John Lydon (FKA Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols) followed up that band with Public Image LTD. Their first album was never released in the USA. The second one initially was released as three 12 inch singles packaged in a metal film can. That never made it the US either. What we ended up with was a double LP entitled Second Edition. A pretty grand record. Not anything like the basic punk that defined the era. Drone beats. Ranting Lyrics. Long Tracks.
The Sex Pistols never visited Los Angeles. If they had, I certainly would have been there. Nobody knew the infamous Winterland gig would be their last. The first glimpse we get of Johnny Rotten is this gig at the Olympic Auditorium. The venue was a dump in the true sense of the word. My concert going friends and I used to rotate driving responsibilities for shows. I was told this one counted as two. As usual, I parked my dumpy car next to the best looking ones in the lot. After the show, they were all broken into. Not me.
The Olympic was a small arena which normally hosted roller derby and fake wrestling. The building is still there. I think it's a church now.
Opening acts were The Plugz and Los Lobos. Unruly violent crowd. Show ended abruptly with 'I've had enough. Good Night.'
Tickets were mail order only. The dates changed, so all ticketholders got this cheery little letter with their tickets. How punk!
I have a poster for this gig that I tore of a lamp post. It's rolled up with a bunch of posters in the garage. Some day I should have it framed.
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