Rock Shrine No. 37 – The Jam’s First London Gig
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It's the summer of 1976 and you're an unknown trio of Mod-loving kids living about 50 miles out of London. How do you get your first gig in London? You take your cue from the manifesto Malcolm McLaren is spinning in the weekly music papers and get your own gig. So one hot Saturday morning The Jam set up on the pavement in front of a street market, ran an extension cord from the Rock On record stall, and played to a handful of people. Most of them were curious passersby; about five of us were paying attention, including The Clash's Mick Jones. Fifteen minutes later and it was over.
Today, the market is a parking garage. The band played about where the street lamp stands.
The Jam's first London gig- Newport Place, London W1
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Comments (17)
Let me guess: You and the others who were paying attention knew each other and knew about it ahead of time. I'm impressed. The song is new to me, but it's great. Think of all the unknown spots in thousand-year-old London where, over the years, amazing events happened. Your venue posts are rectifying our ignorance.
Well I was a journalist on a music paper called Sounds and was one of about 3 people covering The Sex Pistols and The Damned - there weren't any more bands at the time because The Clash were still rehearsing - so the guys at Rock On got in touch and said The Jam were going to be playing. It was very exciting: another band! I was usually at Rock On every couple of weeks; they had the best oldies collection in Britain. (Just think - a time when the only way you could hear old records was to find a physical copy of the disc...) Later on they started Ace Records, which is still a major UK label for reissues.
I often dwell on your point about a 1000 year old city - when I'm in buildings that are 100 - 300 years old I often try and imagine how they were used and who was in them when they were new.
excellent! Here in America anything over 50 years old is considered really old, especially once you get out west.
A good Start!
The Jam never got the respect they deserved in North America.
I'm enjoying these quite a bit. I notice these posts go waaaay back.
always loved that song, I saw a busker once playing that song in a market, I will never forget it, I guess you had to be there
dharmachris's "Start" video has a beat/riff right out of the the Beatles' "Taxman."
I love the Jam. I would agree they are sadly under represented here in the states. What a great story. My favorite kind. It reminds me of an annecdote that you can probably straighten out in my mind. Paul Weller and The Jam, early on, were described as having a "nostalgic" sound. He responded in some way saying "I'm 17, how the fuck can I be nostalgic?!" Man, that's punk!
hey john -- you were at Sounds? do you know vivien goldman? we worked together at vh1 here in the states...
man oh man do i love the jam!
here in the usa - in memphis, tn, the taliesyn ballroom, where the sex pistols played is now a taco bell. last year when i was on tour, i happened to be in memphis when i got a call on my cel from rory johnston, who was the pistols' management guy in the USA inviting me out and i told him where i was... "rory! i'm standing in front of where the pistols played in memphis" and he was excited until i told him it was now a taco bell.
not only are rock shrines disappearing... so is so much character in the world.... more and more, the stuff i love in my photos aren't the youthful versions of my fave musicians but the SCENERY! the stuff no longer there.
#37? The list grows...
Spike - Do you mean he's ripping them off? Or are they just "referencing", as the kids say today?
Contra - In Britain, that Weller story has become something of a legend. The funniest part was he said it when he was dressed like it was 1965!
Anna - Hell yes I know Vivien. We sat across from each other and then found out we lived 3 blocks from each other. One of the best ladies in the world, or at least my world.
Mike - I'm aiming for #50 before this becomes work.
Anna/Jonh - Some friends of mine worked at a movie theater in Atlanta that had been where the Pistols played on that tour (I think it was called The International Ballroom), and was later a porno theater, then an art house theater. Now it is completely demolished, and I believe - surprise! - a Walmart is there. But I remember walking around the place and trying to figure how it was laid out then. I think there's some clips of it in "The Great Rock n' Roll Swindle".
John -- you lived in Ladbroke Grove? me too! what a small world. Vivien's flat has been handed down amongst friends for YEARS... she sold it however, about 5 years ago... end of an era.
I think that flat is a rock shrine as well. Were you around when Chrissie Hynde was Viv's flatmate?
Amazing, the moments and places that could pass us by...
Anna - You mean the flat on Ladbroke Grove above the bookies?! I'd forgotten that one. Before it she lived around the corner on Cambridge Gardens. I left London for LA right before Chrissie moved in, but Viv started a great story on The Pretenders with an anecdote of Chrissie climbing up the scaffolding that fronted the building for about a year as a means to try and get in through a window.
One of my rules with these Rock shrines is to never go more than about 4-5 blocks out of my way, so I haven't done any of the Ladbroke Grove/Notting Hill ones yet. But Viv's flat will have to go on the list. For an added bit of trivia, there's an old film studio almost across the street from her old place that is the location where the Gregory Peck version of 'Moby Dick' was filmed.
The are some great old venues in London that are now doing 'something else'
The Rainbow (Finsbury Park)and The National (Kilburn) are now both 'Happy Clappy' Christian Centre's and The Powerhouse in Islington is now a Bank!
As for 'Ladbroke Grove/Notting Hill', I lived on Westbourne Park Rd for 6 years in the mid 80's. The was a great Squat Culture going on then......
The good news is they're still standing.