A slip of paper from The Sex Pistols’ first-ever Liverpool gig nearly 50 years ago could make £1,000 at auction.
On October 15, 1976 the punk band destined to shock the world played at Erics in the city. A poster made to promote the event has turned up at the bottom of a drawer at a house in Lincolnshire.
Its rarity coupled with its place in punk history means it will command a guide price of £750-£1,000 at auction in March.
Its survival is down to retired musician Martin Watson, 67, from North Lincolnshire. In 1976 he was a guitarist with Albert Dock, later the Yachts, the support band at the Pistols’ gig.
He met Pistols legends’ Johnny Rotten (John Lydon) and Glen Matlock and saw them perform at Erics watched by only 50 people. Weeks later on November 26, 1976 the Pistols released their first single, Anarchy in the UK.
Martin, who was 21 in 1976, said: “Johnny and Glen were just young lads like me looking to make their mark in the music business. I chatted to them both. They looked great with their short hair and punk clothes. Most people at Erics were still in flares with long hair. They probably all went to the barbers the next day!
“The poster has been sitting under lining paper in a drawer for the last 47 years. I came across it during a clear out. I have lots of memorabilia from my seven years in New Wave bands in the 1970s and 80s.”
Martin, an art student in Liverpool in the 1970s, was part of a transitioning music scene and the city was a melting pot of new talent. Consequently the Pistols’ gig attracted the likes of Holly Johnston and Paul Rutherford, both later of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, and Pete Burns of Dead or Alive.
“Music got back to basics with gigs at small venues where fans got close to the bands,” said Martin, who as a member of Yachts supported Elvis Costello and The Boomtown Rats and toured the USA and Europe with Joe Jackson and the Who.
“The Sex Pistols were a real band, a breath of fresh air. Punk gave a kick up the back side to the prog-rock era. The thing I remember most that night is Glen Matlock breaking a string on his bass guitar during the show. That’s really hard to do unless you’re playing very powerfully. I remember a 10-minute hiatus to give him time to change it and the crowd getting restless. Johnny gave them some stick back, the message being ‘what does it matter, who cares?’
“At the time I never realised how important punk would become. It’s still the most talked about music era. It was an exciting time. Punk gave us a chance to express ourselves.
“Yachts were initially signed to Stiff and later to Radar and recorded two sessions for John Peel at Radio 1. Our vocals/keyboard player Henry Priestman later joined the Christians.”
Claire Howell, music memorabilia consultant at Hansons Auctioneers, which will offer the Sex Pistols poster on March 15, said: “This is a very important piece of Pistols and punk history. I’m aware of only one other original Erics Sex Pistols poster and it sold for £900 at auction in 2008.
“It’s important because this performance came at a pivotal time for the Pistols. Less than a month before, they’d signed a five-year management contract with Malcolm McLaren’s Glitterbest Ltd. Three weeks prior to this show, Nick Mobbs of EMI saw the band for the first time, and on October 8, just a week before the gig at Erics, the group signed to the label.
“Shortly before the gig on October 10, 1976 the band recorded an early version of Anarchy in the UK. Several gigs followed from October 12 with shows in Dundee, Wolverhampton and Birkenhead before the Liverpool performance.
“The Pistols were on the cusp of making it big. They went on to spearhead the punk movement of the 1970s. It was the calm before the storm. A Liverpool Echo review said, ‘This gig certainly didn’t have the same impact as the Pistols’ Free Trade Hall gigs in Manchester – in fact it almost went unnoticed as there were only about 50 people there’.
“Erics opened on October 1, 1976 and among the first bands to play were the Runaways and the Stranglers. Then the infamous Sex Pistols pogo’ed their way into town.
“Just after the Erics gig, the Pistols recorded the version of Anarchy in the UK that EMI released. On October 22, Stiff Records released The Damned’s New Rose, the first-ever UK punk record, beating the Pistols’ debut single by about a month.”
The poster, which measures 295mm x 208mm, includes a photo, above, taken by Martin of Albert Dock/Yachts members John Campbell and Henry Priestman standing on a rock. It was snapped during an art college trip to the Lake District.
Martin said: “I’ve decided to auction the poster because there are lots of Sex Pistols purists out there who would love to own this piece of history. Plus I can’t divide a piece of paper between lots of nieces and nephews.”
The Sex Pistols formed in London in 1975. The original line up was Johnny Rotten, guitarist Steve Jones, drummer Paul Cook, and bassist Glen Matlock. Matlock was replaced by Sid Vicious in 1977.
Under Malcolm McLaren’s management the band both captivated and appalled Britain. Their 1977 single God Save the Queen was banned by the BBC and nearly every independent radio station, making it one of the most censored records in British history.
Though the Pistols’ initial career lasted only two-and-a-half years, they were one of the most ground-breaking acts in the history of pop music. In 2006 they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame but refused to attend the ceremony.
Auction Information
The Sex Pistols poster, lot 149, will be offered in Hansons Auctioneers’ March 15 Music Memorabilia Auction.
The same sale includes a stage amp, estimate £750-£1,000 (lot 99), used on tour by fellow punk band The Stranglers. It was custom built for Jean-Jacques Burnel, bass guitarist and co-lead vocalist.
For more information about the Music Auction, email: [email protected]
Catalogue due live March 8 at www.hansonslive.co.uk
