Where the Sex Pistols’ Logo Was Born

In this flat at 93 Bell Street, in Marylebone, Helen Wellington-Lloyd created the “blackmail” style lettering logo for the Sex Pistols, in 1976, when she designed the band’s early promotional material with Nils Stevenson and Malcom McLaren, who moved in with her for a while.

The Roxy

The Roxy was started by Andrew Czezowski, Susan Carrington and Barry Jones in December 1976. The first show, on the 14th of December, was Generation X, a band Czezowski managed. The second on the following night was The Heartbreakers. The third, on 21 December, featured Siouxsie and the Banshees and Generation X. However, it was The Clash and The Heartbreakers that headlined the official gala opening on the 1st of January 1977 – which was filmed by Julien Temple and finally screened on BBC Four on 1 January 2015 as The Clash: New Year’s Day ’77.

Joe Strummer’s Squat

For a few years, Strummer helped make a strip of West London an unlikely punk hotspot. His like-minded neighbours included The Slits, who hung out a few doors down at number 43, two of the Sex Pistols and Malcolm McLaren, who lived round the corner on Bell Street, and The Damned who practised nearby.

Wessex Sound Studios

Many renowned popular music artists recorded at the former Wessex Sound Studios, including Sex Pistols (Never Mind the Bollocks), King Crimson, The Clash (London Calling), Theatre of Hate, XTC, Queen (We Will Rock You), Talk Talk, The Rolling Stones, Pete Townshend, and The Damned. Here’s where Johnny Rotten threw up into the piano…

The Scots Hoose

In the 1960’s and 1970’s The Scots Hoose (as The Spice of Life was called then) was a popular venue for folk musicians, and saw many great acts of the time, such as Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, and Cat Stevens perform there. In the punk craze of the late 70s even The Sex Pistols played at the venue.

The Bell

The Bell on Pentonville Road was the main attraction in the area for a certain type of queers, punks, goths, skinheads, and the likes, looking for good music and great fun. The Smiths, Siouxsie & the Banshees, The Associates, The Cult, and Kate Bush have all played here.

Public Image Ltd HQ

Between 1978 and 1981 Johnny Rotten/John Lydon lived here in Chelsea where he created his new band PiL. Jah Wobble and legendary DJ Don Letts were both regular visitors.

Screen On The Green

Aside from being a cinema, this place is probably most widely known for its ‘Midnight Special’ on Sunday 29 August 1976, when The Clash and Buzzcocks supported The Sex Pistols in a showcase event organised by Malcolm Maclaren…but there’s more to it!

Dingwalls

Dingwalls Dancehall was launched as the newly developed Camden Lock’s flagship venue in the summer of 1973 and it became a prominent and popular London live music venue in the Pub Rock and Punk era of the mid to late 1970s.

The Roundhouse

Hosted by a Grade II listed former railway engine shed built in 1847, in Chalk Farm, The Roundhouse opened as a performing arts venue after twenty-five years of disuse, in 1964. Both the psychedelic and the punk eras have witnessed here some of their most legendary moments.