Anniversary of Sex Pistols Final UK Gigs

12/24/2010
. On this day in 1977, The Sex Pistols played one of their last ever U.K. gigs (until 1996), before splitting, at Link's Pavilion in Cromer. Gibson takes a look back: By the end of 1977, the Sex Pistols had spread anarchy all over the U.K. During the previous two years, the punk band had created a righteous noise that older generations found distasteful, unleashed profane words on prime-time television, mocked the Queen's Silver Jubilee and released a record that was banned by many retailers simply because of its title (Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols). In the midst of all that, they had also helped popularize a bold new sound in England, given voice to the concerns of the country's youth in the face of a crumbling economy, and created some of the all-time great singles in rock and roll history.

In the fall of '77, the Pistols were to begin a multi-national tour in Holland that never quite got off the ground. Instead, they returned to Britain for a December tour they called Never Mind the Bans tour � a reference to how their album had been blocked by the likes of Woolworth's, W.H. Smith and others. Eight stops were planned. Half were canceled � due to band members' "illnesses" or political pressure.

Of the four tour dates that happened, one took place on this day in 1977 at Links Pavilion in Cromer. It would be the Pistols' third-to-last show in the U.K. (until the band reformed in 1996). The next day (Christmas) the group played two more concerts at Ivanhoe's in Huddlersfield. The evening show was a typical Pistols gig, but an afternoon performance was something entirely different. The Sex Pistols performed a free charity show for the children of "striking firemen, laid-off workers and one-parent families." Surely, some were horrified at the prospect of the Pistols playing to their kids � but the band proved that they remained in touch with their working-class roots. more on this story

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