In November 1976, Ian Dickson was sent by his music paper Sounds to photograph the Sex Pistols at Notre Dame Hall where the band were recording a Janet Street-Porter television slot in front of a select audience. Vivienne Goldman, the paper's features editor, instructed Ian to include as much of the audience as possible in his brief. As a result there are images of a younger, pre-Pistol Sid talking to Viv Westwood and of Billy Idol, complete with entourage, watching on and thinking about his time to come.
>What the Papers Say...
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"Let's just say the book's a trip-
And represents the membership-
The speeding nights, the teenage kicks-
The punked up class of '76"
(Mick Jones) |
"It was an exciting, frightening and enlightening time to be alive"
(Tom Robinson)
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Flash Bang Wallop! contains over one hundred and fifty images covering the cyclonic first year of punk and, instead of reiterating the well documented story of the Pistols and their brethren, there are latterday quotes from many of the individuals represented, both expressing their thoughts and impressions of the "class of '76". |
