Gaz, as you can probably guess, was back down South this weekend, and so were Si Briggs and his lovely wife Paula who were using the fact that Middlesbrough were playing Southampton as an excuse to pay us a visit. Along with Sarah and Becca we all took in the game; all but two of us left the game happy, but being the perfect hosts we didn’t once gloat.
On our way back we had to cut through John Lewis to get back to the car park. As we passed through I noticed what I thought was the first Specials album sleeve on a display; a closer look showed I hadn’t been mistaken it was that album cover, in their wall hanging section. Amongst the framed pictures and wall clocks they had a display of frames that you can display your favourite album sleeves in.
Not only did they have that Specials sleeve on the wall, but also albums by Radiohead, Velvet Underground and Sex Pistols amongst others. John Lewis had Never Mind The Bollocks hung up on their wall! How times change eh? Back in 1977 a shop owner was prosecuted for displaying the very same LP sleeve.
As well as selling these frames, they were selling the records they had on display and both Gaz and me couldn’t resist flicking through them; sadly there isn’t another shop in Southampton city centre where you can do this these days. I couldn’t help but pick up the Sex Pistols cover, it’s such an iconic sleeve and holds a special place in my heart; I can still remember buying it for the first time.
(I can feel a bit of nostalgia coming on)
Although I first heard the Pistols in 1977, I didn’t start buying records until 1978, so it was probably 1979 when I first got my hands on a copy of their album. As a proper band the Pistols were done by then, but that didn’t matter to me, this was like the holy grail. I had heard it, my cousin had tapped it for me, but that cassette was wearing very thin and I just had to have vinyl. I remember standing in the bus station with my mum and sister after having seen the record in Subway Records, it was something like £2.99 and I wanted to borrow some money and had to ask my mum, the conversation went something like this...
Mum, “What record do you want?”
Me, “It’s a Sex Pistols album.”
Mum, “Which one?”
Me, “Er…It’s called Never Mind.”
Now, for a couple of years the Sex Pistols were all over the newspapers, and my parents used to get the Daily Mirror delivered, and it was there I had first heard of this shocking group, and by 1979 my love for punk rock in general, and the Pistols in particular was well known, so I knew my mum was aware of them, and all the controversy surrounding them, and was probably well aware of what the album was really called.
Even now I wince when I happen to swear in front of my mum, so then as an 12/13 year old I would never have dared, and I’m pretty sure my mum was making me squirm and sweat a bit before lending me the money. But in the end she did, and I rushed in to buy it.
I could hardly believe that I now owned this album, and over the next few years I played it to death. So much so that I eventually had to buy a second copy; in all I think I have bought, or acquired two copies on vinyl, and three copies on CD, including the American release.
So now, at the age of 45 I was standing in John Lewis of all places, with my wife, daughter and three friends, staring at this cover I knew so well and feeling excited. You see it was the 30th Anniversary version, with a 7”, poster and CD version included. When this came out, 4 years ago, I didn’t get round to picking it up, I always meant to but never did. Gaz was just as excited by this record and as it’s his birthday soon Sarah and me decided to buy it for him, so off Sarah went to the till. She came back with two copies, one of them for me. You can’t imagine just how thrilled I was; it didn’t matter just how many times over the years I’ve played those songs, I was like that little kid again stood in the bus station.
I guess to a lot of people now the Sex Pistols don’t mean much, but I was lucky that I was at the right age to be really hit by what they were doing, musically. It may not seem like it today, but “Pretty Vacant”, the first punk song I ever heard, was the hardest hitting song I’d ever heard, it truly left me gobsmacked and kicked open the doors to a world of punk rock that has shaped my life for the last 35 years.
(sorry, I’m back in the now, er, now)
I have been checking out some new stuff on the internet and writing myself a shopping list for when I have some spare cash, and reacquainting myself with old bands like Betercore, Black Market Baby and The Vaselines. One band I have just discovered are Extinct who are probably the first hardcore band from Luxembourg I’ve ever heard. I have also been listening to bands from Spain, Sweden, Germany and Brazil.
Oh, and like everyone else I have become a fan of Terrible Feelings, and I’m gutted I missed their Brighton gig a couple of weeks ago.
The new issue of Suspect Device, SD53, will be out very soon.
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