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Whilst I can’t claim to have been to any where near the amount of gigs Ray has, I was a fervent gig goer in my younger days. I’ve been to a few of the same gigs as him and one of his favourites is the May 1977 gig with The Clash, The Buzzcocks and The Slits. I always remember Joe Strummer diving into the audience at that gig and in a rather punk way no one caught him and everyone stomped on top of him !
I exchanged emails with Ray and he reminded me that bands like The Sex Pistols and The Clash really did shake music up here in Britain and were sorely needed at the time. Me and my mates were looking round for new things to listen to as everything seemed stale so Punk was a godsend. We were listening to German bands such as Kraan and Ash Ra Tempel just to hear something different. Punk exposed us to lots of different types on music including Reggae and it all made things a bit more fresh.
I remember buying the first Rainbow album in 1976 as I’d always liked Ritchie Blackmore and finding dull and overblown. I knew then things needed to change and change they did for a little while. For me Punk hasn’t really stood the test of time and whilst I still enjoy classic Clash and Sex Pistols most of the other stuff I wouldn’t listen to now. I’m more likely to enjoy pre-punk stuff now but at the time, we had a great time going to the gigs and enjoying the music.
