London, Finsbury Park, Rainbow Theatre
December 26th 1978

Gig Review

In answer to the question as to whether I felt in any way uncertain going to see Public Image's Boxing Day gig at Finsbury Park's Rainbow Theatre, I've been attending musical events ever since I first started going down the Soho soul clubs to do the shimmy in the early '60s and was not at all intimidated by the Rainbow that afternoon. There were some sullen looking skinheads hanging about Finsbury Park, but then there always were in those days, they were just an occupational hazard of late '70s (and late '60s) London. The place was mostly filled with punks, skinny teenage kids wearing cheap clothes that they'd distressed to look more shabby still, but despite their bad press they posed no real threat, neither to each other nor to anyone else.

There were also a few dozen or less black youth most of them connected in some way with Basement Five. I knew the Five's lead singer Winston Fergus quite well and was on nodding acquaintance with the rest of the group, all regular visitors to the 100 Club's Thursday night reggae sessions. I also knew Rotten and the other members of PiL. Johnny introduced himself to me one night in the tiny corridor leading backstage at the 100 Club where Aswad and crew sat. Ducking in with a pack of Rizlas in hand, he said to me in that mocking voice of his: "Is there any nasty Mister Babylons about?" before adding, "You must be Penny Reel."

When several months later he was gettingt PiL together, he introduced me to Wobble and Levene at the same venue, so I was on vague nodding terms with them too. I recall thinking on the night how cool it was of Wobble to play seated and was fairly impressed with the group's performance, even though their music was not quite to my taste. I was on familiar terms with Don Letts in those days as well and also spent time in the company of colleagues from the music press like Melody Maker's Viv Goldman, New Musical Express editor Neil Spencer and writer Chris Salewicz, and of course Rotten's personal photographer Dennis Morris. Six days later, I went to Club Noreik in Tottenham and saw in the New Year in the company of Fatman sound and friends and felt in no way threatened there either.

Penny Reel