave. And you were brave too! It took a lot of guts to dress punk at that time. It's not like today where it's common to have crazy-colored hair. I once went to Disneyland with a friend in 1985 and her hair was dyed bright yellow and they wouldn't let her in. Different times. Thanks for watching!
@WhyNotGoPlaces Disneyland wouldn't let her in ?. Wow !. Did she make a complaint ?. I remember being surrounded by intimidating guys at a bus stop threatening me with violence. I made a run for it. Things are certainly more open nowadays. Thanks for your reply. From Carl.
Enjoyed this video. It made me subscribed. Very well put together. I did not know what happened to the Brombley Contingent until watching this. The photos of them from the 77-78 period were so powerful, just still shots that had a big effect on me when I was younger. I am curious to know more about your personal history about why you went to London during the '77 period and more of your personal stories from that era. I also enjoy your other videos too, like the Dawn of The Dead mall vid etc...
Thanks for watching and subscribing! I really appreciate it. I went to London in August of 1977 because I was on vacation with my mother. This is when I delivered a jacket to Steve Jones from their U.S. rep and I went to Malcolm's office. I explain that time in my Sex Pistols on Tour video. Then I later moved to England from 1978-1980. This is when I met Sid Vicious at his show, and I also saw lots of other bands during that time, like Joy Division. Thanks for being curious about my life. My next video is about The Germs, an L.A. punk band that I saw a few times in 1977 and 1978. Hope you like it.
Thanks for the video - I really enjoyed it. The girl in the peaked cap is Sharon Hayman. She lived in Baston Road, Hayes in Bromley, where the other members of the group used to visit (and Philip Salon, who once turned up in a black leather mini-skirt and green hair in 1975). I know this because I knew her brother between 1981 and 1983 (and am still in one-liner email contact every few years now). He gave me the Anarchy in the U.K. fanzine with the Bromley Contingent on the cover which I still have here in Bangkok now.
Wow, that's great info! Thanks you for that. Phillip Sallon in a mini skirt and green hair must have something in 1975! Even now! Do you have any other info on Sharon? Did she get out of punk early on? Just curious. Glad you kept that fanzine. Thanks for watching! Please subscribe for more.
@@WhyNotGoPlaces I have no idea, unfortunately. The only time I saw her was at the Marquee in 1981. I went with her brother to see Berlin, as in Bertie Marshall, perform. Before he came on, she was dancing to Talking Heads' Once in a Lifetime amongst the small crowd of people waiting for the show to start.
Ahaaaaaaaa
Philip can still be seen out and about in central London. And still dressed as outrageously as ever!
Baston School. Those girls were posh.
Soo Cat Woman was the bomb 💣 I just loved her. Happy to know she is still alive. She had a beautiful face.
She did have a beautiful face. A couple of people here have confirmed that she's a grandmother now. Thanks for watching!
I really appreciated the discussion about Helen feeling liberated by the punk movement, and suggesting that this is associated with the principles of the movement itself, as many people also felt that way. In Steve Jones's book, he mentions the Cloak of Invisibility, which is extensively explored in the "Pistol" miniseries, echoing the theme of liberation allowed by the punk movement.
I really liked Steve's book and the "Cloak of Invisibility" which helped him to steal. Helen's words about punk giving her the freedom and strength to welcome the stares was very inspiring to me. I can't imagine how difficult it must be to have a physical issue that makes people stare at you when you walk out the door. She sounds like a very intelligent woman. Thanks again for watching the video!
Thank you for putting names to all these faces that I would only see in pictures from my far-away vantage point in Western Oregon. These people were so original and creative and I am happy that you could finally introduce me to them and give me a little insight into their lives. The music, the fashion and the artwork were all so incredible back then. Thanks for tracking down the backstory on the people who made it all crackle with electricity.
That's a good way of putting it.. they made it crackle with electricity! Yes, I know I mentioned some big names, but the purpose of the video was to talk about some of the early people that are not household names. But they still made an impact on young people like me. Thanks again for watching!
This is weird...I was just wondering an hour ago what happened to the rest of the Bromley contingent. Besides the ones I already know. How weirdly specific.
I'm from the midlands in England and was at school '76 '77 '78. I got into punk for a bit in 1981 at collage, and read about the Bromley Contingent in books on punk and the Sex Pistols. I though Bromley was in Birmingham in the midlands, a few miles from me, and like 100 miles form London. Years later I'm dog n a degree in physics and go to some Sociology lectures on counter culture and youth sub culture. One is about the rise of punk in London. I interrupt the lecture and say "No! The bands were from London but the movement began in Birmingham! Everybody looked at me and was like "Its ok he's doing physics or something".
I stand corrected! Cheers!
@@harveyyoung3423 it's funny I'm from Boston MA and I had a couple of friends who lived in the Bromley-Heath Housing Projects (council estate?) In Jamaica Plain. I've always thought of them as "The Bromley-Heath Contingent"
What a wonderful time machine your video was! Thank you!!! 🥰 I remember a few of these stories from older teens than I knew during my musical formative years!
❤️🪩❤️☠️❤️
Lived all my life in Bromley and loved punk during this era bumped into them all back in the day at Bonaparte records in market square Bromley spent all day Saturdays listening to 45s being played in the shop bought two singles every week for years gutted I sold my collection in the 90s I’m no 60 and still go to gigs Punk rules
That's so great! I don't think I've ever been to Bromley. I bet it's very pretty. Thanks for watching and subscribing for more.
Chris how are you 👍
This just warmed the heart of an old punk. Thanks so much for putting it together. I'm looking forward to watching your other videos.
Thank you for subscribing!
That was excellent a well researched video. I’m originally from North London but have lived in Bromley for about 6 years now.
I remember those days very well especially the Bill Grundy interview it was actually on my twelfth birthday. I watched it with my older brother who was a punk rocker at the time he was born in ‘58 so probably similar to yourself. It was a funny thing to watch, it was an evening show called Today from 6 to 6.30 a current affairs programme. Apparently it was meant to be Queen booked in but were unavailable so EMI sent The Pistols instead. The outrage the next day all over the papers was incredible and catapulted the Pistols in public enemy number one.
Sadly there are no heritage ‘blue plaques’ to commemorate this in musical history. Siouxsie was from Chiselhurst a very posh exclusive part of Kent the next town along from Bromley. Very famous for its caves where a number of gigs were held inside including Jimi Hendrix and The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Bowie.
Billy Idol was originally from Stanmore again a rather nice place just outside North London.
I’ve been a London Black Cab driver for over 25 years and had the pleasure of picking up Steve Severin once had a really interesting chat with him.
As a side note when they refer to David Bowie living in Bromley I live almost opposite his parents old house it a modest three bedroom terraced house commemorated with a blue plaque. He attended Bromley college at the time with his friend Peter Frampton. Thanks again for the video. Sounds like you yourself have had an interesting life being in London during those heady punk days. Being around during this time even as a young kid myself it’s something* that never leaves you.
Thanks for all that interesting info. How great that you're a Black Cab driver. The first time I was ever in one, I thought it was like a limo! Regarding Bowie, I thought he was from Brixton. One of the first times I went to London, I went to Brixton to find the terraced house. Maybe his parents lived a couple of places. It makes sense that he lived in Bromley though, since he went to school there with Peter Frampton. Thanks for watching! Please subscribe for more.
@@WhyNotGoPlaces he lived in Brixton from a very early age but he and his family moved to Bromley. When Bowie left his parents home in Bromley he moved to Beckenham just the next town along still in Kent.
I am loving your videos! I’m so fascinated with punk rock and the whole punk scene. Unfortunately, I was born in 1975 so I missed out. Bummer! Anyway, I absolutely love your stories. I look forward to hearing more! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for watching!
Just want to thank you very much for this!!! I’ve always followed this movement and bought the books, movies and researched articles and what not through various interviews etc. Most of it was physical media so i’ve spent a lot of time flipping pages and touching the pictures or hitting play on a vcr/dvd player. I have wondered for a very long time what ever happened to these people and you covered it extremely well and included more then I expected. It’s such a shame all the lives cancer took and I guess that’s just how it is for everyone. Shame about Jordan really. I truly hope Helen is happy wherever she may be in her life. I could only imagine the stories you could tell. It’s great you’re sharing them : )
Thanks for watching!
Hey - so great, what memories - Thanks for sharing ❤️ … Take care and I stay in line for more storys 🍀 Greetings from Austria
Thanks for watching!
You should frame that photo , and Jonesy was quite the ladies man from what I heard always liked Jonesy 😊 he was an underrated guitarist and his riffs were definitely a Pistols trademark ™️ excellent 👍🏼👍🏼 ❤❤❤ Great video 👏🏼👏🏼😊
Thanks for watching and subscribing. Yes, he was, and probably still is, a ladies man. Thanks for the compliment. This video was a labor of love for me.
when he's skint,he still picks up work from ennio morricone!more underated by fans than fellow musicians.
those were the days im 66 now still going to punk gigs still got my mohawk
Great!
Bless you getting chocked up reminiscing 💙 another great video! I love your channel and listening to the way you deliver your stories 😀
Thank you so much for the compliment! Yes, the tears come easily when I go back to that time in my life.:)
@@WhyNotGoPlaces they sure sound like great times!
This was fun to watch-makes me miss the punk years ❤Thanks and keep these videos going! BTW I’m in St Louis and seeing Adam Ant tomorrow night 💪 🏴☠️!!!
Enjoy the show! Thanks again for watching!
I was at school in Bromley at this time. Didn’t get it at the time, but classmates like Ian Stone, Mark George, “Rochester” (shut up Rochester) did. There was a kid called Williams, a year or two older than us that was in some of the early footage of the Pistols/Banshees.
Opposite Bromley South train station, there was an escalator down to a basement café frequented by Siouxie et al.
Fascinating! Thanks for watching.
There was an interview with Soo a few years ago. She was speaking out against The Great Rock N Roll Swindle. As Malcom had the girl in the film have her hair cut and dyed exactly like Soo, so people thought it was her. Jordan definitely wasn't part of the Bromley Contingent as she was from Seaford near Brighton and would commute up to London every day to open Sex.
And from what I’ve read she got a lot of strange looks from the regular people on the commute! LOL
Its odd watching punk videos that portray punk as a past fad but im one of those old sods from the 70s that is still going to see bands, and there is some really good ones out there playing ''punk' in many different styles. The UK is still home to some great bands
Yes, it is the land for great bands that's for sure. I saw many great bands in the 90's when I lived there again. Thanks for watching. Please subscribe for more.
Thank you so much for this information, I was a young girl punk in the mid 80’s , and the Sex Pistols were one of our favorite bands , Punk gave us social misfits a tribe , a place to belong ❤
That's a great way of putting it. Thanks for watching!
The pistols had split up by late 1978 !!
@@WhyNotGoPlaces Did you work at the London Astoria during the Crazy Club rave period of 1991?
Nothing 80s
@@des9772point ?
Im class of 78 from yorkshire n missed all this, but i seen the pictures and hurd the music whrn i was a kid, but these people made me lol... still punk rock at 57. really enjoyed this vid . Thanx for the memories and putting life to the faces :) x
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching.
Another great video! I hope you keep making punk/Pistols videos because it's really interesting to hear from sombody who was there, without an agenda. You come across as very genuine, nothing to sell, nothing to prove, just sharing thoughts and memories. I'm from the UK and i live just a stone's throw from London, but i'm just a little bit too young to have seen the Pistols first time round. I could have gone to the reunion in Finsbury Park in 96 but sometimes life gets in the way oh well. You mentioned you were living in London at the time, did you go? If so that would surely mean another video for us 😀
Yes, I did go see the Pistols in Finsbury Park in 1996. I believe Iggy opened for them. It was a great show but I'm not sure I have much to add to the history of that event. I remember it was outside and they were very far away, at least from where I was standing. It was great to hear the songs again though. Thanks again for watching!
I idolized Siouxsie in my youth -- hell, I still do. Thanks for this. I had always wondered who the other members were. One thing, you didn't mention is that Jordan was one of the main characters, Amyl Nitrate, in the1978 movie “Jubilee”.
I used to idolize her too! She's so original. I remember Jordan being in that movie. I kind of cut it short when talking about her and Adam Ant etc, rightly or wrongly, because I figured most people know about them. I tried to concentrate on the unknown names. Thanks again for watching!
As an art student in 1977 I remember some of these faces from the Greyhound in Croydon, the nearest venue to Bromley and home venue for the Damned (Captain Sensible lived in Edith Rd, South Norwood). Never heard of the Bromley Contingent though, I suppose it was a media term.
David Bowie was brought up in Bromley too, a town so dull all that was left was creative rebellion.
I remember hearing about the Greyhound venue. I never went there. Thanks for the info. and thanks for watching! Please subscribe for more.
The book "Berlin Bromley" by member of them Bertie Marshall, tells the story and it's easy to read.
@@WhyNotGoPlacesdavid bowie grew up in brixton not bromley there even a mural in brixton on wall of house ,after watch the film that come out last year showing his childhood an rise to stardom it was just after the world war 2 it was grim depressing place an jobs were shite , i what i gather about bromley in 77 it was posh middle upper class area brixton in the 1980 was like the uk of the bronx in new york in 70 , it was hell hole full crime drugs prostuation squats abandoned building an if ya you was white it could be very intimating i first went to concert in brixton in 1987 i was 19 i thought cross between the bronz an mad max, itaint to bad went back in 2016 first time since 1999 looked a totally different place lot money spent on it
I loved going to gigs at The Greyhound. I remember jumping on the Green Line bus and travelling up from Guildford to watch brilliant acts like The Adverts, X-Ray Spex, XTC and many more. Happy days!
@@WhyNotGoPlaces david Bowie didn’t come from Bromley he did go to Bromley art college though he actually lived in beckenham which was a little town a couple of miles from Bromley and use to drink in the same pub as my uncle which was the 3 runs on the high street in beckenham and even think 🤔 he performed in there in his early days? Great video though even though I grew up liking the clash and the jam 😂👍
Love the video and your commentary about the Sex Pistols fans - The Bromley Contingent
I lived through this great punk period in the 70s and was a Pistol fan and then a Siouxsie and the banshees fan too living in England 🏴 Good luck to you and I look forward to seeing more videos
Thanks for watching and subscribing! I really appreciate it.
loving what you do ive been a punk since 1976 and always will be best times of my life its like a religion
Thank you! I appreciate you watching my video. It was the best of times.
I would love a Pamela Rooke/Jordan Mooney special since in two days it will be two years since she passed away and it would be special
Thank you so much for explaining and giving names to some of these people that I’ve seen so many times in sex pistol clips and pictures.
I always wondered who they all were.
Thanks for watching! Please subscribe for more.
Really enjoyed this video 😁😁👍👍 it's great to get an update of the Bromley Contingent 👌 I had the Sex Pistols file back in the day and loved to see photos from the squats 🤩 very sad to hear of Debbie Juvenile's passing! 😞 it's great to hear a first hand account from someone who was right in the moddle of that scene 👍 thanks for sharing some of your incredible artifacts 😁😁👍👍
Thanks for watching! Please subscribe for more. Well, I was way over in Southern California, but I sure loved the band and was always fascinated by their fans and the people around them.
Great video. I missed the fruition of Punk by about 4 years, but the whole scene made a huge impact on my attitude to life. Let's say without it, I would probably be a very different person. Thanks for the upload. I think the other girl in the photograph was called Sharon Hayman. Cheers from a miserable grey rainy South Wales.
Thanks again for watching! Yes, someone else said the same thing. That her name was Sharon Hayman. I never knew that. Thanks again from a too-hot and sunny Florida. :)
So happy to find your channel. So great, going back to my early teens, and what an Amazing time it was back then! Thanks so much, very cool stuff.......
Thank you for continuing to watch my videos! I really appreciate it. It was an amazing time. I didn't know how monumental it all was until many years later.
Cool video. How lucky you were to be part of that. Thanks for researching the lives of these iconic punks!
My pleasure!
Its good to see this, being from that time and generation in north london. So amazing to see how this has all passed into history and the stories (and myths) that have arisen over the years. Like you, I have a few old fragments long kept from back then. We were just kids doing our thing - the time was right. Another John
Thank you John! Please subscribe for more. I wish I had kept more fragments from that time. If I could give advice to a younger person today, I would say don't throw anything out if you can help it. You never know what sentimental, or real, value it might have in the future. Thanks again for watching!
I remember when punk hit the nightly news in New York City. I was 10 in 1977 and a huge KISS fan, but The Pistols looked so cool and I started seeing people dressed that way in The Village. I especially liked it because the newscasters made such a big deal over how the punks acted and that made my parents angry. LOL My punk phase really started in 1981 when Hardcore became an underground movement in the US, but that's a different scene & story. Thank you for the video!
Thanks for watching the video! I remember that era too, when people like Phil Donahue would have punks on the show to supposedly outrage people.
Enjoyed the video very much and thank you for your time and effort not forgetting the work and research, it took me back a very long way so many different memories I was in London in 77 locked up in borstal there , being from Manchester and my first time away with such a long distance it was hard at first , I remember new prisoners coming in every week with crazy hair styles from different parts of the country mainly London , I remember doing a runner and living in some girls flat in soho for two days crazy times , strange how musical tastes changed so quickly I was in to Roxy music and northern soul before the punk thing started I’m 67 this year and I’m into every kind of music there is going I have collected rare 45s for many years , I found myself reliving those years for a short time watching the clip
Glad I could bring back some memories. thanks for watching!
Your second bedroom looks very organized, congratulations! I can see Steve Jones's book in the background, as well as the cover of Johnny Rotten's book, among others. 1:17
Wow…Debbie won a award for little dorrit…my all time favorite mini series.
Thank you
Since she lived in England, I didn't recall that show. Yes, it sounds like she had a very interesting life. So sad that cancer took her when she was only about 50. Thanks for watching!
I only re-watched it about a fortnight ago. Fantastic series. One of the better Dickens adaptations. And of course the sets are brilliant.
I really enjoyed the video. It's very interesting, with information that shows excellent research. I'd like to add a note: Jordan passed away in April 2022, just weeks before the premiere of the Pistols series. In episode 2, they pay tribute to her at the end. You probably already know.
Yes I do remember that when I watched the series. Thanks for your kind words!
A friend of mine was Jordan’s Partner and she regularly attended gigs in Brighton up to her death so saw and spoke to her frequently, she was in fact an advisor on the Pistol production mainly of course to Maisie Williams who played her. very tragic she never got to see it broadcast.
Absolutely loved this - thanks so much for creating such a great insight
Thank you! If you haven't already, please subscribe for more.
This is about authentic punk rock as it gets in my humble opinion. Thx for posting! Great footage n commentary
Thank you so much!
when myspace was a thing I put up some of my songs and i had a response from Jordan...it was something like 'I was known as Jordan on the punk scene years ago' that was about 2008
Interesting! Thanks again for watching.
Interesting to see these pictures. Went to a school in Chelsea during the height of Punk. However I was only 13, looked about 10, so had no chance of going to concerts, hardly anybody in the school liked the music, so felt part of it yet to young to be in it. And it had moved on when I was old enough. It was such an exciting time.
Thanks for watching the video! Yes, it was an exciting time.
I was a US punk in those days but , I thought Debbie was absolutely adorable and cut out every picture i could find of her.
She was very cute. Thanks for watching my videos, Steve!
@WhyNotGoPlaces I watch anything about the old punk scene. I've caught myself in a couple of films from the US. Never the less Debbie was adorable and I was very sad to here of her passing.
I remember some of the bromley contingent coming to Stafford venue top of the world when generation X billy idol played there September 1977 many punk bands played there except the ones that were banned ie the clash .love your videos and I’m reliving my youth aged 16/17 watching them
Great! I'm reliving my memories too! Thanks for watching.
I and a couple of mates had the pleasure of meeting Helen on the tube in London 1980, she was on her way to the US via Heathrow airport. We had a great little chat before we had to change tube. She was lovely. 😎
Great story! I bet she was very charming.
She seemed pretty down to earth in jeans and a t shirt, with her well dressed manager. We talked new music, she knew all the latest alternative bands in the UK. She probably knew some of them personally. She was very confident was the over-all feeling I got, ready to take on whatever came next.
Helen used to hang out in the Hilmarton Rd cafe & Castle pub between Cally & Camden Roads, N7 Holloway. she was always friendly & chatted to everyone. I assumed she lived local. Johnny Lydon went school Cally Rd, lived in Holloway & Finsbury Park.
Wow what a fantastic video. Amazing photos. Thanks
Thank you! It was a labor of love. I remember that era well and I was always fascinated by the Bromley Contingent.
I'm glad 'Steve Spunker' came up with a better stage name. 😀
I always found punk girls quite sexy but I was always scared of them just incase they bit me.
They were completely different almost looked aggressive and miserable.That was the thing at the time I guess. Hey love your post it’s very sad that some of the girls are no longer with us.
I was the Bass Player in the Daleks and we done a gig at the Caterham community centre! Lots of Bromley Punks came over it was a really good memorable night.1979 3 years after it all kicked off.The boat had long left the harbour and we were very much too late for the party but it was fun trying to jump on the punk wagon.
Keep your posts going you are as cool as hell ! Go girl go xx
I love the name of your band! I like Dr. Who too. Thanks for the compliment!
Interesting historical research.
Thank you! It was a labor of love.
Really enjoyed your story. 😊
I still go to punk gigs.. punk played a fantastic part in my life after being bullied. And a not nice upbringing. I found the punk scene the music something to believe in.. met some fantastic people in the scene. I loved my visits to seditionaries. For years I tried to get to chat to Jordan. She just glared at me.
Thanks for watching! I never met Jordan. She did seem very intimidating. I loved Seditionaries. Punk is still fantastic. It's been 50 years since The Ramones first played CBGBs and started to change music around the world. I just listened to Marky Ramone talk about it on his radio show. Thanks again!
Cool Video! I remember reading about the Sex Pistols and all the ruckus they were causing. But, didn't really discover their music until later. American radio suppressed them. The style of the BC and pink had a big influence on pop culture. It wasn't many years later when spiked hair and other fashions were common.
What I love is that you were present during a significant moment in Transatlantic cultural history. I'm envious! Hope you don't mind, but I think I'm roughly 10 years your junior. I remember the names 'The Sex Pistols', 'Sid Vicious', 'The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle', but they were never on the TV or radio here in the UK. As a 7/8 year old I had nothing to attach such things to. And by the time I hit my teens (in 1983) all that stuff was in the past and all but forgotten (unbelievably!). Then in 1986 Channel 4 here in the UK broadcast an evening of programming dedicated to Punk. I recall watching the various shows and thinking 'wow ... this was all happening ten years ago; why is music so rubbish now?' I fell in love with The Sex Pistols and the whole story 10 years too late!
Thanks for watching and the kind words! It's never too late to fall in love with the Sex Pistols.:) Thanks again.
Was only a little guy in "76, more of a Wombles fan than the Sex Pistols. Was old enough to catch the Post Punk thing though, saw the Banshees in their prime. I'm glad they stuck with it their legacy is huge, along with Bob Smith they were complete workaholics and they deserve all the recognition they received.
I agree! And she's still going strong and performing. Thanks for watching.
thank you for your personal experience as a fan. it is the small story's of peoples interactions that really flesh out the true legacy of the punk timeframe.
My pleasure!
@@WhyNotGoPlaces I also sub'ed to your channel 🙂
This was a fun and great update about the Bromleys. I was surprised and happy to se my edit of the Bill Grundy interview from my John Lydon account. UA-cam did not allow me to us the full music video but I was able to fly in more of the outro of the program.
Thanks for the updates.
I like your channel! Thanks for that edit. I didn't want to put in any live music either. Thanks for watching my channel! Are you going to see Lydon on any of his talking tour dates in May and June, if you live near an event?
@@WhyNotGoPlaces That would be sweet.
Great stuff, many thanks ..I wondered what happened to Simone. I had a picture of her with Siouxsie taken in 1976 outside a gig and they both looked stunning with the early punk look. Steve Jones was the Pistol I was facinated with, funnily enough he is the only one I havent met yet. I have managed to see the Pistols 1996 reunion twice so I have seen him live playing those songs. What an era for music and fashion.
Yes Simone and Siouxsie were certainly very stunning young women. I saw that 1996 reunion tour too. In Finsbury Park. It was so great to hear those songs again. Thanks for watching!
Very interesting. Just subscribed. I live a few hundred yards from the former cinema in Caerphilly South Wales where the Anarchy Tour called into.. I was outside the gig (only 12 years of age so too young to get in). Sex Pistols are my favourite band and I went on to join a band. Great times.
I guess that gig didn't get cancelled. Thanks for sharing! I love the fact that they played a lot in 1976. Malcolm kept them busy. Thanks for the sub!
I forgot to ask, what band did you join?
The gig did go ahead, its featured in the Great RocknRoll Swindle film. I can send you a photo of the old cinema site as it is today. Its an estate agents. I Sang in a few local punk bands from 1980. Great times.
Brilliant photos and story excellent research and your right Debbie was very cute RIP :( i always wondered what happened to her
Thanks for watching! I only learned a couple of months ago that she died. That darn cancer.:( Thanks again for watching!
Thank you! Highly appreciated.
I know those faces for so many years among my numerous books, documentaries, etc...) It's a fascinating hommage to the Bromley Contingent (now we can put a name and a bit of story about 'em). Thank you so much for you work and memories
Thanks for watching and subscribing! I wanted to put names to the faces. They were part of it and added to the experience. Thanks again!
That was so interesting - thanks! Such different people and personalities, but I guess you could say the same about punk bands in general. :o)
Great memories.
Thank you so much for all these memories... brilliant times long missed... I was a very young UK Punk Rocker, think I was 7 or 8 when I got into it all...
25.12.1973: Steve Priest from Sweet used a swastica on top of the pops ("Blockbuster") . Here we can find it again behind the Sex Pistols.The Swastica symbol is forbidden in Germany ( exeption: I saw some of them in an indian restaurant years ago). I love punkrock since 1977 and played in my own punkbands. Thank you for your interesting video.
Thanks for the info and thanks for watching! Please subscribe for more.
Fantastic stories 😃 especially as you were there at the time! I always thought Helen was great! So different and unexpected. I met Jordan on her book signing tour, lovely lady! I believe Severin lives in Edinburgh now and is an visual art director 😀 great video.
Thank you for watching! Yes, someone else mentioned that he lives in Scotland. Good to know. Thanks again!
Wow, I'm actually surprised... I didn't know that. I live in Bromley now, Im still a big fan of punk and brit post-punk bands and I love that eventually some places I choose to live or work naturally have some connections with that. I remember renting an art studio in London Fields in Beck road and I just found out it was in the same street that Throbbing Gristle had a rehearsal studio❤. I really appreciate ur videos!
Thank you so much! I have a Sex Pistols playlist now. I have never been to Bromley, but I'm sure it's very nice. I've been to Chislehurst, I think that's close by. I love London and the surrounding areas. I still miss it.
Really enjoying these videos. Brings back so many memories. Didn’t know Debbie had died. The fans stories are as great as the bands. Love to know what they got upto after punk. Was good friends with paul fox from the ruts in the early 80s. Lost touch with him in the 90s.
I lived a few hundred yards from the Astoria in 98. Such a shame it’s gone.
Thanks for watching my videos! I really appreciate it. Wow, you really lived in central London if you were close to the Astoria. Yes, I bet that whole block looks different now. I still correspond with a friend I knew from that job and she tells me it looks very different around Tottenham Court Road tube now.
@@WhyNotGoPlaces yes was right next to Shaftesbury avenue. Left London at the end of 98 and now in Devon. Loved that area around the Astoria,soho and Covent Garden
superb thank you, i always wanted to know more about these people.well done indeed
Thank you! I tried my best. I was always fascinated by them too.
This was special. Thank you.
Thanks for watching!
Great video! Thank you for sharing 🎉🎉
Thanks for watching!
Great video . I have seen these photos for years but didnt know who they were exept for souxsie but now i have names for faces 😊 good to be curious. Thankyou
Glad you enjoyed it!
Amazed to hear you worked in the Astoria in the 90s! That was a great story about you asking Phil Sallon if he was on the guest list lol. :-)
I saw the Damned in the Astoria in May 1994, perhaps you were at the door that evening?
Also... changed days, with glitterbest entrusting a fan to deliver important documents to the Sex Pistols U.S office. But to be honest, you seem quite trust worthy and they had already trusted you with Steve's leather jacket. That jacket is more likely to have potentially gone awol :-)
Quick question: Did you ever visit the Roxy, in Covent Garden? Its now a clothes shop. It would be great to hear your stories about the famous Roxy!!
Great job with producing these videos 👍👍
Thank you so much for the compliment! Every time I do a video and look at it later, all I see is what could have been better. But that's me I guess.:)
I was definitely working there at the time, but I was mostly downstairs at London Astoria 2(or Busby's). Same management so sometimes I was at the bigger venue, but mostly I was downstairs. The bigger acts like the Damned would have been upstairs. Sometimes if there was a big show upstairs and I wasn't too busy, I would run up and catch a few songs. I don't remember seeing the Damned there so I don't think I caught them. Wish I had. :(
I'm from California, so I didn't go to the Roxy or the 100 Club. I did live in London from 1978-1980, but I didn't go to the Roxy if it was still going then.
Thanks again for watching!
I used to take my dog to get treated at the vets where Pamela worked a lovely lady . I all so see Charlie Harper from the UK subs walking around .for a little seaside town we have quite a punk heritage in seaford 😁
Thank you for the info! I forgot that she lived in Seaford. I knew she lived on the coast. How wonderful that you saw her at the vet's office. And Charlie Harper is a legend too.
I bet Seaford is a very pretty town. I miss England. Thanks for watching! If you haven't yet, please subscribe for more.
A fabulous look back at a group of people slightly older than my friends and I buy undoubtedly a huge influence on our outlook on life in a boring provincial village x
Thanks for watching! Please subscribe for more.
Thank you for this, always read about the Bromley Contingent, I knew what happened to some of them, but not all of them.
Thanks for watching!
The Bill Grundy interview was only shown locally in London area, but I remember all the newspapers the next morning on the front cover of all of them, it was the talk of the school. I also used to get my mum to go into punk shops but she loved it.
Oh I thought it was shown all over England. That's interesting. Thanks for watching!
@@WhyNotGoPlaces ….no , it was definitely a London only regional thing. I only got to see it when they included it in the Swindle film.
Many of the early “punk” performances that you see on UA-cam now were only shown to a small audience within that regions broadcasting scope …….in 77 we had only 3 channels , BBC1 , BBC2 and ITV (independent television) , even the BBC who broadcast nationally would often just broadcast locally for the local regional news where the local producers could put out whatever was of intrest to that immediate area ……
So if an up and coming local band who no one had heard of yet , let’s say for example The Jam , got a little coverage for playing a local gig in Folkestone then for the local BBC news it would only be broadcast to the area that encompassed Folkestone
I was at college in Harlow, Essex, in 1976 and watched it in my student digs with my landlord and landlady, who devout churchgoers. They were not amused! :)
What a cool video! Thanks for synthesizing all of this information.
Glad you liked it! Thanks for watching and subscribing.
Great review of the best time in music and the people who made it all worthwhile.
Thank you! Please subscribe for more.
It was an exciting time to be young and grateful for a very different kind of music. The Bromley Contingent were so fascinating to observe. People were talking about the Pistols appearance on The Bill Gundy Show in Toronto, Canada. I didn't get to see what exactly happened until The Sex Pistols released a DVD decades later.
Me too. I didn't get to see the interview until years later. Such a different time. Thanks for watching!
hello, i write from Italy...i'm an old 65 years man...many thanks for your videos with the SEX PISTOLS memories and memorabilia...i have also a large collection of SEX PISTOLS records and books...my first punk single who i have bought in 1977 was the italian pressing of "God save the Queen"...i was also in Milano at the absolute cinema prèmiere in Italy of the film "the Great Rock'n'roll swindle"... ciao... Antonio p.s. i have subscrived for the youtube channel...
Thank you Antonio, for watching and subscribing! I love the fact that the Sex Pistols touched so many lives around the world, not just in the English-speaking countries. I bet you will always remember when you put that S.P. single on the turntable for the first time. Thanks again!
Great video, really interesting about Debbie's work as a set designer and heartbreaking what happened to Tracey, the one you didn't know is Sharon Hayman, a very exciting time in history.
Glad you enjoyed it! Please subscribe for more. Yes a couple of people have told me her name. I wonder what happened to her. Thanks for watching!
Loved this video. Great work. Just came across this video and your channel. A follower I've become from now onwards :)
Thanks and welcome! if you love the Sex Pistols, you should check out my Sex Pistols on Tour video first.
@@WhyNotGoPlaces Already and thoroughly watched. Amazing memories
Great detail, have looked into this in much greater detail because of this video. Am going to read Savages book again
Thanks for watching! I never read England's Dreaming. I should order it.
Great work on this video. I was surprised there was no mention of Chrissy Hines of The Pretenders. I heard she was always hanging out with the Pistols in the early days.
Yes, I should have put her in. There were several people that hung around the shop and the band that I could have also included. My mistake, though, that I didn't mention her.
Thanks for this. Really interesting stuff. You are so lucky to have been not only in the scene but aware of what was going on. And being able to retell it for all of us today is really refreshing. Feels like I was there too. Although I was hidden away in the countryside of Atlantic Canada at the time. Closest thing we had to Punk Around Here was Stompin Tom Connors
Glad you enjoyed it! I appreciate it.:)
Brilliant. Need more of this. Such great memories and good archive material.
Thanks for watching! Please subscribe for more.
Really like the “what happened to them” detective angle. 🕵🏻♀️. Hi from the UK 🙋🏻♀️x
Thanks for watching! Please subscribe for more.
@@WhyNotGoPlaces I already did, 😎x
My mum was part of the anarcho-punks, my parents traveled around following Crass in Europe.
My Mum was an original member of Conflict, her record is here on UA-cam, its Conflict-I've had enough -
My dad wrote the lyrics and my mum sung.
My dad was in a less know band called -The Pitiful, on Spotify they have a live set from a pub in south London in 77.
Ps
Love the channel, when i see my mum on the weekend I'm going to show her this (she's 65 now 😊
Such interesting parents! Thanks for watching and subscribing. Your mom is my age. :)
Thank you so much for a lovely and insightful look back to those days when it all began. Best wishes from Dundee, Scotland 😃
Glad you enjoyed it!
You’re such a good presenter, warm and enthusiastic.
Thank you so much!
00:21...por que es tan difícil conseguir esta presentación en TV? Todas las existentes (de este show) están cortadas. Seria genial encontrar la versión completa algún día. Me encantan tus videos!!! Felicitaciones!!!
Thanks or watching the video!
I’m 72 the punk scene here never took off till 78/79 .. but I remember seeing the Pistols in 76 on TV on the Thames singing God Save The Queen, I hated the disco garbage. I got a Mohawk hair cut, I mostly had no shirt leather pants & studded belt, tattoos, I guess I looked a bit rough, but punk was all about attitude, I never picked a fight. But it was a very self destructive time in my life, if I knew I was going to live this long I would have taken better care of myself😂 Enjoyed your video, I’m like you I wonder what happened to people, just watched a video on the Slits Johns stepdaughter, who sadly died of cancer.
Thanks for watching! I watched that video of Ari Up as well. So sad.
I always found it funny to see a number of their photo's where Philip Sallon went and gatecrashed the shoot. According to Berlin Bromley, they'd make a point of not inviting him but He had the networking side of things down to a fine art and was the ultimate foot in door merchant. Top bloke!
Oh that's funny! He's very assertive, so I'm not surprised. To me, he's a national treasure. Much like Oscar Wilde, Quintin Crisp and Boy George. I'm so glad he's still around and dressing flamboyantly. Thanks for watching!
Thank you for this video. I didn't know this group of fans had a name. I've seen many of them in photos and videos of the Sex Pistols and of course I always recognized Souixie Souix in the Bill Grundy interview. I agree with you that the interview with BG is very short and the comment that he makes to Souixie is really quick and Steve Jones picks up on this "dirty old man" trying to pick up the young punk girl. I've seen PiL three times and once got to meet John Lydon. I told him it was a great show and that he was one of my heroes and he shook my hand and said, "Oh, thanks. Good on ya!"
Thanks for watching and subscribing. Bill Grundy did come across as sleazy when he made that comment "we'll meet later then." Glad you met Johnny. As controversial as he can be with his political comments, and how rude he can be to some people, I think that he is truly nice when it comes to his fans. I think he loves and appreciates us. Thanks again!
Thank you for such an informative video, from someone who was present at the time.
Thanks for watching!
This was wonderful, thank you! The Pistols burned brightly and briefly but all those around them were touched by that flame. Philip Salon was a great influence on the New Romantic scene as you rightly say. Boy George often references Philip in his autobiographies. So envious that you once met him! I’d recommend Steve Jones’ autobiography ‘Lonely Boy’ to anyone interested in the punk scene.
I loved the book Lonely Boy too. Thanks for watching!
Takes me back great times well done xxxxxx
Thanks you! I loved the BC when I was young. I wanted to look as cute as Debbie Juvenile or as cool as Siouxsie.
Fascinating and interesting video. I was a couple of years too young when all this happened, not coming out of my shell until late 1979/80 when the British metal bands became prominent. However, I remember seeing photos of these guys back then and thinking Wow!
Yes they were so great looking, weren't they! thanks for watching.
Jordans book - Defying Gravity is a great read.
Oh I didn't know she had a book. I'll have to read it. Thanks for watching! Please subscribe for more.
It IS ! She was a lovely person.
Yes it IS. She was a lovely person. I'm so glad she published her memoires before it was too late.
If only Soo would do one too.
Hi. I was into Punk in the late 1970s. I can remember getting my hair colored and done in a spiked style. I felt afraid at first sporting this new look. People like Sue Catwoman and the others were very brave dressing punk back then.
Yes they were brave. And you were brave too! It took a lot of guts to dress punk at that time. It's not like today where it's common to have crazy-colored hair. I once went to Disneyland with a friend in 1985 and her hair was dyed bright yellow and they wouldn't let her in. Different times. Thanks for watching!
@WhyNotGoPlaces Disneyland wouldn't let her in ?. Wow !. Did she make a complaint ?. I remember being surrounded by intimidating guys at a bus stop threatening me with violence. I made a run for it. Things are certainly more open nowadays. Thanks for your reply. From Carl.