Sex Pistols first Manchester gig ignites punk
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- NME featured an IRA‑bomb‑damaged room on its January 1976 cover with the headline “Is rock’n’roll ready for 1976 … Is 1976 ready for rock’n’roll?”
- Mick Farren wrote a scathing NME feature in January 1976 and a follow‑up piece titled “The Titanic Sails at Dawn” in June, condemning rock as insulated, irrelevant and headed for a “neo‑Las Vegas”.
- Sex Pistols played their first Manchester gig at the Lesser Free Trade Hall in January 1976, a crowd that included future members of Joy Division, the Smiths and the Fall.
- Tony Wilson presented the Sex Pistols on Granada TV’s “So It Goes” in September 1976, marking their first television appearance.
- Bruce Springsteen was promoted in the UK with the slogan “Finally, London is ready for Bruce Springsteen”, a campaign the author describes as desperate hype for underwhelming music.
Why it matters: The punk explosion reshaped Britain’s music market, propelling acts like the Sex Pistols and the Clash while marginalising earlier rock groups and altering record‑label promotion strategies, as seen in the over‑hyped push for Bruce Springsteen.
