Monday 28 May 2018

Anniversary snapshots: 28th May 1978


On May 28th 1978 Adam & the Ants were booked to play at my local venue.  I was barely able to contain my excitement when I heard.  It was only five months since I’d been to my first gig, when Siouxsie & the Banshees had played at the same place.  Five months is a long time when you’re 14 and in that interim the venue had become my regular haunt, usually twice a week (depending on the demands of homework).  My three friends and I always went together to watch bands, drink cider and mingle with fellow punk fans.

We felt at home there in a way we rarely did anywhere else; we were all outsiders together.  Mostly punks, a few rock types, a couple of hippies and one or two general oddballs.  The club occasionally played host to artists who were not too well-known to overcrowd its intimate small-town setting, but were established or culty enough to have made it into the music papers or perhaps recorded sessions for John Peel.  Bands like Adam & the Ants who, in spite of not even having recorded their first single yet, had gained an underground following I’d read about.

And they were coming to my town!  Presumably with Jordan – the embodiment of London art punk outrageousness, the most outstanding looking woman I’d seen in the whole of this brave new underworld  - I was in awe.

But my friends couldn’t come that night.  At fourteen, and female, was I brave enough to go on my own and spend the whole evening there without them? 

“Well we’re going down to the Jazz Club later, so you can come home with us,” my mum said – meaning that she and my dad would be in the adjacent bar for the latter part of the night and my lift home was assured.  It was a deal.  (I was deprived of any excuse to rebel against them - they were too liberal!)

It was a warm, light evening as  I walked across town on my own, then waited nervously outside the door to get in, along with some unfamiliar faces who’d clearly come down from London - but the queue wasn’t as big as I’d expected.  And then I noticed the hand-written sign and overheard the conversation filtering through the line:  Adam & the Ants had cancelled.

So on this date 40 years ago I didn't actually see Adam & the Ants, or Jordan.  I saw The Automatics on my own instead.  Regulars at the Marquee and with a vocalist who'd briefly been a member of the Boys beforehand,  they were pretty good (listening to them again now, they sound quite power pop too).  And being on my own had its advantages;  I got chatted up by the guitarist from a local band who was also there on his own, a bloke a fair bit older than me, about 20.

 “Can I buy you a drink?” he asked. 

“Oh yes, a pint please”.   

“A pint of what…?” 

Beer”, I replied helpfully, thinking myself very grown up.

And then we stood together with our drinks, hardly able to talk above the noise.  I think the ‘beer’ went to my head a bit, because it wasn’t long before I turned round and kissed him full on the lips. Well, he looked like Mick Jones.  I think I took him a little by surprise.

When the evening ended, it was a little awkward, as I had to wait for my parents, which didn’t seem very cool.  But ‘Mick Jones’ and me said lovely if slightly clumsy goodbyes and, even without Adam & The Ants, I’d had a great evening.  Then I waited there in the foyer alone, as the last few people filed out of the hall.  A great big older punk bloke whom I’d never seen before – a Londoner, I think, maybe he'd been part of the Automatics' entourage – stopped and looked at me. 

“Do you wanna fuck?”  he asked, just like that.  Straight to the point.

I don’t think he was too chuffed when I said a polite “No thank you”, trying not to show my disbelief.

With that, he called me a “boiler” and marched out the door – just before my mum and dad appeared and drove me home - I didn't tell them.

It felt like I’d grown up pretty fast that night.

Adam & The Ants did come to my town in the end – in March the following year, six months before the release of  Dirk Wears White Sox.; they were great.  And I stood and watched them with the bloke who’d bought me that pint, as we'd been going out together for 2 weeks.

The Automatics: When The Tanks Roll Over Poland Again b/w Watch Her
1978

Adam & The Ants: Zerox Machine 
1979

19 comments:

  1. What a great time to be an "outsider" as suddenly you had a whole load of other outsiders to be on the "inside" with. Your parents sound as if they were the polar opposite to mine though - It was always a very secretive affair, heading out to meet boys and then quickly getting rid of them before the car drew up to take me home.


    A great tale of the times as ever C - Glad you enjoyed Adam when he did make it to town and the original cancellation even led to you getting a boyfriend although I suspect it was not Mr SDS - A practice boyfriend!

    I'm not surprised you got that very straight to the point question though - I am pretty sure boys have evolved since those days but back then..., not surprised at all.

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    1. Sorry C - I got my timing out and didn't see that you were alluding to Mr SDS. Sorry rather to Mr SDS!

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    2. C29 May 2018 at 09:42
      Haha, I didn't say it was, I didn't say it wasn't! I did have a few boyfriends in those early years, so who knows?!

      Will be back later to reply to the rest...

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    3. Thanks Alyson, I felt really lucky to have that scene at that time. My parents were pretty laid back about what I did - perhaps it helped that I had an older sister too and they'd gone through it before - also just different times and somehow it was easier to drink alcohol and get into places when we clearly way underage. Maybe just because society was less litigious too. I don't think the managers, doormen, barstaff etc. worried that they might lose their jobs over it.
      Re. the very upfront bloke at the end, I can remember my confusion over whether or not I should be flattered at his question. I think I kinda was! There was definitely the assumption at the time that punk girls were easy, too.

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  2. Brilliant, evocative post. Love early AATA.

    Boiler? Classy bloke!

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    1. Ah thanks. Early AATA were such a different beast to what they later became, weren't they? Outrageous, arty and uncompromising.
      Funny how the 'boiler' bit stuck in my mind because I'd never really heard that word before in that way at the time. Also, given I was a fresh-faced 14-year old whom he'd just wanted to fuck, seems a bit rich. Arsehole.

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  3. '“Can I buy you a drink?” he asked. “Oh yes, a pint please”. “A pint of what…?” “Beer”, I replied helpfully.' I laughed out loud at this point!
    Great post C - very evocative as Martin rightly says. Alyson, my money's on our mystery punk becoming Mr SDS!

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    1. I think you're right - I was being dense again. I thought the timing was out but now I think about it those two have been together an awful long time. A punk love story!

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    2. Thanks - TS, I cringe now to think of that beer comment. (I should've stuck to cider!)

      I like to retain a slight air of mystery around these parts, Alyson. So I'll leave you both guessing :-)

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    3. Yes, good to retain the air of mystery - Too late to delete my misjudged comments now I think but glad they didn't cause upset. We'll just keep guessing!

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    4. Please never worry about causing upset Alyson - you couldn't - nor is anything misjudged! Just me being oblique! (Btw you should be able to delete a comment if you want to here, but I wouldn't worry)

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  4. What a truly brilliant post. I laughed, I cried - I'd have bought the T-shirt if you had one printed. And what great parents too. I deprived myself of any opportunity to rebel against my parents by rebelling against my peers instead... but I still related very much to them driving you to the gig and waiting in the bar next door.

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    1. Ah thank you Rol, glad you enjoyed the memories.
      I know you've mentioned before about your rebelling against your peers - a kind of rebellion against rebellion, which is as valid as any! My parents were v easygoing with all this stuff, I think the punk thing appealed to my mum's artiness and her own rebellious streak, as she defended me vehemently when I got into trouble at school for it.
      This was a really good time in my life.

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  5. They *absolutely were* exciting times. Me and Riggsby, I think it would be fair to say, were plastic punks. Probably why we were so enamoured by Generation X - too glam and too poppy to be considered the real deal. But, hey, when the heat died down again in 1979/80 it was safe to dig out my old Sweet singles again.
    You spin a cracking yarn. I could read your stuff all day long, but then I've told you that before. Keep on keeping on C, and remember not to forget our Anglo-Scottish hook up later this year...

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    1. Yes, exciting times, never to be replicated. Funny how we categorised ourselves and that the idea of plastic punks even existed but I know just what you mean. Makes sense about Gen X and the Sweet of course now although I would never have recognised the similarity at the time! I was pretty hard line and thus got into trouble at school purely because of the way I looked. They made me take my make-up off (not allowed at all in those days), force me to wash the band names off my science overall, etc. but there was fuck-all they could do about my cropped and bleached white hair!
      Thanks for your very kind words. And thank god for blogging because I really can't spin a good yarn in person to save my life!
      And indeed, not forgotten...

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  6. I usually get a smile from your posts, but today is an all out belly laugh. Love the early Adam Ant too.

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    1. Thanks Brian, glad to provide a laugh! Early Ants still sound great to me.

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  7. Good anecdote, C. I bet Adam Ant himself would like it. Tell him it next time you see him?

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    1. Ah thanks John (and nice to see you!) I'd love to tell Adam, maybe buy him a beer...

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