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
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 : )
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!
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. :)
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!
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.
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!
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. RU-vid 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?
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
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!
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.
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.
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
I lived through those times in Los Angeles too, where we had our own vibrant punk scene. A scene that gave us The Germs, Black Flag, The Suburban Lawns, Steak Sinatra, The Screamers, The New Marines, Red Wedding, Celebrity Skin, on and on!! Thanks for the fun time machine!
@@WhyNotGoPlacesYou remember Celebrity Skin?!? Talk about misfits. I accompanied that deranged crew to a gig they played at Camarillo State Hospital, a now-defunct mental hospital. The inmates seemed far more sane than the band - really.
Same here, grew up in the Valley and got deeply involved in the LA punk scene circa 1977-1978, knew most of the bands, went to the Masque & so forth. Favorite band for me on the scene was The Weirdos.
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
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 love your channel I'm definitely late into the punk scene I'm 57 and started listening to the sex pistols 3 years ago but I love watching anything about the punk movement! Seems like it would of been a fun time to be a teenager!
I always seen them in the background of the early punk shows. Aside from siouxie I didn’t know anything about them! Your videos are awesome! I see you went to Rock n Roll heaven. Love that place!
This is brilliant !! I love your videos ! It brings back so many great memories from an amazing time in music and art, where there were so many interesting personalities. So colourful and original. Very sad to hear about Debbie, Tracie and Jordan sad passing. Especially Tracie, so young!! Tragic really! Keep these great videos coming please, brings back happy memories. Looking at the pics, you realise how young most of them were at the time. But as a 12 year old in 1976, i thought they seemed so much older :-) Do you have any experiences of seeing the Damned or the Clash in the 70's? I loved seeing the damned live. I saw their machine gun etiquette tour at Glasgow Apollo in December 1979, which was amazing. Loved their comic antics on stage (Captain Sensible, etc). I saw them many times in glasgow and london after that, always great entertainment. I live in perth australia now, and the damned are playing here on 26th March. So pleased they are still touring! Anyway , many thanks and i look forward to your next video 👍
I loved the Damned and the Clash. I saw the Damned when they first came to L.A. in April 1977 and I interviewed them for my fanzine. They were very nice and funny. I haven't seen them live since around 2008 in L.A. I live in Florida now and they are not coming through here on the tour. If they did, I would go see them for sure. Thanks again for watching!
So amusing to see rigidly conservative Bromley cited in the annals of punk (although the borough has spawned quite a few significant bands/acts over the years). I was at Ravensbourne school and worked part time just off the high street (Billy Idol [Broad] was a couple of years above me but I don't recall ever noticing him; he'd obviously left by the time punk 'happened'). Remember seeing a small band of punk-esque teens cruising up and down in front of Bromley South station around 1975/6: one had "The Vamp Live" (or "Lives"? - can't remember) on the back of a black leather jacket. Does that ring bells with anyone else?
If you saw a few kids looking punk in 1975-1976, that was likely the Bromley Contingent. I wonder if Billy Idol ever goes back to the area. I have never been to Bromley. I bet it's a pretty part of the London suburbs. Thanks for watching the video!
Interesting. The song "Butterfly collector" by the Jam is supposedly about Soo Catwoman. Multi colored cigs smoked by Simone would of been Russian Sobrarne (!) Cocktail cigs. Linda Ashby introduced Louise's nightclub to the so called contingent. Linda was a dominatrix. Quite a few of the people you discuss were also casual sex workers. It was no big deal back in the day though. Helen of Troy was part responsible for some of the Sex Pistols graphic design along with Jamie Reed.
I didn't know that about the Jam song. Interesting! Yes, I also read that about some of them being casual sex workers too. Thanks for watching and subscribing.
our dog walking friend supports every conspiracy theory & came up with one i hadn’t heard of. he believes Mc Claren was backed by ‘the man’ to create an impression that Anarchy was a philosophy & life style that simply involved getting getting dressed up , pissed , defacing the queen , gobbling at cops & smashing windows. in some respects the Pistols introduced many - particularly the ‘uneducated’ in England to the term & this was indeed the impression they portrayed of what anarchy was all about . no surprise how intellectual old ‘hippies’ & earth lovers Penny Rimbaud Crass & Co & younger industrial punk musicians Jaz Coleman & Killing Joke etc appear to have had little time for John the spokesperson in particular On reflection it is ironic how the Pistols & PiL would readily disassociate themselves with SHAM69 & The Exploited to name but two when suggesting these acts were mere Yobs & soccer hooligans yet in actual fact the Pistols weren’t exactly snuggling up to the intelligentsia . i’ve like to hear more re the relationship between Jaz Coleman & John Lydon being in spite of the timeline of those bands’ initial impact or recognition, it appears they were in & around the same scene & locations ( Ladbrook Grove for one ) at the same time but i’ve never heard or read either mention each other . Thanks for this 😁👍❤️🏴🐢from SW England
Thanks for watching and subscribing. I really loved Killing Joke when they came along in 1978. I see that Jaz Coleman is doing a spoken word tour soon, just like Lydon is doing soon. I don't think I've heard them talk about each other either. Thanks again for watching. I love the SW of England!
@WhyNotGoPlaces fab, I was only 9 when the Pistols came out and LOVED them. I was really pleased, I remember, when Siouxsie Sioux started to sing with the Banshees,soooh good and of course Gothic😍😍😍 I still love the Pistols but my favourite band was and still is the Clash 💕💕💕 Am going to watch some more of your videos and look forward to some more of your punk videos. I love talking about music but many of my friends now weren't into punk, or are younger than me , so just look confused if I mention Johnny Rotten, Joe and Paul and all, which is why why appreciate your videos and personal memories 💕 Glad I got your channel recommended to me
Like your Chanel;!Thank you to give me such insight into the British scene who became so important for the whole of Europe.*Boris from Düsseldorf/Germany
Thank you for doing this insightful video. I'm fascinated by them even though I wasn't born then. What a time to experience that! Really like Siouxsie. John Lydon doing UK tour soon. I wondered what Soo Catwoman did in her latter years... Tallulah Vee 🎹🫖☕
Thanks for watching and subscribing. I wish I could find out more info on her. Someone commented here that she went out with Genesis P. Orridge. I didn't know that. Thanks again!
Thanks, great video, i was too young for the first wave of Punk but did eventually see the Pistols in 1996 on the filthy lucre tour, always been intrigued on what happened to the Bromley bunch
I think the Bromley contingent inspired the Depeche Mode film 101 🖤 Then the fans are this interesting and so talented you know it’s a great band ❤️ Never mind the bollocks still knocks my socks off ❤️
Siouxsie had a fascination for Nazi ideology not only she wore a swastika armband but she had a negative comment on Jews on the original love in a void track
Glad you enjoyed it! I was in the band from around 1983 to about 1987. I still think Something Inside Me Has Died is a great song. We wrote that in the first rehearsal with Kevin and me in the band. Thanks for watching the video.
@@WhyNotGoPlaces Thanks for clarifying. I saw you in 85, 86 and 87. Loved your contribution. You should do a video about KFK memories... I love both the 1st and 2and album. Everysong is great, Noob, Junkies, Vision and the Voice...
Bonjour! I like your content...you have a really nice presenting manner...good positive , engaging attitude. Keep up the good work ! I've Subscribed. Greetings from the French Alps. Xx
Steve spunkers got a vaccum repair company, not doing too well tho, told him to change the name, who wants to use a company called spunkers vaccum repairs?
I guess that my comment got deleted? TMI? anyway, I remember you from the LA punk scene, and wrote for your fanzine, I remember when you wrote about taking that motorcycle jacket to Steve Jones, nice to see you again.
Really interesting video. I was on the U.K. punk scene in Birmingham in the 70’s. Loved the Pistols also Wire, The Fall, The Slits and reggae was also a big thing then. Very cool 😎
Thanks for watching! I saw the Fall a few times between 78-80 when I lived in London. They were great. I bet Birmingham had a lot of good shows in the 70's.
@@WhyNotGoPlaces yeah definitely, the main club was called Barbarellas which was sort of Birmingham’s answer to the Roxy club, saw lots of great bands there
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"
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.
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!
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.
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 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.
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 decided to stop wasting my time and turn this off when you told me you were in your second bedroom where you keep some of your books. Oh yeah? I did a partial reorganization of my spice rack today.
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
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
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! ❤️🪩❤️☠️❤️
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!
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 😂👍
