Memories of vicious violence when night of punk came to market town

Simon has got in touch after reading our recent feature about that concert at The Village nightspot on December 23, 1977.

And before reading on, we'd better give you one of those telly-style warnings that the following article contains imagery of violence.

Simon lives today in Ascot, Berkshire, but back then was a 20-year-old living in Forton Road, Newport, and worked at the Severn Trent Water Authority having recently left Adams' Grammar School.

"I liked punk rock and used to go to some of the punk rock concerts, and saw a few of the bands like the Stranglers when they appeared at Shrewsbury, the Jam, the Clash, all those punk rock groups," said Simon.

He said that being anti-establishment, the Sex Pistols didn't want to play at big arenas like the big rock bands and preferred to go to small venues.

"Instead of saying the Sex Pistols are here on Friday night, which would have caused a riot, they appeared under an assumed name. This is what happened at Newport."

In fact Simon's memory presumably refers to national advertising, because the Pistols were advertised under their own name in the local press, and there were news stories too – including how the gig had forced a planned carol-singing session outside The Village to be moved down the High Street. Pistols tickets were £1.75 each and the concert sold out.

"I didn't have my hair in a mohican and have safety pins through my nose, but I did dress in punk-style clothes which, because I didn't have any money, I used to get from second hand or charity shops or the army and navy store.

"When we got to the concert I was in the balcony and had a grandstand view.

"The problem was all the punks did this dance called the pogo with arms by the sides and jumping up and down on the spot. If you have 100 blokes doing a pogo jumping up and down on the balcony I was convinced the whole place was going to come crashing to the floor.

"Johnny Rotten was wearing these tartan trousers and you had Sid Vicious stripped to the waist. By that time he was already self harming so he had all these scratches all over his body.

"People were down below by the front of the stage. There was this trend at the time where people used to spit.

"They said a couple of times, okay, you have got to stop spitting or we are going to stop the concert.

"At some point in the middle of the show Johnny Rotten was lying on the stage on his back in tartan trousers with his mic going through God Save the Queen and all their repertoire and this one guy continued to spit. In mid-song Sid Vicious unhooked his big bass guitar from his shoulders and smashed it over this guy's head, splattering blood everywhere.

"The guy's head split open like a water melon. Sid Vicious casually strapped his guitar back on his shoulder and carried on playing.

"There was this poor guy with his head bust open and blood everywhere. They had St John Ambulance or some kind of paramedics and it was a bit like a Carry On movie as these two chaps, the medics, they had the stretcher and the only way to get to him – because it was a big melee – was to work their way through with this stretcher above their heads.

"With the help of some of the fans they laid him on the stretcher and went back the same way carrying the stretcher with the bloke on above everybody's heads to get back out so he could be treated. I always remember that.

"It is the first and only time I have ever seen somebody smash a guitar over somebody's head in a concert. They carried on playing as if nothing had happened.

"I really had no idea who he was, but he must have been local because they were all local, Newport, or Wellington.

"I remember at the end of the concert when we came out that I have never seen so many police in Newport in my life. They must have had half of West Mercia police force out there.

"There were police vans everywhere, the police must have thought we were going to riot. There were dog handlers with these big fierce alsatians. There were more police than you see at Wembley Stadium cup final – hundreds of police, almost outnumbering the fans."

Simon added: "My mother lives in Station Road in Newport, she is 89 and about to turn 90. She is Ruth Roberts. My brother lives in Newport. I still go back. I'm still in regular contact with Adams' Grammar School, they call them the Old Novaportans. They're quite active online."

Simon's future career path was perhaps not what you might expect for a punk – he left the area in 1979 and went on to join the Royal Hong Kong Police, staying there for 22 years and becoming a Detective Superintendent. He is now global head of security compliance with courier company DHL.

"Sadly I'm not a punk any more. I'm more into Motown these days. I still have of few of my CDs.

"I think some of the songs by the Jam and Stranglers and even by the Sex Pistols, they're a bit of fun and you never know, with the world as it is now I wouldn't be surprised if punk makes a comeback.

"If you listen to some of the stuff on the radio now it's all sort of elevator music, easy listening."

As for Sid Vicious, it was all a downward drug-fuelled spiral.

His girlfriend was found stabbed to death and Vicious died from an overdose while awaiting trial for her murder.