Author: Paul Lewis

Sunday 6^th March 1977 – Wayne County and The Electric Chairs– Nag’s Head

Wayne County and The Electric Chairs are the main act for the third and final night of the USA Rock Weekend gigs held at The Nag’s Head in March 1977.

30 year old transgender Wayne County (real name Wayne Rogers) had moved to London from the USA earlier in 1977 to join in the ever growing punk scene in the UK. His latest band The Electric Chairs included Greg Van Cook (guitar), Val Haller (bass) and Chris Dust (drums).

No support act is detailed on the gig poster or press ads for this gig but the previous evening at The Roxy, it was The Adverts who were billed to support Wayne County. Did they support at The Nag’s Head too?

No mention of The Adverts in Kris Needs’ review of the evening in the April 1977 edition of Zig Zag but there is a very detailed report of Wayne County and his band antics down the famous London Road venue.

Wayne County is one of the few rock singers you can call unique. Onstage he can be a brassy street tart, a human dustbin, Patti Smith or just plain (?) Rocking Wayne County.

He’s currently slaying English audiences with the act he’s been doing in the States for the last two years.

Picture the scene: the crowd at The Nags Head is clustered around the stage waiting for Wayne. A newly shorn Greg Van Cook, and the rhythm section picked up in England – Val Haller (bass) and Chris Dust (drums) – stroll onto the low stage and lock into the stomping riff of The Strangeloves’ ‘Night Time’.

A glamourous apparition appears at the back of the stage, smiling seductively. It’s wearing a tiny pink silk number, fishnet tights, heavy make-up and tatty green rags over its body and long ash-blonde wig. It sings, and a full-bodied rock’n’roll voice comes out…it’s Wayne County!

He gyrates, shimmies, shakes his ass and finally finishes the song by licking his fingers, bending over and plonking an imaginary postage stamp on his posterior.

Wayne and The Backstreet Boys plough through such gems as ‘Cream In My Jeans’, ‘Putty’ and the amazing ‘If You Don’t Want To F**k Me (F**k Off)’, which is dedicated to “all the pr*ck teasers in the audience”!

Wayne disappears after announcing a number called ‘Toilet Love’, and two minutes later another apparition appears, this time covered from head to foot in garbage!…Corn Flakes packets, old newspapers, beer cans and a copy of The Sex Pistols’ Anarchy In The U.K. fanzine adorn Wayne’s red-hooded bin liner.

At strategic points in the song he bends over, barely covered butt pointed at the audience, and does loud raspberries down the microphone.

Then it’s Patti Smith time, which sees Wayne decked out in Patti rags and black wig, intoning a breathless stream-of-consciousness rap about Jim Morrison’s cosmic pubes and being gangbanged by a team of football players. Wayne finishes and races off-stage again to emerge for the fourth time as…himself, in shades and a faded denim jacket with ‘DC5’ scrawled on the back and the sleeves ripped off.

They do ‘Max’s Kansas City’, Wayne’s s best known song, which is a bit like a who’s-who of the New York rock scene.

The encore is the Stones’ ‘The Last Time’, which sees Wayne bent over with his head in the bass drum. Yet another encore is demanded and Wayne obliges with a reprise of ‘If You Don’t Wanna F*ck Me’.

Needs then admits he had to dash off to the downstairs toilets, adding:

Standing there my grin gets bigger than it already is, as the song’s rousing chorus (basically the title) booms out over the pub and into the downstairs bar. I can just see the nice young couples out for a quiet Sunday drink spluttering into their halves of lager as Wayne drowns out the jukebox hits.

Meanwhile. Upstairs, Promoter Ron Watts quickly recognises the popularity of Wayne County on The Nag’s Head crowd and is quick to book them in for another appearance the following month. They will become High Wycombe favourites during a period that Wayne became Jayne.

Here is a YouTube clip from a similar era as The Nag’s Head gig.

Friday 4^th March 1977 – Cherry Vanilla/Police – Nag’s Head

This is the second night of the USA Rock Weekend at The Nag’s Head and the flamboyant Cherry Vanilla is headlining.  The Police are the relatively unknown support act – playing what appears to be their third ever gig.

The Police have been formed in late 1976 when 24 year old Curved Air drummer Stewart Copeland teamed up with bassist Gordon ‘Sting’ Sumner (25).  They recruited French guitarist Henry Padovani (24) and made their live debut on 1^st March 1977 at Alexandra’s, Newport, South Wales, as support act for the opening night of Cherry Vanilla’s UK tour.  Sting and Copeland also formed part of Cherry Vanilla’s backing band.  Their second gig is two days later at The Roxy in London, with the venture to High Wycombe taking place the following evening.

The Police would use punk as a vehicle to get their music career moving, playing at the French based Mont de Marson Punk Festival in August 1977 with the likes of The Damned and The Clash.

But the punk tag was never going to fit and it was only when the initial punk craze of 1977/78 fell by the wayside that they eventually hit chart success with the re-releases of ‘Can’t Stand Losing You’ and ‘Roxanne’ and ‘So Lonely’.

Rewinding back to March 1977, their early set at The Nag’s Head would have included their debut single ‘Fall Out’, plus ‘Landlord’, ‘Kids to Blame’ (Curved Air cover), ‘Clowns Revenge’ and ‘Dead End Job’.

Their debut single had been recorded in February 1977 and was released in May 1977 by Illegal Records. YouTube audio below:

Moving onto the main act for the evening, 33 years old, Cherry Vanilla was a former publicist for David Bowie but formed her first band in 1974.  Her 1977 band included Vanilla’s boyfriend/guitarist Louis Lepore and pianist Zecca Esquibel, along with Sting and Copeland. Apparently the latter duo loaned their services and equipment in exchange for £15 a night and the support spot on her tour.

Kris Needs writing for the April 1977 edition of Zig Zag commented on Vanilla’s Nag’s Head performance:

It sure must be something, ‘cos when I saw Cherry at The Nag’s Head, High Wycombe, she just about rocked the fly buttons off every pair of trousers in the joint – and she was suffering with a nasty case of flu. You wouldn’t have known it from her performance, but she was so ill that she arrived at the gig unconscious. Yet she did a full set with whooping passion and still managed two encores…what a trooper!

The set consisted of songs written by Cherry and the band. Cherry’s lyrics are autobiographical – she’s got plenty of eventful past to write about, and this seems like a good place to clue you in.

Pictures of Cherry Vanilla’s performance at The Nag’s Head are available on the Getty Image website and are shown embedded into this page below.  You can see Sting on bass and in the background, part of the gig poster for the three day event.

The final night of the USA Weekend at The Nag’s Head would see another flamboyant act take to the boards of the former Blues Loft – Wayne County and The Electric Chairs, the entertainment for the High Wycombe punters tempted to wander down the London Road on Sunday 6th March 1977.

Do you remember any of these nights? It would be great to hear your memories.

Since this article was first published, local live music fan, Dave Tapping, sent the cutting below taken from Sounds magazine, advertising the tour that included the date at The Nag’s Head.

Other dates on the tour include iconic venues, Liverpool Eric’s, Middlesbrough Rock Garden, Birmingham Barbarellas and London Nashville.

Thursday 3rd March 1977 – Johnny Thunders/Siouxsie and the Banshees – Nag’s Head

This is the first night of a three date Ron Watts promoted ‘USA Rock Weekend’ at The Nag’s Head. First up is Johnny Thunders and his Heartbreakers with a low key support from a new look Siouxsie and The Banshees who have been gigging for less than two weeks.

It’s a busy evening at The Nag’s but not everybody ventures upstairs to witness this early incarnation of Siouxsie & The Banshees.  The Banshees had debuted the September 1976 100 Club Punk Festival – Sid Vicious banging the drums and Marco Pirroni on guitar.  Banshees originals, 19 year old Siouxsie Sioux (real name Susan Ballion) and two year senior Steve Severin (real name Steven Bailey) had then go on to recruit Kenny Morris (20) on drums and Peter Fenton (around 20) on guitar.

The Banshees’ appearance at The Nag’s Head in March 1977 is often listed as their third ever gig but that is certainly not the case. Following their 100 Club debut in September 1976 the new look band had finally debuted at The Red Deer Pub in Croydon on 24^th February 1977.

The third live outing had actually come the day before their trip down the A40, when they supported Johnny Thunders and his Heartbreakers at The Roxy in London. Confirmation the gig actually took place comes from a review published in the 12^th March 1977 edition of Sounds.

Giovanni Dadomo, writing about the Banshees, said:

I didn’t expect too much here to tell the absolute truth because the last and only previous experience I’d had of Siouxsie and co, had been at the 100 Punkfest of a few months back. At that time what had travelled under the banner had struck me as being as much of an event as a band, little rehearsed, very obviously non-musical in most respects and most likely nothing more than a one-off diversion.

Not so. This time around Siouxsie fronts an extremely powerful quartet who can and do make very tasty noises which are anything but unrehearsed. Siouxsie herself doesn’t have a great rock ‘n’ roll voice — as if that really ever mattered — but her material shows considerable flair and intelligence, particularly ‘Bad Shape’ and ‘Love In A Void’. Their manager reckons greatness is three weeks away; I’d maybe lengthen the odds a little but I wouldn’t deny a wealth of potential.

The High Wycombe gig creates less of an impression on the few who made it upstairs in time to hear their stark sound.  Described by some as ‘shambolic’, with Fenton looking particular awkward and ill-fitting on guitar.  Siouxsie’s fashion shock techniques of the time, including adorning a swastika armband, were perhaps in hindsight, a step too far.  But the Banshees were still testing the water.

Giovanni Dadomo’s description of the crowd at the previous evening’s gig gives an insight into the type of audience attending punk gigs at the time. An image far from the press portrayal.

Can’t say how many people in the audience agreed [with the potential of the band] because there wasn’t much reaction going down either for or against. See, the Roxy’s clientele has changed dramatically of late to take in all manner of freaks, hippies, long-hairs, even middle-aged European tourists, most of whom just stand slack-jawed no matter what’s happening onstage, leaving excitement as the domain of the two or three dozen hard-core fanatics at the front who haven’t got bands of their own yet.

Commenting on the Banshees first venture onto the live circuit, Siouxsie would later reflect:

“The scene was pretty much based in central London, so we liked the idea of getting as far away as possible so that nobody we knew might actually come and see us. The suburbs seemed safe because everyone there was totally clueless.”

Songs played are most likely to have included: ‘Carcass’, ‘Helter Skelter’ , ‘Captain Scarlet’, ‘Scrapheap, ‘Psychic’, ‘Make up to Break Up’, plus the previously mentioned ‘Bad Shape’ and ‘Love in a Void’.

It would be more than a year before The Banshees would be signed by a record label.

This is Siouxsie & The Banshees performing Bad Shape at The Roxy in March or April 1977. Filmed on Super 8 by Don Letts for the Punk Rock Movie.

Meanwhile, Johnny Thunders has been in the UK since the chaotic ‘Anarchy Tour’ at the end of 1976. A series of cancelled dates had left gig time short and he had now gone on the road as a headliner in his own right.

A 24 year old Johnny Thunders had formerly been with The New York Dolls but their split in the summer of 1975 (when Malcolm McClaren was Manager) saw the guitarist form The Heartbreakers.  Eventually settling on the line-up of Billy Rath (bass), Walter Lure (guitar) and fellow former Doll, Jerry Nolan on drums.

The Heartbreakers set at The Nag’s Head was reviewed by Kris Needs in the April 1977 edition of Zig Zag.

I went to see The Heartbreakers recently during the New York weekend at The Nags Head, High Wycombe. They completely and utterly did me in!! The group careered through 45 explosive minutes of songs like ‘Chinese Rocks’, ‘Get Off The Phone’, ‘Let Go’, ‘All By Myself’ and ‘Goin’ Steady’.

By the time Johnny Thunder took off his guitar and spun the band into the encore, ‘Do You Love Me’, the crowd had pogoed itself into a sweating, twitching heap. The Heartbreakers were slicing through the thick air and our brains like machettes – and it felt bleedin’ great!

Walter looks like a psychopath, hacking his guitar in great windmill thrashes, occasionally lurching over next to Johnny, who’s as magnificent as ever, but exercising slightly more control now, which reflects in his groin-grabbing playing. Johnny does all the announcements in his Noo Yawk street drawl too, and shares vocals with Mr. Lure (as he does the songwritng).

This is Johnny Thunders and His Heartbreakers performing Chinese Rocks – also shot for the Punk Rock Movie by Don Letts.

 

The USA Rock Weekend shows would continue the following evening with the visit of Cherry Vanilla. Support would come from another relatively unknown band called The Police.

18^th February 1977 saw the release of ‘Damned, Damned, Damned’ by The Damned on Stiff Records, for what is accepted as the first ‘long playing record’ by a UK ‘punk’ band.

The Damned had played High Wycombe at least twice during their first six months of gigging – stepping onto the Nag’s Head stage as support to The Vibrators in September 1976, while less than a month later they headlined their first ever gig when they appeared at the same venue.  The latter is recalled regularly as the infamous gig where their Manager of the time, Ron Watts, threatened to fetch a shotgun if they didn’t behave.

The Damned, Damned, Damned album was recorded in early January 1977 and produced by Nick Lowe.  27 year old Lowe had released Stiff’s first single, ‘So it Goes’ in August 1976.  His first band, pub rockers, Brinsley Schwarz, had played the Nag’s Head as early as August 1973 and appeared on at least three more occasions into 1974.

Recording was completed in 10 days.  Total running time for the 12 tracks comes in at a minute or so over half-an-hour and included their debut single New Rose and the subsequent follow up, Neat, Neat, Neat, released on the same day as the album.

Damned, Damned, Damned reached No.36 in the UK album chart.

YouTube audio of full album below:

The Damned would not return to High Wycombe until April 1979.

Tuesday 16th February 1977 – Matlock leaves The Pistols

News began to emerge that Glen Matlock’s time with The Sex Pistols could be at an end.  On 11^th February 1977, Sid Vicious had ‘auditioned’ as their new bass player (even though, in true punk fashion, he could not play the right notes or keep in time).

Vicious (aged 19, real name John Beverley) had followed the Pistols since their formation in late 1975. He had attended their infamous performance at High Wycombe College in February 1976 – after the gig he was seen staggering around with blood dripping from his hand having smashed a window trying to get into the Pistols tour van.

Matlock’s departure was eventually confirmed by Pistols Manager Malcolm McClaren on 28^th February 1977 – a telegram to the music press claiming he had been ‘thrown out’, because he ‘went on too long about Paul McCartney’.  A 19 year old Matlock would later deny he had been sacked, stating in a leaving agreement that he had ‘resigned’.  He was paid off the sum of £2,966.98 plus £25 for work with The Sex Pistols at a recording session on 3^rd March 1977.  The agreement also stated Matlock would receive one-quarter share of royalties for the songs he had co-written.

Matlock had played with The Sex Pistols in High Wycombe for both the February 1976 appearance and the September 1976 outing at The Nag’s Head.  But his departure from the most famous punk band of all time would not end his performing days, or the chance to see him High Wycombe.

Shortly after his Pistols exit he would be seen down the Nag’s Head during a time where he was looking for recruits for a new band – the group would eventually emerge towards the end of 1977 as The Rich Kids.  Matlock would go on to appears with at least another four acts in High Wycombe during his performing days, including The Rich Kids, Jimmy Norton’s Explosion, The Spectres, London Cowboys and Dead Men Walking.  At the time of this post he was still touring in 2017 at the age of 60.