Sex Pistols — News — Cardiff Live

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, 13 December 1983, punk legend Johnny Rotten/John Lydon and his band Public Image Ltd, played Cardiff’s Top Rank.

Following his departure from the Sex Pistols in January 1978, Lydon sought a more experimental "anti-rock" project and formed PiL.

That year PiL released their debut First Issue (1978), creating an abrasive, bass-heavy sound that drew on dub, noise, progressive rock and disco.

PiL's second album Metal Box (1979) pushed their sound further into the avant-garde, and is often regarded as one of the most important albums of the post-punk era.

By 1984, both Levene and Wobble had departed and the group was effectively a solo vehicle for Lydon, who moved toward a more accessible sound with the commercially successful albums This Is What You Want... This Is What You Get (1984) and Album (1986).

This Is What You Want... This Is What You Get was the band's fourth official studio album and includes the single "Bad Life" and a re-recorded version of a "This Is Not a Love Song", which had been a No. 5 UK and international hit when released as a single in 1983.

An early version of the album was released in 1984 by founding PiL guitarist Keith Levene as Commercial Zone. The album was then re-recorded after Levene's departure from the band, with no contributions from either Levene or bassist Pete Jones (who contributed to several tracks on Commercial Zone).