On This Day 14/12/1976 Sex Pistols

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On this day, 14 December 1976, pioneering punk rock band the Sex Pistols played the Castle Cinema, Caerphilly on their Anarchy tour.

Earlier in the year they had played three other Welsh shows with barely a raised eyebrow, but following a last-minute cancelation by Queen, The Sex Pistols and friends appeared on the Tonight Show, presented by Bill Grundy. Famously turning the air blue, John Lydon, Glen Matlock, Steve Jones and Paul Cook came across as uncouth, ill-mannered oiks to millions watching, and as a fantastic anti-establishment breath of fresh air to a few. The incident cost Grundy his job, and made the Pistols front page news.

Venues already booked for their Anarchy Tour reneged on deals, and local councils pressured others to cancel shows. So many venues cancelled on the band that they ended up going twice to some of the venues that would have them.

Cardiff's Top Rank was one of the shows cancelled, but a south Wales promoter called Andy Walton stepped into the breach and offered a show at the town's Castle Cinema.

A campaign was waged in the South Wales press, urging the gig to be abandoned. A typical letter can be found in the archives of the South Wales Echo: "...we feel bound to protest against the decision of our local Castle Cinema management to engage a 'punk rock group' already notorious for its dependence on obscenity, blasphemy and open violence." But to no avail. The gig went ahead, not least because the Castle Cinema's elderly lady owner... refused to be bullied by Caerphilly's worthies."

There was a lot of religious objection to the band and the gig. A leaflet handed out in the town that night said, "Even though apparently just a passing fad... such trends are clearly part of the fulfilment of Jesus' prophecy that before his return to earth, wickedness would multiply beyond all previous limits". (You can see the full leaflet at www.thesexpistols.co.uk.).

On This Day 01/08/1978 Rich Kids

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On this day, 1 August 1978, New Wave/Power Punk band the Rich Kids played Cardiff Top Rank supported by The Slits.

Founded in 1977 by Glen Matlock following his departure from the Sex Pistols. The band also included future Ultravox member Midge Ure and Rusty Egan, who both later founded Visage together.

They released one album and three singles during their existence, from March 1977 to December 1978 (although the official announcement of their disbanding was not made until mid-1979).

Rich Kids were amongst the foremost British exponents of the power pop style, blending influences from 1960s acts such as Small Faces and The Who with more recent punk rock sounds. With only one single making the Top 40 in the UK Singles Chart,

The Rich Kids released the album Ghosts of Princes in Towers, and the single of the same name, in August, with the latter ranking only at #51.

Their last TV appearance was at the University of Reading where they taped a live show for Rock Goes to College on 27 October.

But the band ran into creative differences as they recorded demos for a second album. Having acquired a synthesiser, Ure, alongside bandmate Egan, wanted to integrate the new instrument into the band's sound while Matlock and New preferred to remain with traditional guitars and drums. This resulted in the group's decision to go their separate ways.

Matlock and New went on to tour with Iggy Pop, while Egan and Ure formed a band called The Misfits (not the American horror punk band Misfits) and, after short spells with Skids and Thin Lizzy, respectively, reunited in Visage.In April 1979, Ure joined Ultravox.

Steve New

On 7 January 2010, the band played a one-off reunion concert at The O2 Academy Islington, London in aid of Steve New. New died from cancer on 24 May 2010.